Who skins their birds?

[raingarden]

It's like taking off their pair of feathered coveralls.

 

[3KillerBs]

You'll see in this thread that I found skinning this particular cockerel, who was well past puberty, frustrating and difficult.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/25424643

 

[Tre3hugger]

Thank you everyone for your input

 

[Coops Dad]

I skin anything that's going to be ground for burger meat or sausage. Otherwise it's a blasphemy to take off the best part. Crispy skin... yum.

I've said it before- I'm trying to figure out a way to cross a Cornish Cross chicken with a Shar Pei dog to end up breeding a meaty chicken with extra skin.

 

[raingarden]

I skin anything that's going to be ground for burger meat or sausage. Otherwise it's a blasphemy to take off the best part. Crispy skin... yum.

Yeah, it's a shame that skinning is so quick and easy.

 

[Tre3hugger]

I skin anything that's going to be ground for burger meat or sausage. Otherwise it's a blasphemy to take off the best part. Crispy skin... yum.

I've said it before- I'm trying to figure out a way to cross a Cornish Cross chicken with a Shar Pei dog to end up breeding a meaty chicken with extra skin.

I plan on shredding and canning these, so no skin needed!

 

[blklangshandude]

I've skinned them before, just pull the skin and cut around the feet etc and it slides right off

That has been my experience too. I have a hard time believing that it is faster or more convenient to pluck a chicken. I think the biggest drawback to skinning a chicken is the meat quality. I ordered 18 meat chickens a few years ago and skinned all of them. I prefer store bought meat ten times out of ten than to the meat that is produced from a skinned chicken. I just make my own meat to keep the skill alive just in case one day I have to rely on my ability to clean my own chickens. If you have a system for plucking chickens that works good I see no advantage to skinning the chicken. I just skin them instead of plucking them because I am lazy. I thinking skinning is very easy. The easiest bird I ever cleaned was a quail and that is some delicious meat but you have to raise a lot of quail to have enough meat. I need about 6 quails to satisfy me for one meal. A chicken can give me food for several days.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

That has been my experience too. I have a hard time believing that it is faster or more convenient to pluck a chicken. I think the biggest drawback to skinning a chicken is the meat quality. I ordered 18 meat chickens a few years ago and skinned all of them. I prefer store bought meat ten times out of ten than to the meat that is produced from a skinned chicken. I just make my own meat to keep the skill alive just in case one day I have to rely on my ability to clean my own chickens. If you have a system for plucking chickens that works good I see no advantage to skinning the chicken. I just skin them instead of plucking them because I am lazy. I thinking skinning is very easy. The easiest bird I ever cleaned was a quail and that is some delicious meat but you have to raise a lot of quail to have enough meat. I need about 6 quails to satisfy me for one meal. A chicken can give me food for several days.

The advantage to skinning, I find, is largely restricted to very old chickens where the cooking process will not result in a palatable skin, and to those small scale producers who can't justify the expense of a scalding operation to take a bird or two each week, and have more valuable uses of their time.

I like crispy skin - but if I'm crocking a 12 mo old bird, sausaging it, or worse, smoking it, the skin has no value to me - even the dogs won't touch it for more than a few moments - but the time savings I enjoy by disrobing the thing allows me other, more productive, opportunities.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I skin my roosters, it is like taking off a coat.

 

[raingarden]

The advantage to skinning, I find, is largely restricted to very old chickens where the cooking process will not result in a palatable skin, and to those small scale producers who can't justify the expense of a scalding operation to take a bird or two each week, and have more valuable uses of their time.

I like crispy skin - but if I'm crocking a 12 mo old bird, sausaging it, or worse, smoking it, the skin has no value to me - even the dogs won't touch it for more than a few moments - but the time savings I enjoy by disrobing the thing allows me other, more productive, opportunities.

I keep telling muself that I just need to get organized and a better set-up for processing. The first attempt at making a plucker with the little rubber fingers was a complete bust. The fine points of that will require many prototypes. As it stands, I can barely heat up a scalding pot with the equipment available. Butchering is not allowed in the kitchen. If I claimed to be a homesteader I'd have to admit failure.