How to Pick, Pluck, and Prepare Your Own Poultry
(Page 2 of 5)
Carefully inspect the chickens you catch. Pinfeathers are
more difficult to remove than larger ones so, if you're
rushing the season a little, make sure the young birds you
butcher are well feathered out . . . otherwise, they may be
hard to pick. You should also feel around the two bones
that protrude just below the vent of mature hens. If you
can fit three fingers between these bones, the chicken is
probably laying which means (if you want the eggs) that you
should pass that particular lady by in favor of another hen
on which the bones are closer together.
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As you select each bird—or group of birds—for
the table, you can either cage them for later slaughter or
kill them then and there. There are several ways to do
this, but I prefer the simple and straightforward "axe and
chopping block" method. The block can be any chunk of
firewood, as long as it's solid and squared off on both
ends so that it won't move around or tip over and cause you
to hurt yourself or maim a chicken as you wield your axe or
hatchet.
Hold the tips of each bird's wings (to give you more
control) right along with its feet in one hand as you
position the chicken's head (with its neck well stretched
out) on the block. One quick, firm, well-placed blow (Fig.
1) with a sharp axe or hatchet, then, is all you should
need to sever the bird's head.
Continue to hold the chicken with its neck down so that
it'll bleed well. The blood can be allowed to fall around
the bases of your fruit trees, if you have any (Fig. 2),
where it will both serve as a good fertilizer and
discourage rabbits from kill ing the trees by nibbling away
their bark. If you need to, hold both the bird's wings and
feet during this bleeding process to keep it from flopping
around and spraying blood on you.
As soon as the chicken is bled—but before it has a
chance to stiffen—you should carry it directly to a
waiting pile of old newspapers, a sharp paring knife, a
bucket of boiling water, and a pan of cold water . . . for
scalding, picking, and washing.
Although authorities on the subject recommend that young
birds be scalded for only a few seconds in 150° to
160°F water and that older birds be dipped slightly
longer in water heated to 180° or 190°F, experience
will soon teach you that temperature and dipping times are
not as critical as these experts would have you believe.
Just remember that if your water is too cold and/or you do
not immerse a chicken in it long enough ... the bird will
be hard to pick. And if the water is too hot and/or you
leave your poultry in it too long . . . the feathers will
practically fall out by themselves, but the skin of each
plucked bird will be discolored and may even break in
several places.
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