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Gutting a chicken
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cassy



Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 10:20 am    Post subject: Gutting a chicken Reply with quote
    

Yesterday I was given 3 chickens which I gutted and skinned. I'd not done it before and although I finished it, I'm not too happy with the results, in that it was all a bit messy. In my defence, I was not expecting them, or I would have read up on it before hand.

Q1. Can anyone point me in the direction of some graphic illustrations to help next time? I'm wondering if I need a chicken autopsy book? My books did not have enough details to make me feel confident that I had all the entrails out and although I'm sure I had all the intestine out, there were still some part (lungs?) left inside. I also wanted to keep the liver (possibly for pate) and other useful parts but I was not sure what I was looking at. I have frozen what I think are the liver, heart, necks and kidney(?) and thrown away the gall bladder, crop, intestines. I felt extremely stupid as I thought I would be able to identify the main parts insides a chicken, having cooked giblets before .

Q2. Should I have washed the carcasses afterwards? There seemed to be conflicting advice with regards to contaminating the meat. I did rupture the intestine of 1 bird, but was holding it bottom down over a bucket, so I'm reasonably confident that I did not contaminate the meat. They are now in the freezer (we don't have a fridge) and in case I have caused contamination, I'm intending a) to rinse them if necessary once they have defrosted, b) cook them up within the next few days and c) cook them extremely well . Is that enough or are they dog food now?

Q3. What order do you carry out the work in? The head, feet and wings had been removed already so I decided to gut then skin, with the idea that any spilt intestine contents could then be removed with the skin, but with hindsight, I think I should have done it the other way round, to keep the work surface clean.

Q4. Is this method one that people would recommend? It seemed a little easier than John Seymour's 'cut round the anus and pull' approach.

Q5. Anything else I missed? Should I have checked the livers for flukes etc?

Thanks in advance and apologies for the exceptionally dumb questions.

chez



Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 10:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I thought we had an article about this, but the closest I can find is the one of pheasant:

https://www.downsizer.net/Projects/Processing_food/Dressing_a_pheasant/

From what you've described I would think you have done a great job for the first time.

We pluck then gut them, then chop them up. If we are going to skin, we usually don't bother to pluck and do that first.

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It sounds as though you did fine, Cassy.

First, depending on the age of the bird, it can sometimes be difficult to get your hand inside as there isn't a lot of space. (Turkeys are great as there is a huge cavity, home-grown cockerels can be a very tight fit sometimes.)

The link you posted is how I do it. Start at the top, remove the neck then finger inside to loosen everything from the walls of the cavity.

When you then go in at the bottom end, again as described, get your hand in as far as you can until you can feel the solid lump - the gizzard. Get a firm grip on that and pull gently and slowly. Everything should come out together. (Don't worry too much about the lungs - they tend to stay stuck to the carcase.)

I do the evisceration part at the sink, with the bird on the drainer and a carrier bag in the sink. I simply pull the whole lot out into the bag and then pick out the bits I want (otherwise you need at least another set of hands to do the job). It sounds to me that the only bits of offal you missed are the gizzard (makes great stock) and the testicles (if appropriate!).

I always wash the bird inside and out after gutting, then wipe the entire surface down with bleachy water before starting the next bird to avoid any cross-contamination.

It is a messy job, and a third hand would be very useful, but it really sounds to me as though you did everything you should have done.

Last edited by judith on Fri May 28, 10 10:34 am; edited 1 time in total

vegplot



Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 10:34 am    Post subject: Re: Gutting a chicken Reply with quote
    

It's been ages since I gutted a chicken and aside from the obvious flippant 'tell it some really bad news' it's a matter of practice and trying different methods to find the one your most comfortable with.

If I ever ruptured an intestine I'd be tempted to wash the carcase afterwards but that may not be the best thing to do and someone with experience and knowledge will probably come along and give sound advice.

The questions aren't dumb and no need to apologise as I'm sure there are plenty who will appreciate you asking them, myself included.

Tavascarow



Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

It's good to check the liver & kidneys are healthy but their colour is a good indication of that. You don't need to do an autopsy.
If the birds are young & plucked warm I find that easier than skinning.
On the other hand if it's an old boiler without much meat. I tend to just pluck the legs & thighs & cut them off & skin & cut out the breast meat. For the time involved I personally don't think it's worth fussing over the wings & backs.
If you do this, no need to viscerate at all unless you want to for the gibblets etc.

Tavascarow



Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

judith wrote:
It sounds as though you did fine, Cassy.

First, depending on the age of the bird, it can sometimes be difficult to get your hand inside as there isn't a lot of space. (Turkeys are great as there is a huge cavity, home-grown cockerels can be a very tight fit sometimes.)

Try doing quail!

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    


Jo S



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 5174
Location: Somerset
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I have washed carcasses out after, well, spillages and not suffered any post-dinner consequences.

Quail, eh? And I thought Pekins and Silkies were a tight fit

RichardW



Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The food standards agency recommend that you dont wash poultry but as usual they have it wrong.

What they should do is tell you to clean up the kitchen properly after you have washed the bird & wash your hands & equipment.

Most issues with washing the bird is the water splashes that spread the risk not the actual washing or the bird. They are also talking about a "processed" bird that was done in a factory & was most likely dipped in some "muck" to kill the bugs any way.

If you have a totally clean board to work on & manage to do a clean job of the gutting then just a quick internal rinse is enough. Any "issues" then a full wash is warranted as they would be condemned in the factory if spotted.

I wash down between each bird & have very very hot water available to cleanse the tools.

cassy



Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 11:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks everybody, it sounds as if I didn't mess it up too badly then.

Chez wrote:
I thought we had an article about this, but the closest I can find is the one of pheasant:


That was really helpful, wish I'd thought to search there! It looks as if I identified the parts correctly.

judith wrote:
When you then go in at the bottom end, again as described, get your hand in as far as you can until you can feel the solid lump - the gizzard. Get a firm grip on that and pull gently and slowly. Everything should come out together. (Don't worry too much about the lungs - they tend to stay stuck to the carcase.)


Sounds good, it makes sense to grab a solid bit. John Seymour's method seemed to be pulling from the other end which is much more delicate.

judith wrote:
I always wash the bird inside and out after gutting, then wipe the entire surface down with bleachy water before starting the next bird to avoid any cross-contamination.


I wish I'd done that now, but I'll know next time, thanks! Do you dry the bird afterwards? Paper towel?

Tavascarow wrote:
Try doing quail!


Oi! Let me get the hang of chickens first!

Richard wrote:
What they should do is tell you to clean up the kitchen properly after you have washed the bird & wash your hands & equipment. ....... If you have a totally clean board to work on & manage to do a clean job of the gutting then just a quick internal rinse is enough. Any "issues" then a full wash is warranted as they would be condemned in the factory if spotted.


That sounds like a good system, thanks. I washed the tools and work surface with hot soapy water then scalded them, so the main things I did wrong were that I should have skinned them before gutting to keep the working area clean, I didn't clean down between birds and I should have rinsed them after gutting. I've got a glass chopping board I could have worked on, but not knowing what to expect, I worked on a washed plastic bag (I had the idea that things would spill all over the place ).

I think next time will be so much easier now I've got a better idea of a safe and clean working technique. Thanks!

chez



Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You've not lived until you've crushed a testicle by accident

cassy



Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I think they must have been quite young (must remember to ask) as I didn't see equipment of either type. That will be something to "look forward to" next time .

RichardW



Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

If you are skinning & going to take all the meat off the bone dont even bother gutting them. But you will loose a portion of meat & the use of the carcus to make stock. The breast & legs come off easy peasy. After that its just a matter of careful filleting with a sharp knife to get as much meat off as you can. Handy for those times when you need to do a few at once & dont have enough freezer space.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45384
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

hung by the neck can be handy for both plucking and tidy gutting
clean is more important the longer one is going to store it and the more gently one cooks it ,i would be much more hygenic for bbq chook on monday rather than 3 day stew,

my experiances with road kill lead me to believe that there is a lot of paranoia about meat being "contaminated"
, in the world of commercial production im for good hygine regardless but i take responsibilty for my personal standards with my food and so the world misses out on the smoked bacon unless i jump lots of counter productive hoops

Last edited by dpack on Fri May 28, 10 3:48 pm; edited 1 time in total

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Fri May 28, 10 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

cassy wrote:
judith wrote:
I always wash the bird inside and out after gutting, then wipe the entire surface down with bleachy water before starting the next bird to avoid any cross-contamination.


I wish I'd done that now, but I'll know next time, thanks! Do you dry the bird afterwards? Paper towel?


Yes - I let it drain in the sink for a few minutes and then pat dry with paper towels. That helps to avoid the splashing that Richard mentions.

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