How to Pluck a Chicken
1 Answer
How to Pluck a Chicken
Fresh chicken is always better than the frozen ones you buy from the supermarket, but the drawback when you prefer this is you have to pluck out the feathers. It sounds like dirty work for a beginner, but once you get used to this task, it’ll be a breeze.
What You’ll Need:
Chicken (fresh or slaughtered)
Thick rubber gloves
Large pot
Water
Long cooking utensil (spatula or wooden stirrer)
Basin
Open flame
Wire or rope (for hanging the chicken)
Large knife
Before You Begin
You’ll need to slaughter the chicken before you can proceed to plucking it. If you feel squeamish about this, ask an expert to do this for you, but if you think you can manage it, here’s what to do.
As much as possible, do this outside your house, such as in your backyard. It can be messy, and cleaning up can be difficult.
Capture the chicken quickly, holding it firmly.
Chopping the chicken’s head off with a big and sharp knife. Lay the chicken’s head down on a flat and hard surface, then expose the neck (you may need help with this). Chop off the head at the neck. As much as possible, cut the head off in just one hack, so the chicken won’t suffer much.
Wringing the neck of the chicken also works, but can be more tedious.
Drain the blood from the chicken, by hanging it upside down above a basin.
Plucking The Chicken
This is also better done outside the house, as you’ll need an open flame for this method.
Prepare a large pot with boiling water. The pot must be big enough to completely immerse the chicken in water. If possible, prepare this even before you slaughter the chicken, so when all the blood had been drained, you can immediately use it.
Wear a pair of thick rubber gloves. This prevents you from being scalded by the hot water.
Hold the chicken by its feet, then dunk it in the hot water. You can use a long cooking utensil to hold it down, so it won’t float to the top easily. Push it around, making sure all its feathers are soaked thoroughly.
After five to 10 seconds, remove the chicken from the water. If you immerse it for too long, it will start to cook.
Start plucking, Grab a handful of feathers then yank them out. If the feathers won’t budge, you may need to dunk it again for a few seconds. Keep pulling out the feathers. The small ones on the wings and tail are the hardest to get.
Prepare an open flame. You’ll need to run the chicken through it, to remove the pinfeathers and the fine hair that’s still sticking to its body. The flame singes off these small feathers and hair.
When you’re done, you can wash the chicken under clean water, then proceed to remove its internal organs and cut off the feet.
Plucking a chicken is a dirty job, but you have to do it. Besides, you’ll know everything is worth the trouble when you serve delicious fried chicken for dinner later.
Fresh chicken is always better than the frozen ones you buy from the supermarket, but the drawback when you prefer this is you have to pluck out the feathers. It sounds like dirty work for a beginner, but once you get used to this task, it’ll be a breeze.
What You’ll Need:
Chicken (fresh or slaughtered)
Thick rubber gloves
Large pot
Water
Long cooking utensil (spatula or wooden stirrer)
Basin
Open flame
Wire or rope (for hanging the chicken)
Large knife
Before You Begin
You’ll need to slaughter the chicken before you can proceed to plucking it. If you feel squeamish about this, ask an expert to do this for you, but if you think you can manage it, here’s what to do.
As much as possible, do this outside your house, such as in your backyard. It can be messy, and cleaning up can be difficult.
Capture the chicken quickly, holding it firmly.
Chopping the chicken’s head off with a big and sharp knife. Lay the chicken’s head down on a flat and hard surface, then expose the neck (you may need help with this). Chop off the head at the neck. As much as possible, cut the head off in just one hack, so the chicken won’t suffer much.
Wringing the neck of the chicken also works, but can be more tedious.
Drain the blood from the chicken, by hanging it upside down above a basin.
Plucking The Chicken
This is also better done outside the house, as you’ll need an open flame for this method.
Prepare a large pot with boiling water. The pot must be big enough to completely immerse the chicken in water. If possible, prepare this even before you slaughter the chicken, so when all the blood had been drained, you can immediately use it.
Wear a pair of thick rubber gloves. This prevents you from being scalded by the hot water.
Hold the chicken by its feet, then dunk it in the hot water. You can use a long cooking utensil to hold it down, so it won’t float to the top easily. Push it around, making sure all its feathers are soaked thoroughly.
After five to 10 seconds, remove the chicken from the water. If you immerse it for too long, it will start to cook.
Start plucking, Grab a handful of feathers then yank them out. If the feathers won’t budge, you may need to dunk it again for a few seconds. Keep pulling out the feathers. The small ones on the wings and tail are the hardest to get.
Prepare an open flame. You’ll need to run the chicken through it, to remove the pinfeathers and the fine hair that’s still sticking to its body. The flame singes off these small feathers and hair.
When you’re done, you can wash the chicken under clean water, then proceed to remove its internal organs and cut off the feet.
Plucking a chicken is a dirty job, but you have to do it. Besides, you’ll know everything is worth the trouble when you serve delicious fried chicken for dinner later.