Ki ora and Greetings from down under again.

Starting to get a chill in the mornings here and leaves are starting to fall. I'm envious of those warmer climates.

Have gone through the old postings here and have done a google search with regard to this but no real description of how to skin a chicken (dead of course) I checked out links advised but all seem to describe the plucking in great detail. I live in New Zealand and books recommended are only available by ordering via the internet which would take 4-6 weeks to get here and at an horrendous price. The Countryside mags I have are backorders and none about skinning.

Will someone please advise me. I have 8 youngish roos to do in the next few days as they are noisy and our neighbours will be getting grumpy.

A scanned description with pictures would be the best but anything at this stage will be helpful.

Thanks to all and a great site. Kiwikaren

-- kiwikaren (fp116@ihug.co.nz), March 02, 2002

Answers

My husband used to skin rabbits, not chickens, but the technique may be similar. Fasten the legs to something, make a long slit in the skin, and pull. It used to take him 60 seconds (at least, that is what he says; boyhood memories are not always accurate)!

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), March 02, 2002.

kill it like normal,, pinch the skin at the belly or neck,, slice open,, and the rest should come off almost like a glove,, just like any game bird

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 02, 2002.

I make a cut down along the back (after pulling out a few feathers) and work my fingers inside the skin and just pull it off. Kinda like pulling off an overcoat! If the chickens are young enough, they practically "fall out" of their skin :-)!!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), March 02, 2002.

Might look at these links, though they talk about scalding, the pictures may be useful for following skinning directions: Univ. Oklahoma Extension Service, http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/poultry/f-8400.pdf has a couple of picture/diagrams.

Univ. Minnesota Extension Service, http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI0701.html web page has numerous pictures.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 02, 2002.

My DH cuts their heads off, hangs them upside down by their feet, and inserts a hose from the air compressor just under the skin in the neck. He holds the skin tight around the hose and turns on the air. The chickens/ducks/turkeys' skin poofs up like a balloon! Then, remove the air hose, and they are much easier to skin. And besides, we both almost fell over laughing the first time we tried it - it's very funny looking! :-)

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), March 02, 2002.

Thanks, Karen. It's nice to know that you still recognise the benefits of our, among other things, warmer climate here in Australia- although I have to admit summer is over here too as well. Actually, climate's gone peculiar - we didn't get much of a winter, or much of a summer - it all just sort of averaged out, and we seemed to lose a lot of our annual rainfall in the process, which is a real worry.

As to your question - since you're not getting many responses, I'll throw in a bit. First, the older threads are in the "Poultry (General)" section - did you go there and do a search (Ctrl key and F key together, or else click "Edit" and then "Find" on the top line of your browser) on "skin"?

Next, I haven't done this - I prefer a roasted bird in skin, or otherwise to be able to boil the skin as a start on chicken stock. However, apart from the tip on using the air compressor, if you don't have that I've also read about people using a water hose to "blow up" the skin. Once you've done that (again from what I've read) you'd need to pluck the deeply imbedded feathers. That basically means the tail feathers, .... THEN you either pluck the big flight feathers on the wings, or someone wrote of just snipping the wingtips off at the first joint - that gets rid of most of the troublesome flight feathers, and what's left is easy to pluck before removing the skin.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 02, 2002.

After killing the chicken and plucking it, I cut it into frying size pieces and just pull the skin off. Not hard to do at all. Not a lot of fun but not hard. Mary

-- Mary Zastowny (foxpawz@gamewood.net), March 02, 2002.

I have used the water hose in the neck trick. Worked well. I will never go back to dipping in hot water.

Cut neck, bleed bird out, slip hose in neck, skin seperates from meat,slip knife in and cut down to rear, cut wing and leg ends off, done.

I have read this works for larger animals as well.

-- ChrisN (chrisnass@hotmail.com), March 02, 2002.

My father has always skinned our chickens. Make a little noose from rope. put the noose around its neck and well yank. Hang the chicken by the rope, and make a small cut around the chickens neck. Close to the head. DONT CUT OFF THE HEAD. only cut the skin. Stick in a finger or too, and pull down. ( Make sure your rope is attached well to the tree, wall of the barn or wherever.) After pulling the skin off to the feet, cut off or remove the rope, and cut off the skin at the feet. Cut open and remove the innards and rinse well. My dad cuts the head off last. Dont know why, just his way I quess. Hope this helps.

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 02, 2002.

Greetings again

A big thankyou to all responses they are most helpful. I liked the air compressor one and hope my husband will do it for me!

I imagine that these roos will be slow roasted in the crock with streaky bacon so that should be fine and dandy. However am not looking forward to the dispatching of these lads. oh well ces la vie. Kiwikaren

-- kiwikaren (fp116@ihug.co.nz), March 02, 2002.

I've skinned rabbits and chickens and geese..the rabbits are definatly the easyist! Worst area is the back..if the skin is gonna tear it will be there..a little knife work and you will be back in business....kinda hard to bundle those feathers in the skin as you roll it down...wish I had a compressor to try that one!

-- Bee White (bee@hereintown.net), March 03, 2002.

I find the body easy as pie but have always had trouble with the wings and right at the tail....

-- Novina in ND (homespun@stellarnet.com), March 04, 2002.