[greengumbo]

So after chickens and quails I'm starting to think about the end for the turkeys.

So much conflicting advice and much of it dependent on USA vs UK sites.

The birds are lovely white ones and very big !

My main issues are:

1. Dispatch - broom handle method or something else ?
2. How to bleeding them properly ?
3. When to pluck feathers and can this be helped with hot water dip ?
4. If and how long to hang (and is dry cold loft at 4'C okay ?).
5 Hanging after or before gutting them ?

Pointers welcome !

[Womble]

Not saying this is the only way, but here's my experience (warning - slightly gruesome!):

Dispatch:  Broom handle worked fine, though you need to be reasonably strong. Downward pressure is just as important as pulling properly. If you leave them without food overnight and kill them first thing in the morning, it will make the gutting much easier.

Bleeding: We just let them bleed into the neck cavity caused by the dislocation, and had no problems. You can bleed them out 'properly' if you prefer though, by hanging them from the legs and cutting the jugular.

Plucking: scalding may make it easier, but we've always plucked dry and it works fine. Start with the big wing feathers and loosen them with a twisting motion. The rest is easy, just be careful not to go too fast over the breast area or you'll tear the skin. Doing them immediately after the bird is killed was far easier than trying it later. Getting a friend to help so you can do two at a time is recommended. There are few things more depressing than sitting on your own in a freezing cold barn plucking turkeys. Just sayin'!

Hanging: Advice varies on this one. We hang in an outbuilding for 2-3 days and it's always been fine. I do keep an eye on the temperature forecast though, and would be very careful if it's above 5 degC (fridge temperature). Hang guts-in.

[Hevxxx99]

I tried the broomhandle method and it can work well, but turkeys have fairly weedy necks and it is all too easy to pull the head, or indeed the head and entire neck clean off! I recommend stunning (airgun or back of an axe both work well) and cutting the throat from ear to ear, or remove the head completely with the bird hanging upside down to bleed for 20+ minutes. Apparetly, new legistlation says you mustn't start plucking for the first couple of minutes in caase they're still alive, but that's unlikely anyway as they're flappig like crazy to start!

I hang mine for up to 10 days, guts in. It takes a couple of days for rigor mortice to pass.  I would never hang once drawn other than in a very cold fridge.

Plucking can be wet or dry.  If dry, as Womble says, it's easiest straight away, or after they've been hung a good while. Wet can be any time. Plunge in really hot water - not boiling but certainly more than hand-hot - swish around and keeep it there until you can pull out a flight feather on the wingtip easily. I prefer dry plucking. Apart from risking damage to the skin, wet plucking is messy and smelly, but certainly quicker than dry.

[lintmill]

We use a captive bolt stunner then bleed properly, pluck while warm and then hang for 10 days.

The stunner is faster and more effective then any other method we have tried in the past.

[sss]

We use a captive bolt stunner then bleed properly, pluck while warm and then hang for 10 days.

The stunner is faster and more effective then any other method we have tried in the past.

Hi Lintmill,

How do you use the stunner? I will look at using one for mine. Just wish it was colder here at the moment to hang the birds!

Steve

[Clansman]

Hi Steve,

anything other than pre stunning is actually illegal now in the EU for larger birds, although no one is likely to catch you doing it.

I shoot mine in the head with an air rifle then manually dislocate their neck once they stop flapping.

Its a lot easier to do to a dead bird and as said above they still bled into the neck cavity so no cutting is required.

I hang mine a few days intact and pluck and gut cold which makes it a lot harder to tear the skin.

[lintmill]

Hi Steve
the links here show the bolt stunner I use, the bolt that is fired out actually kills the birds if done correctly but I still bleed, also I use a cone to minimise all the flapping and wing bruising that occurs..

http://www.brnoguns.co.uk/captive-bolt-stunners-gallery.asp

[greengumbo]

So typically a fox got in and offed one of our turkeys last night. I am sure it will be back so I am moving dispatch day forward to this afternoon.

Plan is now to dispatch, pluck, hang (whole) then gut and either stick in the fridge until Christmas day or freeze.

I dont really want to hang them for ten days and was thinking just 3 or 4. Weather is turning mild again but my loft is about 3'C so should be fine.

Thoughts ?

[Hevxxx99]

Oh how bloody annoying!

10 days, guts in will be fine at 3C, with or without feathers.  They won't be "high" or anything like if you're worried about that: the enzymes sort of tenderize the meat.  They last better guts in than dressed in the fridge, so personally I'd only dress and refrigerate them for the last 3 days. But whatever you do, be sure the rigor mortis has come and gone before doing anything too drastic like freezing.

[clydesdaleclopper]

But whatever you do, be sure the rigor mortis has come and gone before doing anything too drastic like freezing.

Ooh how does that make a difference - am curious now. I learn so much from TAS

[Hevxxx99]

Not surprisingly, an animal stiff with rigor mortis will be tough and chewy to eat.

There's a lot of chemistry happening in those muscles.  Interrupting the process by freezing may permentantly effect the texture and quality.

I don't claim to understand the in's and out's of the chemistry, but basically,  after rigor has passed, the enzymes start softening and improving the meat. Apart from improving the flavour, the hanging improves the texture and tenderness which is why 36+ day hung beef is so delicious and succulent and why mutton needs hanging longer than lamb.

[greengumbo]

Well that went pretty smoothly.

Dispatch was quick and efficient, plucking took a while but got most of it done. Just left some of the finer wing feathers on to do later. Birds are now hanging in the loft at about 4 - 5'C. I will keep an eye on the temperature and dress them if it rises too much. One question was that I accidentally ripped a bit of skin while plucking. Is it worth spraying this cut with star-san or anti-bacterial or am I being paranoid ?

Thanks for the tips and if you have any more then I am happy to hear them.

[Hevxxx99]

 

Food hygene regs say keep things below 8C so you are well within that.  I wouldn't worry about the skin - I never have when there's been a little tear. I'd be more concerned with contaminating the meat with chemicals than bacteria, especially if it's a very small tear and only in the skin.

[clydesdaleclopper]

Not surprisingly, an animal stiff with rigor mortis will be tough and chewy to eat.

There's a lot of chemistry happening in those muscles.  Interrupting the process by freezing may permentantly effect the texture and quality.

I don't claim to understand the in's and out's of the chemistry, but basically,  after rigor has passed, the enzymes start softening and improving the meat. Apart from improving the flavour, the hanging improves the texture and tenderness which is why 36+ day hung beef is so delicious and succulent and why mutton needs hanging longer than lamb.

So with chickens would you also wait before freezing them? When we have had a few to process they have all just gone straight into the freezer and I'm now wondering if we should change this.

[Hevxxx99]

If you find them tender enough, carry on doing what you're doing: if it ain't broke and all that...

It doesn't take long for a chicken to go through rigor, but generally, I'd say wait until it's legs were good and flexible again (that's how I check - same for turkeys, ducks, geese, whatever) before freezing or cooking.