The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Dundonald hens on October 13, 2010, 10:31:04 pm

Title: Poultry pluckers
Post by: Dundonald hens on October 13, 2010, 10:31:04 pm
HAs anyone made or used one of these  whizbang poultry pluckers ??
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: shetlandpaul on October 14, 2010, 08:04:37 am
hermits husband made her one. its ment to be good.
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: DJ_Chook on October 14, 2010, 09:10:33 am
 When I started doing table birds I got a bit obsessed about these whizzbangs. I so desperately wanted one! But then I learnt that a good scald is the key to plucking. I do a 'just a little bit hotter than your hand can bear' scald until the wing tip feathers slide out easily. Then I hand pluck and it's all over in 15 seconds. Glad I didn't spend £500 on a whizzbang or get one made.
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: digit on October 14, 2010, 11:18:16 am
When I started doing table birds I got a bit obsessed about these whizzbangs. I so desperately wanted one! But then I learnt that a good scald is the key to plucking. I do a 'just a little bit hotter than your hand can bear' scald until the wing tip feathers slide out easily. Then I hand pluck and it's all over in 15 seconds. Glad I didn't spend £500 on a whizzbang or get one made.

After scalding the bird and plucking it, do you put the bird in cold water to bring the temperature of the meat down?
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: shetlandpaul on October 14, 2010, 02:11:10 pm
i did 6 in the time it took me to pluck two before. so the hot water method works.
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: Gordon M on October 14, 2010, 02:43:36 pm
It took me around two hours to pluck a pinkfooted goose about 10 days ago, I'll use the scalding trick next time. The goose was delicious by the way and tasted completely different from the frozen shop bought ones and contained less than half the fat!
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: DJ_Chook on October 14, 2010, 04:26:42 pm


After scalding the bird and plucking it, do you put the bird in cold water to bring the temperature of the meat down?
[/quote]

I gut immediately after plucking then the bird gets washed in clean cold water, trussed into shape, then put into a second bucket of iced cold water to chill.
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: shetlandpaul on October 14, 2010, 05:08:31 pm
good idea.
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: Hermit on October 14, 2010, 06:50:10 pm
Ours isnt a tub one. We invented our own. We made it from a grinding machine mechanism.
 We took off the grinding wheel and replaced it with a piece of drainpipe with plucking fingers added. It does work well but too fast for a chicken we found! OH found it too fast and ended up plucking by hand. You only had to offer the chook to the machine and it was stripped , too finnecky. We are going to try it with the Turkeys and Geese but have the bits for a whizbang it is just time to get it together.
Title: Re: Poultry pluckers
Post by: digit on October 14, 2010, 07:23:42 pm
Thanks DJ_chook i'll have to try that.