In most cases, modern chefs acquire chicken, already plucked, or even completely cut into its constituent parts. Therefore, when an unfrozen carcass falls into the hands of such a cook, he does not know which side to approach her at all. Meanwhile, there is no secret in plucking a bird, even a beginner can cope with it.
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You will need
- - chicken carcass;
- - a bucket;
- - boiling water;
- - Fire.
Instruction manual
1
Ideally, the carcass should be plucked immediately after slaughtering the bird, before it has cooled. The younger the chicken, the easier it will be to pluck feathers from her, sometimes this does not even require any preliminary preparation. But do not rush, plucking dry, even if it seems possible, is fraught with possible skin tears that can make the carcass outwardly unattractive and even reduce its culinary properties. So get ready to act according to plan.
2
Before slaughtering the chicken, boil water. Place the slaughtered bird in a deep bowl, for example, in a bucket, pour hot water on all sides. You do not need to keep it in boiling water for a long time, thereby you risk boiling the skin, which will fall off in pieces with feathers. Therefore, wait from 30 seconds to 2-3 minutes (the time depends on the age of the chicken), take out the carcass, pat it with an old towel.
3
Lay the carcass with its back down on a comfortable flat surface, for example, on a table. Proceed with plucking, starting from the near-tail region. Pull feathers should be in the opposite direction. Pinch the abdomen, chest and thighs of the bird, turn it upside down and remove the remnants of plumage. The last in line will be the wings. Pull out the largest feathers from them in the direction of growth, with small feathers do as with the usual plumage.
4
Plucked chicken, depending on the time of year, may have one or another number of so-called hemp - the rudiments of future feathers. Especially there will be a lot of them during molting - in the spring or in the fall. Remove them with tweezers, especially large ones that are easy to remove with your fingers too. In general, the plucking process should not take you more than a quarter of an hour. An experienced specialist is able to cope with this matter in just a couple of minutes. Try to remove all feathers, especially hemp.
5
But no matter how hard you try, a single hair will remain on the chicken, which you can remove, of course, manually, by plucking them one at a time. But it is better to get rid of them by singeing with fire. You can use an ordinary gas stove or a special lamp-burner for these purposes. Kindle the fire, gently burn the chicken on all sides with a flame. Try to act evenly, not lingering on one area of the skin, otherwise the carcass will burn. The skin of a properly seared carcass is slightly tightened, acquiring a light yellowish tint. Ideally, there should be no tanning marks, as well as remnants of plumage or hairs.