Bob Pastorio wrote:
>
> Katra wrote:
> >
> >
> > Feet purchased from the store are already peeled and cleaned, and ready
> > for cooking. :-)
> >
> > If you have "fresh" feet, (and I do if I am processing my own birds),
> > you need to peel them first.
> >
> > Generally, when I am plucking a bird, it needs to be scalded, so I just
> > scald the feet at the same time by leaving them ON the carcass. Scalding
> > is similar to blanching. It makes the feathers come out _much_ easier.
>
> But what a smell, huh? Not much captures nasal passages like a freshly
> killed chicken being raised and lowered into boiling water.
I won't argue with that. ;-D
When mom used to help Erva do a large number of birds, we kids were
recruited for the plucking job, and since our hands were smaller,
gutting squabs...
Erva had an outdoor gas cooker and we did it outdoors so that relieved
the smell somewhat, but I know what you mean!
>
> My grandmother raised chickens and it was my job to pluck them. One
> time she asked my grandfather to kill and clean a chicken. He didn't
> want to and said so. She insisted and insisted again. So he finally
> did. He took his shotgun out to the chicken yard and shot one.
> Literally blew its head off. Cut it open from neck to tail and let
> everything fall out. Cut the neck more cleanly and cut off the feet.
> Then to finish elegantly, he simply skinned it and discarded skin,
> feathers and all. He brought this sorry-looking chicken back in and
> announced that he would be happy to kill and clean chickens, and this
> is how they would be done. It continued to be my job to pluck the
> chickens.
LOL! There are some folks on the poultry lists that still skin some of
the older stewing birds. ;-)
Actually, a properly salt cured rooster skin with intact feathers is
worth a small amount on ebay as a fly tying feather supply!
Scalding reduces the plucking job to literally just a few minutes,
including pin feathers. I know folks on the poultry lists that raise a
few dozen fresh meat birds per year for resale and personal use, and the
guy that passed on the dish soap hint for goose and duck does 20 or 30
geese in one day for resale! They must be processed at a set age for
maximum eatability. (new word there <G>)
>
> > I
> > had a HELL of a time plucking ducks until someone from the poultry list
> > told me to add a little dish soap to the scalding water! Worked like a
> > charm. :-) Same goes for geese.
>
> I wish we had known about that.
I was happy to learn about it. <G> At first, it took me up to 2 hours to
clean just one duck!!! :-P The damned things float in the scalding water
and the oil in the feathers prevented the feathers from absorbing the
boiling water to the skin! "Dawn" or "Joy" dish soap totally eliminated
the problem. Now they are worth the effort again. :-)
>
> > If you have just the feet, wash them well then dunk them in boiling
> > water for around 15 seconds. Not too long or they will break up when you
> > try to peel them!
> >
> > The scales/skin and toenails peel off easily if you do it right and you
> > end up with nice clean feet. I've done chicken, guinea, duck and turkey
> > feet the same way. There is not much difference.
>
> When we had chicken stew back in the late 40's and early 50's, the
> head and feet were in the pot along with comb and wattles (which feel
> like earlobes).
<snicker> Yeah, they do, but I remove the heads after scalding and
discard them. I just can't handle that.
>
> > I normally cook about 1 lb. of feet by themselves at a time. The stock
> > made from feet is so rich and delicious, I don't normally mix it with
> > other bones, but I don't see why you could not. :-)
> >
> > The gel that comes from the cooked feet is yummy on it's own. <G>
> >
> > I always add onions, garlic and celery to my initial stock before it is
> > cooked to add more flavor. And it smells better too. Cooking bones by
> > themselves with no other additions smells kinda funny.
>
> I like celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Sometimes a bit of turnip for
> a nice, distant bite to it.
>
> Pastorio
I've not experimented much with turnips...
For a similar flavor, I often use steamed radishes. I also add sliced
radishes to stir fry.
Thanks for the suggestion! I might try adding those to stock?
I am cautious with carrots. It's easy for them to overwhelm other
flavors if you use too much.
K.
--
>^,,^< Cats-haven Hobby Farm >^,,^< >^,,^<
"There are millions of intelligent species in the universe, and they are
all owned by cats" -- Asimov
Custom handcrafts, Sterling silver beaded jewelry
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAP...s&userid=katra