Plucking Tips

[pavman]

A friend of mine was round whilst Mrs P was plucking the geese I was lucky to get under last thurs, His comment was to freeze them whole in the chest freezer then pluck from frozen to avoid skin rips and draw and clean once fully defrosted, he said he was shown by an old gamekeeper and that it works a treat,,,,,anyone tried this or have other tips?

 

I always pluck the main feathers and scorch the down with a blow torch and so far this has worked for a nice bird but I am always keen to hear other methods

[ph5172]

We were always taught to soak the bird that way the feathers didnt fly off into the four winds

[berettaman1]

I should think for these kind of technical problems, you should ask my mate Outlaw, He is known far and wide, as a Pheasant Plucker!!!

[Cranfield]

I have always frozen geese "as shot" and then placed them into a large plastic sack (together with my hands) and plucked them.

I have never frozen any other birds, but I always pluck them in the plastic sack to avoid some of the mess.

[auto culto]

sod plucking them just skin them instead, its done in seconds The only time i would pluck a goose is if i was standing on top of a very big hill with a good wind blowing

[tuck1]

My Aussie uncle is a fan of killing a chicken, then dipping it into a large vat of boiling water. I have to say it did seem to make plucking easier.

[MC]

I take mine to my local game dealer, he charges 3 quid for a goose and it comes back on a plastic tray cling film wrapped. Anything else I pluck I do under a running cold tap, all the mess ends up in the sink.

[starlight32]

A friend of mine was round whilst Mrs P was plucking the geese I was lucky to get under last thurs, His comment was to freeze them whole in the chest freezer then pluck from frozen to avoid skin rips and draw and clean once fully defrosted, he said he was shown by an old gamekeeper and that it works a treat,,,,,anyone tried this or have other tips?

 

I always pluck the main feathers and scorch the down with a blow torch and so far this has worked for a nice bird but I am always keen to hear other methods

 

I tried this method but the Acetylene kept blowing holes in the bird..........

[baikal boy]

i was always taught dipping them in a bucket of warm water

never tried freezing them sounds worth a try my job when

i was a young lad was plucking and pulling any bird wether

it be poultry or game but my parents and granparents never

had a freezer but this method always worked well and still use

it now.

 

paddy

[Guest The Outlaw]

I should think for these kind of technical problems, you should ask my mate Outlaw, He is known far and wide, as a Pheasant Plucker!!!

I have been known to pluck a bird or two.

 

When I was a lad I did some turkey plucking at The Copas turkey farm in cookham.

 

We used to pluck when the birds were still warm and had no problems with tearing, if there were tears we lost money as we tagged our birds with our own number.

 

What we did do though, was too pluck from the butt end first because thier bowels open and spoil your grip on the feathers.

 

Give them a squeeze as the bowels loosened and you could fire IT at each other

 

Tony

[peter-peter]

A friend of mine was round whilst Mrs P was plucking the geese I was lucky to get under last thurs, His comment was to freeze them whole in the chest freezer then pluck from frozen to avoid skin rips and draw and clean once fully defrosted, he said he was shown by an old gamekeeper and that it works a treat,,,,,anyone tried this or have other tips?

 

I always pluck the main feathers and scorch the down with a blow torch and so far this has worked for a nice bird but I am always keen to hear other methods

fill a large bucket with boiling water put a drop of cold in to cool it slightly and prevent scalding and give the bird a good soaking lifting up and down to get the water to the skin

the feathers will wipe of clean when done rinse the bird in cold water before gutting ive done it this way for years.

[Floating Chamber]

We were always taught to soak the bird that way the feathers didnt fly off into the four winds

 

I open a can of corned beef!

[henry d]

A damp pluck then melt some parafin wax to 65"C or so then smother the bird and plunge in V cold water, this strips the down and small quills. Use the heart and gizzard for stock and fry the liver as a treat

[chunk]

I do mine in the shed. Tape a black bag to a wall, hang the bird into it. Pluck by pinching small amounts of feathers and tugging them out to avoid skin ripping. Pull them in the direction of growth and dont twist or bend them around fingers, especially round the neck and chest on a pheasant.

Always done it like this after leaving to cool on the garage floor overnight.

[lurcherboy]

I plucked 3 gadwall and a mallard tonight that were shot Saturday evening.

 

It took 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

LB

[pavman]

I plucked 3 gadwall and a mallard tonight that were shot Saturday evening.

 

It took 15 minutes.

LB

 

 

AS my ESP is down will you share with the nice PW boys and girls just how you did 4 birds in 15 mins you stud LB