Can you butcher a chicken like a pheasant

[marie1]

Hello all,
Recently we were given a brace of pheasant and I found a great link on line explaining how to butcher them.

http://www.shootingtimes.co.uk/homefeature/166414/How_to_skin_a_pheasant__video.html

My question is this...has anyone tried to butcher a chicken in this way? I followed the instructions and was struck by how easy it was to skin the pheasant. Are chickens easy to skin and is there much anatomical difference between the chicken and the pheasnat that would mean you could not gut a chicken in the same way as the pheasant on this video clip.

Many thanks
Marie

 

[mikarod]

Wow...he's made it much more difficult than it really is???

Simply cut the head off and "slip" the bird out of the skin? You will need to cut off the legs by the hock...but that's about it?

Chicken skin is very loosely attached to the bird...so it takes about 3 minutes from start to finish.

 

[jaku]

Umm... did anyone else catch the part where he said he's had the dead, NON-gutted pheasant hanging in warm weather for 4 days prior to skinning it?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
that's traditional for gamebirds. I've seen some only-partly-flippant references to "hang it til it is ready to fall off the hook"

I believe it is supposed to tenderize and improve the flavor. Possibly "improve" is a matter of personal taste

but I've never had game that's been hung so I can't really say.


Pat

 

[pdpatch]

No I have never heard of this. I was taught and always told to Field dress all game. If you leave the "guts", the normal bacteria present in the "guts" cause the meat to go bad and you most likely will get sick.

As far as Hanging the meat, Yes once it's gutted it's a common practice, to hang the meat for several days.

 

[jaku]

Quote:
Yeah, that was my thought too- I've never hung anything without gutting it first. Sounds quite unhealthy.

 

[jvls1942]

I read about hanging birds in a cook book from England.. I suppose if your teeth are so bad, this is a good way to make the meat tender..?? I think if my teeth get so bad, I will use the food blender..LOL

..iminwisc.......