How to pluck a duck: top 7 quick and easy ways at home

How to quickly pluck a duck, many farmers and hunters know, but not everyone knows that it is not easy to perform the procedure qualitatively. There are various methods of carcass processing, each of which has its own characteristics. You can choose a plucking method based on the availability of some tools and resources at hand, as well as your own preferences.

Carcass preparation

First of all, you need to understand that there are criteria by which you should choose a period for slaughtering a duck. You need to focus on age. The best time for slaughtering a bird is 60-70 days. By this time, the ducks are fully feathered, but the flight feathers are not yet fully formed.

When they grow to a certain size, it is convenient to remove them. But you can’t wait longer, because it will be hard to pluck. In addition, hemp will remain on the skin, and this will worsen the appearance and taste of the meat.

Scalding procedure

It is important to properly slaughter. This is the basis for subsequent fast and high-quality processing. Birds do not need to be fed before slaughter. The duck is deprived of food for 12 hours and kept separately from the herd. The bird is killed by a blow to the head, and then the throat is cut with a sharp knife. The blood should drain in 10 minutes, after which the carcass is considered ready for further action.

It is recommended to put the carcass in a cold room. A place where the temperature does not exceed 5 ° C, such as a refrigerator or cellar, is suitable. This will allow the fat to solidify and the meat to acquire a characteristic flavor. After that, the bird carcass can be gutted and plucked.

Required tools

The evisceration procedure will require the following tools and items:

paper, cloth or film to cover indoor floors;
bags, as well as boxes, for sorting plumage of different structure during processing, including for fluff;
running water;
boiling water for the hot method;
large pot;
knife, scissors, tweezers or wire cutters.

Some methods require wax, iron. Regardless of the plucking method, prepare a clean cloth and a container of water.

Plucking methods

This is how duck carcasses look after removing the feather

There are many ways to pluck carcasses. However, it is important to choose a simple and effective one. You need to take care of the safety of the skin, otherwise it will be difficult to process.

Dry

The dry method is considered the easiest and most affordable. It is not for nothing that hunters have used it since ancient times, plucking still warm, freshly shot game. First you need to prepare the place by laying the floors. Carcass cleaning begins with the largest feathers, gradually moving to small ones. The procedure should be performed in the direction of plumage growth.

The neck and chest are plucked last. There are the smallest and thinnest feathers. Next, you need to clean the skin from fluff. This is done in two ways - with a knife and flour or by light singeing. During the procedure, care must be taken not to leak subcutaneous fat.

Then the plucked carcass is washed under cool running water. It is necessary to carefully remove grease and traces of soot. The poultry meat can then be used for cooking or frozen.

After scalding

Pinch after scalding

The scalding method can be used a couple of hours after slaughter. One of the rules is not to use boiling water for scalding. From it, the skin on the carcass often bursts, and further plucking will be impossible. Need to prepare in advance:

capacious pot;
kettle;
knife and tweezers;
pen bags, down bags or boxes.

Place the carcass in a suitable container. Heat the water in the kettle to 80°C. Pour over the duck, getting on the skin, for this you need to raise the feathers. As a result, the carcass should be completely covered with hot water.

Leave the indo for 15-20 minutes, then pull it out and pluck it, moving your hand against the growth of feathers. In the process, you need to make sure that the thin skin does not tear. Residual fluff can be singeed.

With bag and iron

To perform duck plucking using this method, in addition to a bag and an iron, you will need a basin of hot water. The processing algorithm is as follows:

Soak the woven bag in hot water for 10 minutes, then wring it out.
Put the carcass in a bag and tie it tight.
Immerse her in a tank of hot water for 10 minutes.
Preheat the iron to the highest possible temperature.
Iron the carcass through the wet bag.
Take out the duck and pluck the feather in the direction of growth.

During execution, it is important to ensure that the carcass is completely heat treated with an iron.

Singing

You can burn a bird with a burner

The singeing method is used when it is impossible to remove the feathers entirely. In this case, you need to clean the carcass from the feather, and singe the rest of the plumage.For this, a gas burner, dry fuel or another source of fire is suitable. During singeing, the duck should be stretched, straightening the folds for better feather removal. It is not necessary to bring the carcass close to the fire - the feather and down should only be slightly charred. It is important to process quickly so that the skin does not burn and fat does not leak out.

With wax

This feather removal option is used by hunters, but it is also suitable for home use. You need to stock up on a small piece of paraffin in advance. First, the wings are removed, then the feathers are pulled from the tail. Next, you should clean the largest plumage on the body.

Melt the wax in a saucepan. Put the duck in there. Wax should completely envelop it. Then transfer it to a container with cold water so that the wax is fixed on the skin of the bird. Pull out the duck, squeeze it with your hands so that the wax breaks. Carefully free the carcass from paraffin and plumage residues. The advantage of this method is that no further singeing is required.

With nozzle

Mechanical plucking

In addition to manual methods, there are also mechanical ones. They can be used at home, using various devices for this. Often the bird is plucked with a drill and nozzles with beating fingers. However, it is noted that the quality of processing suffers greatly, since the plucking speed of the picking machine is high. You won't be able to remove the feather without the stumps.

Plucking in the field

The method is used by many hunters who need to carry out the procedure quickly and manually. Feathers do not need to be plucked, they are cut off along with the skin. It takes a minimum of time. But cooked duck won't have the crispy skin that game lovers appreciate.

Do I need to keep fluff

Natural duck down is of great value, so it is important to keep it in good condition.Feather and down are used for down jackets, blankets are sewn from it, but more often they are collected on a pillow. Dirt and grease on feathers can be removed with washing powder by soaking them in water.

The pen can be saved for later use

After 10 minutes, the feather can be washed and dried by placing it in a woven bag and hanging it in a well-ventilated area. Shake the contents periodically. Quality material has a long service life, it can be used up to 10 years.