How to butcher a duck: rules for plucking and gutting, how to cut into pieces

Most breeders prefer to raise ducks as they not only grow fast. Their meat is distinguished by its exquisite taste. The optimal age for slaughtering poultry is 60-65 days. By this time, she is gaining up to 3-4 kg of weight, has a young, immature plumage, which is easily plucked. Consider how to properly butcher a duck so that the carcass retains its marketable appearance and does not lose its taste.

How to kill a bird

12-16 hours before slaughter, the birds stop being fed. If the slaughter is scheduled for the next morning, in the evening the ducks that go under the knife are separated from the herd, the feeders are removed from them, leaving only water. In addition, electricity is left in the room at night.

2 ways to slaughter a bird:

1. Cut the carotid artery with a knife. Hanging the duck by its paws, they take it by the head, pull it away, and then cut the neck. The knife is held so that the point is slightly inclined towards the ground.
2. With a cleaver. The duck is taken by the wings, its head is laid on the deck. Having sharply lowered the ax, they separate the head from the neck.

After slaughter, the bird is hung by the legs for 10-15 minutes so that the blood drains well from it.

Plucking duck

There are many ways to pluck a domestic duck. It all depends on the preferences of the hostess. Two feather removal tactics:

1. Dry processing method. The most common method for removing feathers. Plucking begins immediately after slaughter. The duck is laid on a flat surface or hung by its paws, 2 containers are placed nearby for collecting feathers (separate the tail feathers from the fluff).

First of all, the plumage is removed from the tail and wings of the bird. Then the chest and back of the duck are treated. In order not to tear the skin, you need to pull out the feathers in the direction of their growth.

2. Scalding a carcass. The water in the container does not need to be brought to a boil. It is enough to heat it up to 80 ˚С, dip the bird there for a few minutes. You can start plucking feathers a few hours after slaughter. In 2-3 hours, the subcutaneous fat will harden, and the skin will suffer less in the process of removing the feather cover.

The only drawback of this method is that the meat becomes red. After removing the plumage, barely noticeable hairs and fluff remain on the skin of the duck. They need to be scorched with a gas burner.

Manipulations are done carefully, without overheating the bird. Otherwise, the skin may burst, the duck will lose its presentation.

Experienced poultry farmers recommend buying ducklings in May-June. With the right content, it will be possible to prick them already in August-September. Because as soon as the cold snap begins, the bird will begin to intensively “dress” in feathers and fatten up. Then it will be much more difficult to pluck them (except for the cover, you will have to remove the stumps).

Evisceration rules

After singeing the skin, the carcass is placed under running water to wash off the soot. Then proceed to remove the insides. Action algorithm:

1. Gutting starts from the neck. Having cut the skin in front, they take out the trachea and goiter. For ducks intended for sale, the neck is carefully removed, leaving a large piece of skin to cover the incision.
2. Cut off the initial wing joints. The paws are cut off a few centimeters above the heel joint.
3. They make a small incision above the cloaca, through which they remove offal from the carcass. The liver, lungs, heart and stomach are separated from the tripe (the latter should be gutted). Wash them thoroughly and set aside to dry (these giblets will also be used for cooking).
4. If a duck has built up abdominal fat, it is cut out.
5. On the tail part of the carcass, the sebaceous gland is removed. If this is not done, during the cooking process, it will not only spoil the taste of the meat, but also the smell.

After removing all the insides from the duck, the bird is thoroughly washed. At the same time, it is not necessary to keep the carcass in water for a long time (the taste of the meat will deteriorate). If it is planned to freeze the bird in the future, it is placed on the grid so that it is glass and dried.

Cutting the carcass into portions

Before cooking, the bird is cut into portions. The duck should be carved with a sharp knife, laying on the board.

To prevent small fragments of bones from getting into the food, you need to cut closer to the joints, leaving the tubular bone intact.

Order for butchering poultry:

1. Hams are separated from the carcass. Turning the carcass with an incision towards you, they take the leg to the side. The incisions are made as close to the back as possible. By the same principle, wings are cut off, wielding a knife along the spine.
2. To separate the fillet, the duck is laid on its back, pressed down to the table. An incision is made in the middle of the sternum along the keel. Helping yourself with a knife, separate the skeletal component from the pulp.
3. It is more convenient to cut off the rib part with kitchen scissors.

It remains to cut the spine into several parts. It will make a rich broth for first courses. Abdominal fat and skin are melted. Dismembering a carcass seems like an impossible mission only at the beginning.

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