[AT] Pluck chickens with a clothes dryer?

[Larry Goss]

LOL!  I guess the question I have is a bit more basic, Roy.  I remember seeing chicken pluckers for sale at Sears after WWII, but I never saw one work.  The question I had then was, "Do you have to scald the chicken first just like we do for hand plucking?"  Scalding loosens the feathers so they nearly fall out of the pores.  But plucking a chicken is messy -- maybe I should say -- Messy, or MESSY!  It was amazing to me that some people actually plucked chickens without getting the feathers wet.  There was a specific process to be followed: chop off the head, bleed the carcass, scald the feathers, pluck them, singe the pin feathers with a rolled newspaper, gut the body, and cut it up into precisely eleven pieces. Two wings, two thighs, two drumsticks, wish bone, breast, back, tail, and neck.  The gizzard may be fried or cut up with the giblets and added to the gravy -- it all depended on how much mashed potatoes were going to be prepared.  Of course, I'm talking about a CHICKEN, not a pullet.  Typically, one chicken would serve Sunday dinner to 10 people.  The idea that one person would eat a 1/4 or 1/2 of a chicken was unheard of.

Larry

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roy Morgan" <k1lky at earthlink.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:47:11 PM
Subject: [AT] Pluck chickens with a clothes dryer?

Tractor folks,

On our local free/wanted email list a request appeared:
> My husband is looking for a dryer to convert into a chicken plucker.
>

How on earth can a clothes dryer pluck chickens?

Roy


Roy Morgan
k1lky at earthlink.net
K1LKY Since 1958 - Keep 'em Glowing!



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