A common way of killing chicken in the home
is simply to grasp it firmly by the legs, lay it on a block, and then
chop the head off with a sharp hatchet or a cleaver. If this plan is
followed, the beheaded chicken must be held firmly until the blood has
drained away and the reflex action that sets in has ceased. Otherwise,
there is danger of becoming splashed with blood.
32. After a chicken has been killed, the first step in its preparation,
no matter how it is to be cooked, consists in removing the feathers, or
_plucking_ it, as this operation is called. Plucking can be done dry by
simply pulling out the feathers. However, a bird can be plucked more
readily if it is first immersed in water at the boiling point for a few
minutes. Such water has a tendency to loosen the feathers so that they
can be pulled from the skin easily. Unless the chicken is to be used at
once, though, dry plucking is preferable to the other method. Care
should be taken not to tear or mar the skin in plucking, and the
operation is best performed by pulling out the feathers a few at a time,
with a quick jerk. In a young chicken, small feathers, commonly called
pin feathers, are apt to remain in the skin after plucking. These may be
pulled out by pinching each with the point of a knife pressed against
the thumb and then giving a quick jerk.
[Illustration: FIG. 3]
33.
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