How to pluck and cut a duck correctly, how to gut and cut it into pieces

Most breeders give preference to raising ducks as they not only grow fast. Their meat is delicious. 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 out. Let's consider how to properly cut a duck so that the carcass retains its presentation and does not lose its taste.

How to slaughter a bird

12-16 hours before slaughter, the bird stops feeding. If slaughter is scheduled for the morning of the next day, 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 poultry:

1. Cut the carotid artery with a knife. After hanging the duck by the paws, take it by the head, pull it back, 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. Abruptly lowering the ax, separate the head from the neck.

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

Plucking a duck

There are many ways to pluck home duck. It all depends on the preferences of the hostess. Two tactics for removing feathers:

1. Dry processing method. The most common method for removing feathers. Plucking is started immediately after slaughter. The duck is laid on a flat surface or suspended by its paws, 2 containers for collecting feathers are placed next to it (tail feathers are separated from the fluff).

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

2. Scalding the 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.

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

Experienced poultry farmers recommend buying ducklings in May-June. With the correct content, they can be pricked 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 hemp).

Evisceration rules

After singing the skin, the carcass is placed under running water to wash off the carbon deposits. Then they begin to remove the entrails. Algorithm of actions:

1. They begin to gut from the neck. Cutting the skin in front, remove the trachea and goiter. For ducks to be sold, the neck is gently removed, leaving a large piece of skin to cover the incision.
2. The initial wing joints are trimmed. The paws are cut off a few centimeters above the heel joint.
3. A small incision is made above the cloaca, through which the giblets are removed from the carcass. The liver, lungs, heart and stomach are separated from the entrails (the latter should be gutted). After thoroughly washing them, set them aside to dry (these offal will also be used for cooking).
4. If the duck has built up abdominal fat, it is removed.
5. On the tail 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 entrails from the duck, the bird is thoroughly washed. At the same time, you do not need to keep the carcass in water for a long time (the taste of the meat will deteriorate). If in the future it is planned to freeze the bird, it is placed on a net so that it glass and dries.

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Cutting the carcass into portions

Before cooking, the bird is disassembled into portions. The duck should be butchered with a sharp knife and laid on a board.

Poultry cutting procedure:

1. The hams are separated from the carcass. Turning the carcass with an incision towards you, 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 fillets, the duck is placed on its back, pressed against the table. An incision is made in the middle of the sternum along the keel. Helping yourself with a knife, they separate the skeletal component from the pulp.
3. It is more convenient to cut the rib part with kitchen scissors.

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