WHALE Report post Posted February 2, 2011 With another turkey season coming up, anybody know of an easy way to pluck them. I have always tried just pulling and after 30 minutes give up and skin them. Any ideas? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted February 2, 2011 With another turkey season coming up, anybody know of an easy way to pluck them. I have always tried just pulling and after 30 minutes give up and skin them. Any ideas? When I was a boy in Yuma in the early 1950s, my brother, father and I sometimes would shoot 15 Canada geese over a weekend (the limit was five each then and virtually all the geese on the Pacific Flyway still came down the river). It was my brother's and my job to clean and pluck them. The only help our father gave us was set up a tub of paraffin over an open fire. We'd pluck all the easy feathers, then dip the birds in the hot wax. When it cooled on the bird, a lot of the smaller feathers would pull off with the wax, then we'd repeat the process until all that was left were a few pinfeathers, which we pulled with pliers. It was a lot of work, but we must have plucked a couple hundred geese during my early years. Hot paraffin also probably would work with a turkey, but I never tried it. I've always skinned mine. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azslim Report post Posted February 2, 2011 I've had the pleasure (yea, right) of butchering a couple hundred chickens in a day. Had a big tub of boiling water, actually it was a 55 gal drum cut in half with a propane torch under it. It would be - off with their head, dunk them in boiling water by the feet for a minute or two, pull feathers as much as you could then burn the pin feathers off with a torch, then gut them. Did this 3 different summers, sure was glad when Ben and Ester got rid of the chickens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted February 2, 2011 I always thought that plucking them would make them taste better with the skin left on so I would take the time to pluck all the turkeys shot in my camp. Now I skin all my turkeys and I don't taste any difference. Lately we have been deboning the meat and cooking it into pop pies. Beer can turkey on the grill injected with marinade is also one of my favorites. Plucking a turkey is a pain. Although quail and dove are easy to pluck and I always leave the skin on them. Have fun! TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silencedmajority Report post Posted February 3, 2011 I took my bird home in a cooler, then I held it by the feet and dumped a pot of boiling water over the feathers. Plucking didn't take long after that, then some pliers for the pins. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHALE Report post Posted February 5, 2011 good ideas I might try one thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Browning'sCustomMeat Report post Posted February 11, 2011 When plucking, go against the grain! Sit on your butt, turkey feet towards you turkey head away. Grab a hand full (but not a real big hand full) grab them at the base and a quick steady yank out and up towards the head they pull right out. Once he is featherless. Dump boiling water on or him in the pot then use pliers for pins. Wings get broke and second joint. Have fun!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaibabkiller Report post Posted February 23, 2011 +1 using the Paraffin, My family has been using it for years for waterfowl, turkey, even yard bird. We would strain it when done and get 3 or 4 uses out of it. It'll start to stink after awhile so beware. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
