The taste, quality and appearance of the carcass depend on the correctness of the slaughter and cutting of the turkey, and this is very important when selling and cooking poultry at home. We will describe several methods for quickly cutting a turkey.
Preparing a bird for slaughter
First you need to leave the turkey to starve for 12-15 hours. This is necessary to remove from the body all the food that the bird previously consumed. Food will begin to decompose if it is still not done, and certain substances during decomposition contribute to the turning blue or green of the bird carcass in some places.
Water can and should be given in unlimited quantities. It will quickly remove food from the body of the bird. You can use a 2% solution of glauber or ordinary table salt. The tool will have a laxative effect and the body will be very quickly and efficiently cleaned.
Turkey must be kept in a clean paddock. Be sure to get rid of any leftover food and litter. If this is not done, the bird will eat everything it comes across, and this will reduce the taste and quality of the product. You can also keep a turkey in any dark room. So he behaves calmer.
Slaughter of a turkey should be made in such a way as to quickly and completely bleed the carcass. In the opposite case, bacteria can spread through the circulatory system and the meat will become infected.
Blood residues also contribute to the decomposition and decay of the carcass. Another reason to quickly bleed the carcass - the type of blood causes a very unpleasant sensation in humans, and this will reduce the attractiveness of the goods if the turkey is intended for sale.
Make sure that all the tools you work with are sanitized or thoroughly scalded with boiling water. This will prevent meat contamination.
What are the methods of slaughter turkeys?
There are various methods for slaughtering a turkey. The most commonly used option is external slaughter, which is simpler and easier to implement.
External slaughter
This is the most common slaughter method. It is divided into left-sided and opposite two-sided. This method consists in making a turkey a small incision, with which they open the yarmine vein.
Left side:
- Take the turkey by the beak.
- Cut the skin, the bundle of veins and arteries. The length of the cut should be 2-2.5 cm for a large turkey and 1-1.5 cm for a baby.
Double sided:
- Pierce the skin under the ear and open all the veins, giving the blade to the right.
- On the other hand, you should get a hole up to 1.5 cm.
Below is a video of slaughter and gutting turkey:
Internal slaughter
This is the cleanest way to kill a turkey among all the existing ones. He is also the most delicate. In another way, it is also called “split”:
- Stun a turkey by hitting it on the head.
- Insert the knife as deep as possible into the throat, and then cut the vessels in the back palate. You need to cut to the left above the tongue. Choose this place, as the yumina and pavement veins are connected there.
- Prick the turkey into the cerebellum. Aim at the bottom of the head on the right through the palatine opening. Such an injection helps to relax the muscles of the turkey. After this, the blood comes out better, and the bird is plucked more easily.
- Bleed the carcass. To do this, hang her by the legs, spreading her wings. Place a basin under the turkey so that blood flows there.
- After that, plug the incision with a swab so as not to stain the carcass with the remaining drops of blood.
- After slaughter, you need to pluck the bird.
How to remove a feather from a carcass?
There are several ways using which you can pluck a turkey. The first and easiest method is plucking after scalding the bird. The most important thing about this method is to scald the bird before plucking it. Process the carcass more carefully, because a turkey is a very tender and soft meat.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Scald the bird. One minute will be enough. The temperature must certainly be below 60 degrees, so as not to scald the meat. This method is used to effectively remove feathers on the wings and tail. Then pull the carcass out of the water and immediately begin to pluck. If the bird cools down, depriving it of feathers will be quite difficult.
- Start pulling down and feathers. Pluck feathers in the direction of their growth, so the skin of the bird will not tear.
- After you remove all the feathers, carefully remove the “hemp”, it is more difficult to pull them out. If you are having difficulty with this, take ordinary tweezers that will hold stumps well. So spend a little more time, but better clean the bird. After that, you can remove all the remaining small feathers.
- To make sure that the carcass is fully plucked, burn the bird with fire. This can be done on a gas stove. To do this, turn on the gas and slowly and carefully process the carcass. Take care not to bring the bird close to the fire, because you can burn the skin of a turkey. Because of this, the meat will deteriorate faster and lose its presentation if a bird is being prepared for sale.
The next way is plucking a turkey with an iron. This method is most convenient to use if you are dealing with a domestic turkey, and not with a wild one.
You will need an iron with different heating modes. It’s best to take an iron that you no longer use.
Need to take:
- a pump inflating ordinary balls or mattresses;
- strong rope;
- any fabric, but preferably natural;
- a tank with water at room temperature (the tank can be any, either deep or shallow, in this case it does not matter);
- Iron with different heating modes.
Instruction:
- Place the bell of the pump between the neck and the skin of the duck.
- Gently and slowly pump air, making sure that the skin does not burst or crack.
- Inject air until feathers are raised. If this does not happen, try to repeat the previous steps, as the pump may be located incorrectly.
- After raising the feathers, pull the bell. Tie the throat of a turkey with a rope. So the air will not come out. The knot should be strong, but keep in mind that you will need to untie it, so watch how you are dressing the throat.
- Take a cloth and soak it well in water.
- Attach the fabric to the carcass and iron over it. Choose power so as not to burn the skin of the carcass. Usually on the iron this is mode number 2 or 3. If gauze is used instead of fabric, fold it several times because it is thinner and skin can be burned through it.
The process of plucking a turkey is simple, but be careful not to spoil the skin of the carcass (the meat will lose its presentation).
How to gut a turkey?
Prepare a knife with a thin blade so that it is convenient to cut the ligaments. They cut the belly of the bird and then take out the internal organs: stomach, heart and liver.
Carcass Gutting Instructions:
- Before gutting a turkey, you will need to cut off the limbs and both wings to the elbow joints. The head should be chopped off to the second joint of the spine.
- After that, make an incision along the entire neck. Remove the bones that are in the neck to make a hole. Feel the goiter there and cut it out without opening it.
- Now make an incision in the abdominal cavity. It should pass from the edge of the last rib to the urinary tract. Cut very carefully, do not touch the gall bladder. Remove all internal organs and cut out the cesspool.
In case of damage to the gallbladder so that all its contents are poured onto the carcass, rinse the bird thoroughly in salt water. This will eliminate all germs and eliminate the unpleasant odor that may appear.
- Leave the liver, heart, stomach out of the insides. The rest is not suitable for food. Cut the ventricle along and clean under running water, removing the inner shell.
- Rinse the carcass inside and out to remove any remaining blood. If you notice the “stumps” that remain after the initial plucking, remove them with tweezers.
cut off the limbs on the knee joint
make an incision in the whole neck
make an incision in the abdominal cavity and get all the insides
we cut out internal organs together with cesspool
if there are "stumps" after plucking, then remove them with tweezers
Full section
If you decide to use this method, cut the cervical to the second vertebral joint. Then chop off the joints of the limbs of the bird and take out all the internal organs.
Partial section
The neck should remain intact, the internal organs are removed, washed, then laid back into the carcass. Heart, stomach and liver can not be thrown away, they can be useful for gravy from offal and other dishes using these organs. Other organs are recommended to be thrown away; they are unsuitable for eating.
Step-by-step instructions for cutting turkey
The main process of cutting looks like this:
- To begin, lay the carcass on a hard surface. For this, an ordinary cutting board, which is in every kitchen, is ideal.
- Cut the skin with ligaments where the hips connect to the body of the turkey. Separate the legs from the legs, then separate the wings from the carcass.
- Incise under the thoracic part where the internal organs were. Make this incision through the skin. When you reach the ribs, use special scissors to cut the bird. Ordinary scissors will not work here, because their blade is dumber and the force of pressure is less, so it’s almost impossible to cut the bones.
- As a result, the turkey is divided into the following parts: wings, hips, breast, back and legs.
If you are going to cook the whole bird, you do not need to cut it.
The process of cutting the turkey is completely uncomplicated. The main thing is to follow the instructions so that everything is done correctly and not spoil the poultry meat.