The Poultry Keeper

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2240 Location: North Cornwall

Does anyone know a good way to get the tendons from the legs when dressing poultry that doesn't pull a load of flesh out with them.
Thanks

Knobby · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 9:54 pm Post subject:

Well, thats put me off my chicken sandwich !!!! Confused

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2240 Location: North Cornwall

Well if thats put you off, just think how you'd feel if you got a bit of tendon in it Laughing

Knobby · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 10:00 pm Post subject:

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2240 Location: North Cornwall

Lisa · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 10:14 pm Post subject:

Erm, for someone who buys their chickens ready prepared - what exactly do you mean Jan? Confused

Not squeamish, give me the details...

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2240 Location: North Cornwall

When you cut the feet and scaley bit of leg off, you have to pull this hard and out comes all the tendons that work the feet. They are horrible if left in especially I think in pheasants and turkeys but you need to get them out of chickens as well.
Its really hard to do

debcat · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 11:21 pm Post subject:

I don't bother anymore Rolling Eyes

my fingers don't work like they used to so plucking is really hard. I have a really sharp knife and skin and cut the breast off then cut the leg meat off going round the tendons - the legs take longer to do than the breast

CP · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 1:08 am Post subject:

Never taken the ones out of ours? Confused

Not noticed any difference between ours & shop-bought ones? (chickens only, not turkeys)

We just cut off the feet with a chopper, tendons an' all. Rolling Eyes

Lisa · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:17 am Post subject:

I've found tendons in shop bought chicken legs, but I don't know if there are normally even more. Very nocticable when raw (cutting the meat up - not eating it raw Laughing

) but I don't seem to notice them when cooked. Though Ellie often gets the drumsticks - first time in decades I tried boning them last weekend to get the meat off for us.

I have noticed good quality Organic chickens are much stronger and tougher (not the meat). Must be the fact they're older, and had all that running around in the fresh air building up all those strong bones and tendons! Confused

I vaguely remember seeing something on River Cottage with a turkey (I think) - maybe when he was preparing the birds for his multibird roast? IIRC there was a bit of cutting, then the birds feet were fixed up somehow (nailed to the barn?) and then he pulled hard! Turkey tendons - now I remember them, they're almost as tough as bones...

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2240 Location: North Cornwall

Yes, we saw that, it was when he did the turkey for the big roast. It was a metal thing in the hinge of the door but couldn't quite make out what, or how the door closed with it in there.
Ducks I skin and take the breasts and legs off and braise the legs but a nice cockerel to roast whole is worth spending the time to do nicely I think.

I need to do a course on poultry dressing

Lisa · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:32 am Post subject:

Have you looked on the River Cottage forum? Or Downsizer? I'm sure you're not the first person to ask the question - its just finding where the answer is Laughing

What exactly do you do with the duck legs? Do you skin them too? Got a couple in the freezer and all the recipes I could find for just duck leg seemed to involve cooking them in heaps of fat Confused

PS and if you find a course in poultry dressing do let us know here!!

Issy · Joined: 22 Nov 2005 Posts: 371 Location: somerset

I'm afraid I am useless at removing the tendons and very rarely try any more. When i have spent far too long plucking the thing my patience has long run out!! (no excuse i know).

thandi · Joined: 07 Sep 2005 Posts: 215 Location: east sussex

http://forum.rivercottage.net/viewtopic.php?t=13015

illustrates how to dress a pheasie - nice pic of tendon removal.
hth
D.

alexa · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 336 Location: wiltshire

we had turkeys last year and we borrow this heavy metal hook off the butcher that pulled them out. im afraid im unsure what its called but it made it alot easier!
i think that link would be more helpful than me, sorry!

lex