[HandyDandyAcres]

So...we butchered for the first time today. 5 Indian runner ducks around 2 lbs dressed out. Went pretty well. Hand plucked all but one. Tried skinning and probably won't do that again.

My rookie mistake...I realized as I finished the last bird that I had completely forgotten about the lungs on all of them. I was so worried about getting the vent/intestines out in one piece and not puncturing the gall bladder that once the cavity "appeared" clear I moved on.

I googled a bunch and didn't come up with much. There was one thread about people actually eating chicken lungs as a delicacy.

So my question...how bad of a mistake is this? And should I worry about trying to pry/scrape them out as we thaw and cook them?

 

[Muleman]

Personally I would not worry about it. I do not think it will affect the taste or quality, just looks bad maybe. You will have to thaw them out before eating them, so you can remove them then before you cook them. If I was boiling them for soup stock or something, personally I would probably not even do that, but that is just me.

 

[Danaus29]

If you've bought and cooked a whole bird (chicken or turkey) from a store, you've cooked lungs in a bird before. No big deal.

 

[Toffee]

I always clean out our chickens from the store and there are often a lot of organ pieces left in there, so no, I wouldn't stress. Just clean it when you thaw it. It will give you time to double-check for pin feathers you might have missed.

 

[HandyDandyAcres]

Thank you all! While I still feel a bit stupid, I am glad it's not an issue. Needless to say, I won't make that mistake again. 😜


HDAcres

 

[chickenista]

Yeah.. no biggie.
Any issues that were missed in butcher can be remedied before they hit the roasting pan, and if you don't.. no one really licks the inside of the carcass clean anyway, you know?

 

[ladycat]

I don't even bother removing the lungs from chickens, it's pointless.

 

[Muleman]

Not necessary, but not exactly pointless. It gives the kids something to do and adds to the "Stuff" for the scrapple!!!!

 

[WildernesFamily]

I'm more concerned that they're already in the freezer.. they should rest in the refrigerator for a few days before going into the freezer.

 

[Muleman]

I agree with the resting part, and I try to do it when I have time. But I know some of my chickens I have eaten within hours of butchering and they were still tender. But I do agree if a person can let them rest a few days it will insure they will not be made tough by the process.

 

[HandyDandyAcres]

What we read only said they needed to rest if they were going to be cooked instead of frozen. Otherwise straight into the freezer was fine and to just let them thaw over a couple of days in the fridge before cooking.

I thought I had seen folks on here talk about resting them before freezing but the site we were using as a guide said it was fine to immediately freeze. I guess we will see how these turn out. I wish I could find my Basic Butchering book. It's lost somewhere in a box from our move.


HDAcres

 

[motdaugrnds]

I always skin and immediately freeze my birds. Only when thawing, do they get a full day of rest.

As for the lungs: I'm too picky about what I prepare for the table. I might not worry were they going to the dogs; but very little gets past me when preparing birds for human consumption. This definately means the lungs. A couple of fingers at the back bone takes those out easy enough.