Katra wrote:

>
> "Warren H. Prince" wrote:
>
>>In a recent thread, several of you mentioned using chicken feet in
>>chicken stock. I was wondering how you prep the feet before use.
>>Obviously, they have to be cleaned well, but I remember someone telling
>>me they have to be peeled or skinned before use. Seems to me that
>>peeling them would be more work than they're worth. Also, what ratio of
>>bones (backs/necks/breast trimmings) to feet would you use? Just throw
>>a few in a pot or a pound of feet to say five pounds of assorted bones?
>
>
>
> Feet purchased from the store are already peeled and cleaned, and ready
> for cooking. :-)
>
> If you have "fresh" feet, (and I do if I am processing my own birds),
> you need to peel them first.
>
> Generally, when I am plucking a bird, it needs to be scalded, so I just
> scald the feet at the same time by leaving them ON the carcass. Scalding
> is similar to blanching. It makes the feathers come out _much_ easier.

But what a smell, huh? Not much captures nasal passages like a freshly
killed chicken being raised and lowered into boiling water.

My grandmother raised chickens and it was my job to pluck them. One
time she asked my grandfather to kill and clean a chicken. He didn't
want to and said so. She insisted and insisted again. So he finally
did. He took his shotgun out to the chicken yard and shot one.
Literally blew its head off. Cut it open from neck to tail and let
everything fall out. Cut the neck more cleanly and cut off the feet.
Then to finish elegantly, he simply skinned it and discarded skin,
feathers and all. He brought this sorry-looking chicken back in and
announced that he would be happy to kill and clean chickens, and this
is how they would be done. It continued to be my job to pluck the
chickens.

> I
> had a HELL of a time plucking ducks until someone from the poultry list
> told me to add a little dish soap to the scalding water! Worked like a
> charm. :-) Same goes for geese.

I wish we had known about that.

> If you have just the feet, wash them well then dunk them in boiling
> water for around 15 seconds. Not too long or they will break up when you
> try to peel them!
>
> The scales/skin and toenails peel off easily if you do it right and you
> end up with nice clean feet. I've done chicken, guinea, duck and turkey
> feet the same way. There is not much difference.

When we had chicken stew back in the late 40's and early 50's, the
head and feet were in the pot along with comb and wattles (which feel
like earlobes).

> Emu feet are gross. I only did those once. Never, EVER again! :-P Those
> get dried and given to the dogs as chews now.
>
> I normally cook about 1 lb. of feet by themselves at a time. The stock
> made from feet is so rich and delicious, I don't normally mix it with
> other bones, but I don't see why you could not. :-)
>
> The gel that comes from the cooked feet is yummy on it's own. <G>
>
> I always add onions, garlic and celery to my initial stock before it is
> cooked to add more flavor. And it smells better too. Cooking bones by
> themselves with no other additions smells kinda funny.

I like celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Sometimes a bit of turnip for
a nice, distant bite to it.

Pastorio