How to Skin a Chicken: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Skinning a chicken can be an intimidating task for beginners, but with the right tools and techniques, it’s easier than you think. In this step-by-step guide, I’ll walk you through how to humanely skin a chicken from start to finish.

Why Skin a Chicken?

There are a few reasons you may want to skin a chicken rather than pluck it

• It’s faster – skinning can cut your processing time in half compared to plucking. Great if you’re butchering a large batch.

• Less mess – skinning eliminates the feathers flying everywhere that comes with plucking

• No special equipment needed – skinning just requires a sharp knife versus scalding tanks and pluckers for plucking.

• Tougher birds – older laying hens with coarse feathers can be easier to skin than pluck.

The main downside is you lose the skin, which provides flavor and moisture when the chicken is cooked. But for stews and casseroles, skinless chicken works great.

Step 1: Prepare Your Tools & Area

You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to skin a chicken, but having these items close at hand will make the job easier:

• Sharp knife – a sturdy 5-6 inch boning knife works perfectly.

• Cutting board – avoid wood boards as they can harbor bacteria. Plastic is best.

• Plastic bags – one for the skin/feathers, one for the meat.

• Rope – to secure the chicken’s legs before dispatching.

• Large bowl of water – for rinsing your knife and hands.

You’ll also want to prep your working area. Put down plastic sheeting or butcher paper over your work surface to catch any mess. And set up near a water source like a hose or sink.

Step 2: Dispatch the Chicken Humanely

There are a few methods to quickly and humanely dispatch a chicken. I prefer using a killing cone:

• Place the chicken upside down in a killing cone. This calms the bird and holds it securely.

• Pull the head down to expose the neck.

• Make a deep cut across the side of the neck near the head to sever the carotid artery.

• Let the bird bleed out before proceeding.

Once the bird is still and bleeding has stopped, it’s ready to be skinned.

Step 3: Start Skinning at the Breast

With the chicken still secured in the cone, make an incision in the skin at the tip of the breastbone.

• Grab hold of the skin on either side of the incision.

• Firmly pull the skin away from the breast meat, tearing the connective tissue.

• Continue tearing the skin downwards toward the abdomen on both sides.

• Pull the skin outward to remove it from the thighs.

• Cut carefully around the tail and vent area with the knife.

The goal is to end up with the entire breast and leg meat exposed and skinless.

Step 4: Remove the Entrails

Before removing the meat from the bones, we need to remove the entrails:

• Make a shallow incision up the belly of the chicken starting from the vent.

• Reach inside and cut around the anus, being careful not to cut any intestines.

• Pull the anus and attached entrails out slowly.

• Cut the ribs away from the backbone on both sides to fully expose the cavity.

• Scoop out any remaining organs and membrane.

• Cut away the neck, leaving the crop and windpipe attached.

• Pull out the windpipe, esophagus and crop in one piece.

Rinse the carcass thoroughly with water after removing all the entrails.

Step 5: Remove the Meat from the Bones

Now we can carve the skinned chicken away from the bone frame:

• Cut through the wing joints and separate the wings from the breasts.

• Run the knife down either side of the breastbone to remove the breast meat.

• Find the hip joint and pop each thigh out of the socket.

• Cut through the skin to remove the thigh and drumstick together.

• Repeat on the other side to remove the remaining leg.

Place the skinned boneless chicken pieces into a clean bag, and put the carcass and skin into a waste bag for disposal.

Step 6: Clean Up & Store the Meat

One final step remains – thoroughly cleaning up and storing the meat properly:

• Hose down your working area and tools with hot soapy water.

• Give the skinned chicken pieces a good rinse under cold water.

• Pat dry with paper towels.

• Place in sealed zip-top bags or vacuum pack if possible.

• Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before freezing.

• Use within 6 months for best quality.

And that’s it – with these steps you can quickly and cleanly skin a chicken! It just takes a bit of practice to get the technique down. Before you know it, you’ll be skinning chickens like a pro.

To remove feathers from a chicken, the most common method involves scalding the chicken in hot water, then plucking the feathers. Scalding helps loosen the feathers, making them easier to remove.