Skinning instead of plucking seems like a great option, but I read somewhere that skinned chicken has a shorter freezer life. how short is shorter? I mean for a whole chicken. Anyone had any problems with skinning instead of plucking?

-- Elizabeth (lividia66@aol.com), September 18, 2001

Answers

We raise around 50 meat birds per year, and skin all of them. We use a vaccum sealer, and the birds keep for a year in the freezer just fine.

-- Paula (chipp89@bellsouth.net), September 18, 2001.

I use a vaccum sealer also and that helps a lot. I would also suggest keeping the chicken in the refrig. for a day or two before freezing it. This seems to make the chicken more tender.

-- Tom S. (trdsshepard@yahoo.com), September 19, 2001.

Definitely chill birds before freezing!! I use a poor mans vacuum sealer.. stick a straw through the openning of your freezer bags and suck the air out of the bag then seal it quick with the twist tie! hee hee I got odd looks from my husband until I explained the logic behind it.

-- Alison in NS (aproteau@istar.ca), September 19, 2001.

I wrap all my meat twice. First it is sealed in a ziplock bag or whatever you choose and then refrigerated for 24 hrs. Second we then wrap it up in freezer paper and store in freezer. We do this with all our meat except for fish which we put water proof container and fill with water and then freeze. It keeps quite a while this way, we have never had any problems.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), September 19, 2001.

Double zip-lock freezer bags, they make a two gallon size that is just perfect for chickens, be sure to wash well and re-use the expensive things though!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), September 19, 2001.