Cleaning Fresh Poultry

If you buy a fresh-killed chicken or duck in a Chinese or other ethnic market, it will be sold to you eviscerated but with the head and feet left on. Removing the appendages, storing what’s useful for stock, and cleaning the bird is a simple matter of about 5 or 10 minutes. What you’ll need is a sturdy, large cutting board (I prefer the thick white plastic sort for the thoroughness with which you can clean it), a sturdy cleaver or chef’s knife with a thick blade designed for chopping through bones, and the following game plan.