Need mummy chicken help

[nellecv]

So mummifying a chicken is on our schedule for next week, but I'm scared. I have a very sensitive nose, and I gag and retch easily. How bad is this process? When I open the bag after the first week, will it stink really badly? I'm hoping that I can convince my husband that this is a gross overgrown-boy project that he should handle, but just in case...

[Five More Minutes]

It's surprisingly not stinky. Really.

 

We did it in the late summer when it's hot, and I left it in our porch, and there was no stench. It does have a smell, but it's not strong or ... stinky. :001_smile: The trick is to change the salt/soda mixture often, I think. I've heard of situations where the mixture didn't get changed frequently enough, and THAT led to a rotten, stinky mess.

 

ETA: We didn't leave it for a week before changing the mixture the first time. I think it was one or two days later. Then again a couple of days later. Then it started to stretch out to several days before it needed to be changed, and finally every week or 10 days.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Lynnita

[boscopup]

:iagree: It's not that bad, really. Do the salt mixture. Gets LOTS of the ingredients and/or do a cornish game hen instead of a full sized chicken. :)

 

I still have my chicken on top of my fridge, sitting in salt. We did it Feb. 2011. :tongue_smilie:

 

Also, I started out using ziploc bags, but then transferred to a large bowl with a tight fitting lid. I'm so glad I switched to the bowl! It was MUCH easier to deal with.

 

There is a slight smell, but it isn't the gross, rotten chicken smell that most of us know too well. ;)

 

Don't forget to clean the chicken well with alcohol first. That should help with preventing the smell. I've heard of some people dipping the chicken in the alcohol and soaking it.

[MamaSheep]

If a chicken is too intimidating, you could try mummifying an apple instead.

 

http://www.planet-science.com/categories/experiments/chemistry-chaos/2011/11/mummify-an-apple!.aspx

[Matryoshka]

Use a Cornish hen, not a chicken.

 

Use a Tupperware container, not a plastic bag.

 

Use a preservative that actually includes Natron, not just salt and baking soda.

 

Recipe for Natron:

 

2 parts baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

2 parts washing soda (sodium carbonate) - find in the detergent aisle

1 part salt (sodium chloride ;))

 

(I found 1 "part" being a cup was about right for a Cornish hen).

 

Done this twice, no muss, no fuss, no stink. You also have to change the stuff maybe once, not weekly. Between the smaller hen and much less changing, it also saves you big $$ to do it this way.

 

The washing soda has a very different consistency from baking soda, and does a much better job removing moisture and drying out the chicken quickly. It was the main ingredient in the Natron salt that the Egyptians used - regular salt and sodium bicarbonate were only trace ingredients.

Edited June 5, 2012 by matroyshka

[nellecv]

Thanks for all the super helpful advice! I'll try to track down some washing soda. We're definitely doing a cornish hen. My daughter has always wanted to buy one because they're so darn cute. (Well, as cute as a dead, headless hen can be.) I have to admit that I'm pretty excited about this. My mum would NEVER have let me mummify a chicken in her kitchen!

[StartingOver]

I avoided almost all smell, and all mess by changing the salt / soda very often in the beginning. Every 2 hours the first day ( All day, I did not get up at night. ) Then every 4 hours the next day. Every 6 hours the next day. Then once a day for the duration.

 

I had seen a friend do one and she had photographed the bird in a wet fluid filled bag. That was not going to happen to me !!!! So I changed that bird over and over and over before it even got remotely damp. What odor there was, was easily covered by cinnamon !

 

Good luck.

[Five More Minutes]

I avoided almost all smell, and all mess by changing the salt / soda very often in the beginning. Every 2 hours the first day ( All day, I did not get up at night. ) Then every 4 hours the next day. Every 6 hours the next day. Then once a day for the duration.

 

I had seen a friend do one and she had photographed the bird in a wet fluid filled bag. That was not going to happen to me !!!! So I changed that bird over and over and over before it even got remotely damp. What odor there was, was easily covered by cinnamon !

 

Good luck.

I forgot about adding cinnamon and cloves, which quickly masked any of the slightly weird odor. :001_smile:

[NotSoObvious]

Plan ahead, don't forget about it, and you'll be fine.

 

It's a project my girls will remember for the rest of their lives!

 

Also, we finished right at Halloween, so the girls built a tomb for it and showed it off to all the trick or treaters. It was great.

[ScoutTN]

Use a Cornish hen, not a chicken.

 

Use a Tupperware container, not a plastic bag.

 

Use a preservative that actually includes Natron, not just salt and baking soda.

 

Recipe for Natron:

 

2 parts baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

2 parts washing soda (sodium carbonate) - find in the detergent aisle

1 part salt (sodium chloride ;))

 

(I found 1 "part" being a cup was about right for a Cornish hen).

 

Done this twice, no muss, no fuss, no stink. You also have to change the stuff maybe once, not weekly. Between the smaller hen and much less changing, it also saves you big $$ to do it this way.

 

The washing soda has a very different consistency from baking soda, and does a much better job removing moisture and drying out the chicken quickly. It was the main ingredient in the Natron salt that the Egyptians used - regular salt and sodium bicarbonate were only trace ingredients.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

This. We did all these things and had no problems at all.

Spices are good too. We used cinnamon and allspice and cloves.

[materursa]

I'll try to track down some washing soda.

 

I find washing soda in my grocery store's laundry aisle. It seems to typically be a bottom-shelf item.

 

HTH