Checking the salt in the chicken mummy

[blondeviolin]

If we did the baking soda/washing soda/salt concoction with a cornish game hen, how often should I have to change the salt? I will check it daily for the first week, but a timeline might be good to have as a frame of reference. :lurk5:

[MeganW]

I haven't done it yet, but we did the initial prep this afternoon, and I am planning to go ahead and change it before bed tonight, and first thing in the morning, just in case. DH is really skeeved out by the whole thing, and I am afraid if he gets up in the morning and it is gross, he will trash the whole thing! So if I change before bed tonight, surely it will still be fine in the morning. :)

[MeganW]

We did the project at maybe 130 yesterday afternoon. We changed it before bed last night, so maybe 1030pm? It was definitely clumpy, and we had to use a knife to chip/break some (especially inside the cavity). It seemed a little past due. We changed it again this morning, and it wasn't nearly as wet - just a little clumpy but no chipping was needed. I think it was ready for changing, but not past due.

 

Now that we are into it, I am realizing that it would be hard to tell whether or not the inside needed changing without emptying it out. I am going on the theory that it is better to overchange than not change enough.

[StartingOver]

I changed ours every few hours for the first day, I didn't even want it to get mildly damp. LOL Then about every 6 hours the next 2 days, then to 12 hours for 2 more days, then once daily for another week, then weekly. I was amazed at how much it dried out almost immediately. The mixture did clump a bit, I just brushed off what I could, and put more in. I didn't wash it until it was done. The smell was very minimal, and I never had to play with wet chicken. ( I did soak it in rubbing alcohol for a few hours to start. )