Why do the chicken feet I bought have small eyes? Can I eat the small holes on the chicken feet?

Chicken feet, also known as phoenix feet, are the two feet of a chicken and are a common ingredient at home. They are delicious when used to make stewed food, soup, or barbecue. If you buy chicken feet at the market, you may find pinholes on them when you handle them. Why is this?

Why do the chicken feet I buy have small eyes?

1. These small holes are actually caused by the machine hooks that hang the chicken on the machine tool during slaughter.

2. If there are only a small amount of chicken feet, it is possible that the stall owner uses a toothpick or other object to poke holes in the chicken feet to drain the blood, for fear that blood will accumulate and the chicken feet will look stale the next day.

Another situation is that some small workshops kill chickens, but cannot sell all the chicken feet, so they keep them for the next day. Because there are no refrigerators in the vegetable market, they bleed the chickens to remove blood clots, creating the illusion that the chicken feet look fresh. However, the probability of this happening is also very small.

However, if possible, try to buy those without small holes. Although they are edible, they cannot be guaranteed to be edible due to mechanical perforation and the various links such as transportation and storage.

Can I eat chicken feet with small holes?

This is safe to eat.

If you want to increase the weight of chicken feet, you can simply soak them in ice water. It is not feasible to inject water into chicken feet by drilling holes. Besides, chicken feet are just bones, so where is the water? Chicken feet are not expensive. Injecting water into chicken feet is time-consuming and laborious, and the cost is high, which is not worth the effort. Even if you inject chicken, you inject it from under the wings, which is both concealed and effective. You will not inject into chicken feet.

How to buy better chicken feet

1. By looking at the color, the skin of fresh chicken feet is bright white and shiny, while the stale ones look dark in color and have residual yellow crust.

2. By touch, fresh chicken feet are firm and elastic, with a slightly dry or slightly moist surface but not sticky. Stale ones are just the opposite.

3. Smell it to see if there is any peculiar smell.