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Post by scrub-buster on Jan 5, 2024 10:20:30 GMT -5
I switched to maceration instead of cooking skulls this year. I liked that method much better. Basically zero time and effort involved. I kept them in a chest freezer heated to 100⁰ with a thermostat and a ceramic heat bulb. I put 4 capsules of bromelain in each bucket of water. One week later the skulls were perfectly clean after hosing them off. Now I have them degeasing at 115-120⁰ with Ammonia. I'll alternate with Dawn soap every water change. I could tell a difference between the macerated skulls and some that I cooked last year. The macerated skulls were cleaner and already looked whiter. Cooking them puts grease deeper into the bone. The way I'm doing them this year will take longer, but it's less physical work. The end result will be much better. These pictures are after maceration and before I started degreasing. The last picture is my degreasing set up.     |
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Post by whitetaildave24 on Jan 5, 2024 10:24:05 GMT -5
That’s pretty neat and a nice set up.
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Post by steiny on Jan 5, 2024 12:37:09 GMT -5
Looks good but I wouldn't hardly call that zero effort.
Quite a bit of effort went into getting set up and coming up with the components to do that, plus figuring it out.
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Post by drfleck on Jan 5, 2024 12:49:38 GMT -5
Those turned out real nice!
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Post by scrub-buster on Jan 5, 2024 13:11:24 GMT -5
Looks good but I wouldn't hardly call that zero effort. Quite a bit of effort went into getting set up and coming up with the components to do that, plus figuring it out. The cost was around $50 for the supplies. There shouldn't be any more costs besides electricity, bromelain capsules, and bulbs if they burn out. The work involved wasn't much, bringing home free chest freezers, drilling a few holes and mounting the light fixtures. Going forward the only work will be moving a few buckets of water each year. When I was cooking skulls I'd have to watch them close to make sure the temperature was just below a boil, dip out oil from the water, pressure wash the skulls, and then hand clean the meat off of them. It was pretty time consuming. And a decent amount of work. The older I get the more I realize the value of my time. |
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Post by scrub-buster on Jan 5, 2024 13:12:16 GMT -5
It will take several weeks of degreasing to get them ready for whitening.
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Post by bill9068 on Jan 5, 2024 13:44:14 GMT -5
Looks good.
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Post by titanium700 on Jan 5, 2024 21:13:39 GMT -5
I bet that smells fabulous.
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Post by scrub-buster on Jan 5, 2024 23:25:51 GMT -5
I bet that smells fabulous. The maceration process does create a unique odor. It didn't bother me though. I've worked at a sewer plant for over 20 years. I can handle just about any smell. |
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Post by steiny on Jan 7, 2024 9:32:41 GMT -5
I bet that smells fabulous. Yea I hope that isn't indoors. |
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Post by scrub-buster on Jan 7, 2024 10:00:17 GMT -5
I bet that smells fabulous. Yea I hope that isn't indoors. My maceration set up is outside at our barn. It's far away from any houses. My degreasing set up is in the garage and doesn't smell. |
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Post by astronankin on Jan 7, 2024 10:25:06 GMT -5
Is this cheaper than cooking? Just wondering because this sounds like an interesting method.
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Post by esshup on Jan 7, 2024 11:38:31 GMT -5
It was pretty time consuming. And a decent amount of work. The older I get the more I realize the value of my time. This is so true. |
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Post by scrub-buster on Jan 7, 2024 14:44:43 GMT -5
Is this cheaper than cooking? Just wondering because this sounds like an interesting method. It depends on what you have to buy for a cooking set up. Now that I have everything my only costs will be electricity. |
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Post by scrub-buster on Jan 7, 2024 14:47:51 GMT -5
I changed the water today. This is the second time doing that. It's still pulling out a lot of grease from the bone. You can see globs of it floating on the surface. The skulls are looking good. I should have got a picture of them. I switched to dawn soap this time. I'll see how it does compared to the Ammonia.   |
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Post by scrub-buster on Mar 3, 2024 23:40:36 GMT -5
I think they are finally done degreasing. The water has never been clear like this. It's been a week since I changed it last. These should be ready for whitening. I put 3 more skulls in to start degreasing. My big one from 2022 is in there. I'm anxious to see it done and on the wall.  |
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Post by scrub-buster on Mar 5, 2024 20:51:24 GMT -5
They are dry and look good. I haven't even started the whitening process yet.  |
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Post by titanium700 on Mar 5, 2024 23:07:26 GMT -5
That looks better than boiling it.
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Post by scrub-buster on Mar 6, 2024 6:11:42 GMT -5
That looks better than boiling it. Yes it does. I've been boiling/simmering them for about 15 years. These definitely look cleaner and have the fine nasal bones intact. |
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