I cut up a chicken!!

natalie_ca

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I cut up a chicken today!  Safeway had whole chickens on sale, 3 per bag, so I bought a bag.

I have never cut up a chicken, so I used this video, and it was quite easy once I got over the ICK factor of touching raw meat!!! 

I'll never buy chicken parts again!!!

I cut up 2 chickens and am cooking the 3rd one whole for dinner.



 

ritz

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And where were your cats when you did this..... :) Ritz would have wanted a piece!
I fed prey model raw. Sometimes I'll buy quarter chickens and cut them up, but find it's hard on my wrists--and knife! Otherwise, I'll wait for boneless chicken thigh to go on sale--and if I'm really lucky, I'll buy them at their "sell by" date and get an additional discount.
I've since started making my own [lactose] free yogurt--so much better tasting and cheaper--not to mention delicious--than store bought. IMHO.
 
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natalie_ca

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And where were your cats when you did this.....
Ritz would have wanted a piece!
I fed prey model raw. Sometimes I'll buy quarter chickens and cut them up, but find it's hard on my wrists--and knife! Otherwise, I'll wait for boneless chicken thigh to go on sale--and if I'm really lucky, I'll buy them at their "sell by" date and get an additional discount.
I've since started making my own [lactose] free yogurt--so much better tasting and cheaper--not to mention delicious--than store bought. IMHO.
My cats don't like people food.  Other than lactose free milk from my cereal which Katie and Abby adore, none of them like any people food of any kind, not even tuna.
 

furmonster mom

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I learned how to cut up a whole chicken when I was about 12.  It actually came in handy in a very odd way ....

When I was younger,  my mom was working with a breeder and we were caring for one of the pregnant queens.  I came home from school to discover that the cat had birthed the litter on her own, but the kittens were all tangled up in the placenta and chords.  It was a frightening mess.  I very carefully carried the blanket of kittens to the kitchen counter where I had the best light, and examined the tangle.  I picked out the most likely spot to cut, feeling carefully that it wasn't a tiny little leg... one snip, and they all tumbled apart.  Unfortunately, only 3 survived, but I was just so relieved that my touch from cutting up the chickens had not led me astray.

These days I buy whole chickens from Costco and cut them up pretty regularly (I get about 3 days of meals for 5 animals outta one chicken).  The video is pretty spot on.  One thing I'd mention is that the wing joint is actually a 3-way joint: back, breast, & wing, all meeting at that spot.  Also, while it's pretty easy to follow the fat lines, I tend to look at the ribs from the inside and cut along the cartilage, same result.

Anyway, congrats on learning a new skill!  Like the lady says, it may take a few minutes of your time, but you get a better value for your dollars in the long run.
 

nurseangel

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I cut up a chicken today!  Safeway had whole chickens on sale, 3 per bag, so I bought a bag.

I have never cut up a chicken, so I used this video, and it was quite easy once I got over the ICK factor of touching raw meat!!! 

I'll never buy chicken parts again!!!

I cut up 2 chickens and am cooking the 3rd one whole for dinner.



I'm impressed!  I know you are a nurse, but that doesn't help much with overcoming the raw chicken ick factor, does it?  
 

Winchester

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Congrats! 

I never buy chicken parts unless they're for a specific purpose. A tray of chicken legs or thighs for the grill, for example. I do buy boneless, skinless breasts often, usually when they're a BOGO. Most of the time, it's cheaper to buy a whole chicken and cut it yourself....you'd be surprised how much money you can save that way. When I need chicken to make Chicken Fricassee or Parmesan Chicken or something similar, I always buy a whole one and cut it. 

If you don't like touching raw meat, I don't mind it, as long as it's not a pig stomach (I simply cannot touch a raw pig stomach; once it's stuffed and cooked, I'm fine), buy some food-grade plastic gloves and keep them on hand. My hair stylist sells me a box of 100 gloves and they come in handy for lots of things. I have fairly long fingernails and I hate for food and such to get under my nails....that's a squeamish factor for me.

Our grocery store recently had large oven roasters on sale for $.98 per pound. We bought two. One I'm going to do rotisserie-style (recipe is in the Recipe Exchange) and the other will be roasted for a Sunday dinner later on this fall. I still have one chicken that's a few months old and needs to be used, and that one is going into chicken corn soup for the freezer on Saturday morning.
 
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