We all know that the trick to good home cooking is to use the right tools, whether it’s an apron, a sharp knife, or a good cutting board. While we need those tools, knowledge holds the key to effective cooking. We are not just referring to the recipe but also how you chop the meat to be used. Chicken is one of the most popular meats in the world, and it is the most popular meat in America. Being the most popular meat, do you know how to break down a chicken?
Chicken: Every Part Counts
Before we go to how to break down a chicken, let’s get to learn more about the meat part of the chicken.
Chicken pieces are one of the easiest things to eat and use in the kitchen. When you eat a chicken, you’re getting not just the parts you like, but all the other parts as well. To break down a chicken, you have to have a good understanding of how the chicken is put together. The main parts of a chicken that you need to know about are the breast, drumstick, thigh, and leg.
For example, the thighs and legs are a little fattier and less tasty, but the breasts are a bit leaner and tastier. Furthermore, the breasts are made of smaller pieces of meat since a whole chicken breast has a few extra pieces in it; like the leg and thigh, there are a few smaller pieces of breast meat. Meanwhile, the wings are a bit salty and tasty, but the drumsticks are a bit fattier and more tasteless.
If you’ve ever tried to break down a chicken, you know how difficult it is to get the meat off the bones. The problem is that the bones are very fragile, and most people just cut them off. But, if you want to get the best chicken in the world, it’s important to learn how to break down a chicken. If you do it right, the chicken will be incredibly tender and flavorful, and you’ll be able to shred the meat from the bones.
How do we break down a chicken?
Have you ever wondered how to break down a chicken? Well, there are two ways, one gentle and one not so much.
- The easy way is to grab the bird by the back legs, pull down, break the spine and neck, and hold each half piece, so the bird is flat on the table. Then, you can use your knife to saw through the backbone and tear it into pieces.
- The hard way is much more tedious but also much more effective. It requires finding a neighbour who wants to help you split the bird, then cutting off the wings and head. It also requires the bird to be roasted over a fire with the backbone and head on the lower part of the carcass so that they can be easily pulled off.
Which of them is best? That’s easy. The best way to break down a chicken is to slowly and carefully cut down the spine of the chicken, then the leg bones, then the wing bones, and finally the breast bones using a sharp knife. Also, debone the chicken as carefully and slowly as you can, because if it isn’t cut well, the meat will not be cooked as well.
Other important things to consider…
Chicken is one of the most common meats in the world and is commonly enjoyed as a part of many dishes. The act of breaking down a chicken involves removing its parts, and the most common type of chicken is a roaster, which is usually bought whole and then butchered. A roaster chicken, which is a young chicken, can weigh anywhere from 5-8 pounds, depending on the size of the chicken itself. Since a roaster chicken is young, it has less meat and is also tougher, though this can be fixed by cooking it correctly.
Most of us are afraid of breaking down a chicken. We’re afraid of being exposed to all the blood, fat, and gore, and we’re reluctant to get our hands dirty; we worry about the mess and our lack of chicken experience. But sometimes, we just need the meat for one thing or another, and breaking down that chicken is sometimes the only way to get it.