Nice breast cut?

[MissPrissy]

Kitchen scissors and poultry shears are 2 different things.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/search.asp?Keywords=poultry+shears

 

[Cason]

Thanks.. so those poultry shears WILL cut that breast bone with no problems, right?
If that's the case I'd rather buy a set or two rather than a saw.

 

[MissPrissy]

Yes, they will cut through bone - and your fingers, use with care.

 

[Cason]

GREAT! I'm off to buy a pair!

 

[dancingbear]

The way I do this, I first cut off the wishbone piece. I place it on the cutting board bone side down. Feel just below the highest peak of bone, toward the end with the two "points". There's a slight depression in the bone. Slice down at an angle into that depression, toward the center of those two "points". Then cut the wishbone tips free of the other, heavier bone in the two points. That gives you a nice extra piece if white meat with the intact wishbone in it. Then I turn the rest of the breast upside down, (bone side up) cartilage end toward me, stick the point if the knife into the cartilage bit where it joins the bone, and cut down through the cartilage and the tip if the breast. Then I turn it around, the bonier end toward me, stick the knife point into the the softer portion of the bone at that end, then press the back of the blade with one hand, to hold the tip in the bone, while pressing the handle down with the other hand, fracturing the bone. Because the piece isn't flat, you'll have to tip that piece down so that the bone is resting on the cutting board, don't try to do this with the bone up in the air. You can usually do one or two "stab/press/fractures", moving closer to the center each time. Once that is done, I grasp both sides and bend it down to break the remaining bone. It will usually break pretty easily at that point. It won't be as smooth as you'd get with a band saw, but it won't cost you any extra money or storage space for a large tool, either.

I hope this description makes sense, it's hard to write directions!

 

[Cason]

Thanks!

 

[MamaDragon]

For bone-in chicken breasts:

starting at the tail of the bird, using a boning knife - slice up each side, thru the cartilage where the ribs come together all the way to the "armpit"; lay the bird open. Slice thru the sholder joints, giving you two halves of the bird: breast and back.

I do not cut the wishbone seperately.

Lay the breast half skin-side down on a towel over a cutting board (or non-sliding matting of some kind), shoulder end away from you.

There will be a "valley" across the top of the breast, place your knife there, and slice toward you thru the cartilege to the keel bone.

Turn the breast around, with shoulders toward you. Reposition the knife into the cut you just made; cut down to the skin, thru the wishbone.

Turn the breast again, shoulders away from you. Grasp the breast in both hands, one holding each rib-cage; Fold the breast in half away from you (skin-sides together), until the keel bone "snaps" and starts to pop free.

Lay the breast on the cutting board; place "off hand" (left if you are right-handed, right if you're left-handed) over the wish-bone area, and pull the keel bone out.

Take a sharp knife and slice thru the skin and any uncut flesh where you just removed the keel bone.

Voila! Two breast halves! I've got this down to where I can fully cut a whole chicken carcass in about 8 minutes.

For slightly larger breast pieces - instead of cutting up the sides of the chicken, I cut parallel to the spine on both sides, from "waist" to neck, wherever the meat on the ribs thins out to "not worth the effort to eat"; usually close to the spine.

Backs, neck and wing tips go in the stock pot. Once I have "home-grown" birds for the table, the feet will go in the pot as well. I've been told that it gives a good golden color, better flavor and gelatin to the stock.

BTW - save your bones after dinner. You can still throw those into the stock pot, and the double cooking gives you a deeper color, and more intense flavor.

 

[Cason]

There will be a "valley" across the top of the breast, place your knife there, and slice toward you thru the cartilege to the keel bone.

Turn the breast around, with shoulders toward you. Reposition the knife into the cut you just made; cut down to the skin, thru the wishbone

You must have a really big knife. I find it nearly impossible to cut through a breast bone.​

 

[MamaDragon]

Quote:
You must have a really big knife. I find it nearly impossible to cut through a breast bone.

No, I'm referring to what would be the collarbone on us. With the breast skin-side down, there's a small piece of cartilege and the WISHBONE from there to the top of the breastbone / keel bone. Maybe I should have said "top edge of the breast, between the shoulder joints." It's only about 1/2 inch across/thru it to the bone. In this pic, they left the keel bone in, and no, it isn't hard to cut thru either.... just a SHARP knife and some pressure along the back of the blade with your "off hand". They used a 10" chef's knife here.

As for the knife, it's a 40+ yr old boning knife, about 7 inches long carbon steel.