Bought a whole chicken instead of just thighs last week and had to learn how to break it down.

Ended up with enough meat for three meals and a bag of bones for stock, but I spent 20 minutes watching YouTube just to get the legs off cleanly - has anyone else tried switching cuts to save money and regretted the extra work?

3 comments

3 Comments

lewis.brian16d ago

Man, "mangled mess that looked like it lost a fight" is a great way to put it, but also like, is it really that deep? You spent twenty minutes on it once and now you're swearing off whole chickens forever. I get it, it's annoying, but it's not like you're rebuilding a transmission. If you messed up the first time, you just eat some ugly chicken pieces. It all tastes the same in a pot. Half the stuff we buy pre-cut isn't even cut that clean either, you ever look at a pack of store thighs? Sawdust and weird fat chunks.

logan_wood16d ago

Started learning this same lesson a few months back when I noticed how much cheaper it is to buy a whole chicken. What I found is that the first time you do anything new it takes way longer than you expect. Like when I tried changing my own oil for the first time or replacing a faucet washer. After you've done it a couple times the whole thing becomes second nature and you start wondering why you ever paid someone else to do it.

johnson.river16d ago

Gotta disagree hard on this one. That whole chicken math never added up for me when you factor in all the wasted bones and skin and weird parts I don't know what to do with. Plus the first time I tried breaking one down I spent twenty minutes sawing through joints and ended up with a mangled mess that looked like it lost a fight. I'd rather just pay the extra couple bucks for pre-cut breasts and thighs.