Smart Eating

By Lula Todd

August 13, 2008 5:18 PM | Link to this

I would if I have to, but until then, no. I cut up whole chickens when I first got married, and have watched my mother do it many times, so I know I CAN. Unless I just have to, though, I’ll continue buying parts. I HATE touching raw meat, particularly chicken!

By Jen

August 13, 2008 7:13 PM | Link to this

More than likely not. Although, I do know how to do it like that. My mother taught me how to cut up chicken when I was younger and my first job was working @ KFC. So after seeing & feeling all the blood, fat, veins, gristle and slime…..I just cannot bring myself to eat it. “YUCK”……lol

By Betsy

August 13, 2008 8:09 PM | Link to this

I prefer to cut up my own chicken. It solves the problem of breasts and thighs not being the same size (don’t you hate a package with a ginormous piece and a little tiny one right alongside—so hard to figure out timing when cooking them).

By Sandra

August 13, 2008 9:57 PM | Link to this

I cut it up ALL of the time. Don’t like to; however, the price justifies the ickiness.

By Steve

August 14, 2008 2:46 AM | Link to this

.

^ Y’all are a bunch of weenies … ^

.

By Craig

August 14, 2008 8:02 AM | Link to this

I am a Meat Cutter by trade. I work for Publix, and we will cut up your chicken for free. I am pretty sure that most reputable grocers will also cut up your chicken for you.

By Sugar

August 14, 2008 8:15 AM | Link to this

I don’t have a problem handling raw meat. Chicken is no different that steak or pork. Just wash thoroughly afterwards…….no big deal.

By Kimberlee

August 14, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this

I always buy fresh whole chickens. Last Saturday I was met with a sign at the counter of the Dekalb Farmer’s Market that read they weren’t cutting chicken. I hope this is temporary because if I have to cut it myself I probably will butcher it. I perfer to roast my chicken whole and I pick it apart all week for various meals.

By mom-o-2

August 14, 2008 8:50 AM | Link to this

After getting sticker shock at the local grocery, I will start doing a great deal more of food prep, including making our own chicken strips and breast nuggets for dinners. I’ll even start doing the vegetables!

By Gwen

August 14, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this

If you dont like touching the raw meat that one thing, but it is cheaper to do it yourself. When I’m finished cutting seasoning and bagging for the freezer, I use bleach, soap and hot water and EVERYTHING and I mean everyting that came in contact with the raw meat gets soaked and wiped down. I’ve followed this practice for years. Never had a problem. Bleach is the key to sanitizing.

By bob

August 14, 2008 9:12 AM | Link to this

I kill my own chickens.

By sharon

August 14, 2008 9:22 AM | Link to this

I don’t have the time to cut up a chicken. I barely have time to cook it, so to answer the question, I buy the chicken already cut up. It costs more, but I save time.

By Chicken Little

August 14, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this

Money has nothing to do with it - I have always cut up chicken and other cuts of meat (pork, beef, fish) simply because it’s easy to do and I like having control of the pieces and being able to look at the meat and make sure everything is OK. If you’re going to cook a chicken on the grill - just cut it in half along one side of the breast and give each piece a little push to flatten it out - the halves cook faster than a whole bird, they’re easier to season and turn over, and they stay juicier. Another hint - a lot of times it’s easier to use kitchen shears to cut along the breast bone instead of a knife - less danger and very easy and quick.

By Randall

August 14, 2008 10:20 AM | Link to this

I occassionally buy the whole bird when on sale and cut them myself. It’s really not a big deal and is super simple. Takes less than 3 to 5 minutes. Some folk are just plain lazy. Kroger will sometime have in-store specials and sell the whole bird for $0.58 a pound! I bought 4 last week at the Brookwood store. Wow!

By Gerald

August 14, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this

Gross with a capital G! I’m a vegetarian, but my Jamaican wife is a Jerk chicken expert. She cuts the raw meat using both sides of the sink and counter top! I just stay out of the way until she finishes. I like the jerk marinade for my grilled tofu and curd dishes, but cutting up animal body parts is Gross!

By ChgoSuburbGirl

August 14, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

I buy organic & usually cut my own chickens. In my parent’s home we had to. I’m & always was a city girl but I even learned how to kill,pluck & clean them (my sister’s bright idea) when she was given 30 by a friend. Never again! LOL!! One thing that might help some of you, when cutting up chicken I wear disposable gloves if I have a cut or a manicure. :) Really it’s not bad and does save money. Please teach your older kids too. I taught my daughters AND SON and also the art of cooking. Now grown & on their own they appreciate those skills. They might not always use them but at least they know how. And no, I didn’t teach them to kill & pluck! : )

By MeatEatersTasteBetter

August 14, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this

Gerald - you eat something called ‘curd’ and you say meat is gross! Unbeweevable!

By slim

August 14, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this

I cut them up while wearing plastic disposable foodhandling gloves (a box of a thousand is only 7-8 bucks).

I’ll keep a double layered grocery bag out on the counter and put slime/fat/skin in it, as well as the gloves. This gets knotted and goes into the trashcan outside.

I do my initial washing using papertowels with soap and water (to avoid contaminating my sponges).

Incidentally, I recommend the Jamaican paste in a jar that can be found at Dekalb FM. I brine, rinse, then use the paste for at least a couple of hours, then grill indirect for 40-45 minutes. Good stuff.

By Mark

August 14, 2008 12:46 PM | Link to this

I prefer to choke my chicken.

By MrLiberty

August 14, 2008 12:51 PM | Link to this

Nearly everyone would be a vegetarian is they had to kill their own food and dress it.

ecoli and salmonella are just nature’s payback.

By Becky

August 14, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this

I would if I knew how..Part of my problem is that my husband & I only eat the chicken breast & I usually just buy these when they are on sale cheap..I don’t have a problem touching raw meat of any kind, I guess it’s just the era that I grew up in..But as others said, due to high prices on everything, will have to do some changing..

By Noelle

August 14, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this

I don’t have a problem handling raw meat. I’m usually the one prepping the turkey at Thanksgiving anyway. I just prefer the convenience of buying parts instead of whole chickens. I mostly eat boneless skinless breasts anyway, and I usually buy those frozen in big bags because it’s so much cheaper than fresh. I rarely even roast whole chickens — I buy cooked rotisserie chickens when they’re on sale.

By modestd

August 14, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this

I have never thought to do this. My mom use to when I was younger, but as I got into my teen years she stopped doing it. She was far to busy teaching and my dad can not cook to save his life. The videos make it seem easy enough, but so do rachel rays 30 (1 hour) minute meals. I think if I do it two or three times I should be able to do it as quickly as they do. Thanks for the informative post!

By wink

August 14, 2008 3:27 PM | Link to this

It’s better to buy a whole chicken and cut up. I was told that they cut up diseased (imperfect) chicken and sell the rest as parts.

By Tammy

August 14, 2008 4:10 PM | Link to this

I believe it is safer to cut your own. My theory is that individual pieces create more surface area. It is the surface areas where salmanella and ecoli are found. Add to all that surface area the amount of time the pre-cut pieces sit around on store shelves allowing the bacteria to multiply. Also, I prefer the chickens raised humanely. I have not too much problem eating the meat as long as I know the chicken was treated well.

By fer

August 14, 2008 5:53 PM | Link to this

Absolutely NOT! A whole chicken may be cheaper per pound but there’s a whole lot of waste in one also. Give me boneless, skinless any day!

By Lucia

August 14, 2008 7:32 PM | Link to this

I like to buy whole chickens on sale and cut them up. My knife skills aren’t perfect and I’m slow, but it’s very satisfying to use the whole bird. I don’t mind touching raw meat and I like to use the bones for stock. I suspect, though, that the boneless breasts are fresher than the bone-in chicken, due to turnover. My local Kroger has iffy coolers & I seem to return more bad bone-in chickens than boneless breasts. Now, that’s gross.

By Lula Todd

August 14, 2008 7:49 PM | Link to this

LOL, MrLiberty! I grew up on a farm, and we butchered our own meat and ate it for three meals a day. It’s only as I’ve gotten older, and away from that, that I’ve gotten squeamish.

By Elizabeth Lee

August 14, 2008 11:29 PM | Link to this

Craig, thanks for letting everyone know about the Publix policy. That’s a great tip.

By Tam

August 15, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

Mr. Liberty: What happens when E.Coli and other food-borne dieseases arise in vegetables? Could that be nature’s payback also?

I have no problem cutting up chicken. My husband and I do it quite often. It doesn’t take that long and it’s cheaper. We also love to rotisseri our own chicken, no cutting involved. Yummy!

By mot

August 15, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this

There is no waste with a whole chicken, after using the main pieces for main dishes, the remaining pieces that have very little meat on them: the neck, back, and the innards can be boiled to make chicken stock to use in soups or stews. Then for a healthy treat for your cat/dog—-the gizzard and liver and heart. Though I myself enjoy the liver. And if you use whole chickens a lot, you can take the livers and gizzards and freeze them till you have enough for any number of recipes calling for those parts.

So, no waste at all!!!! And if you get one for $0.58/pound, and you get several meals out of one chicken for pennies per meal!!!!

By Peta

August 15, 2008 11:11 AM | Link to this

I consider myself the expert of cutting up chicken.. In fact, i can cut-up a whole chicken in less than 5 minutes in perfect proporations.. I happen to be from jamaica and growing up you have to master that by age 10. In fact.. I cut up multiple chickens and seasoned them in advance so that I can plan my menu for the week. lol..

By Daniel

August 15, 2008 12:09 PM | Link to this

Oooohhhh….Gross!! Whole chicken…yucky !!

By FCM

August 15, 2008 7:17 PM | Link to this

When they make a whole chicken that is all breast I will consider it. Otherwise no. I don’t do tighs, necks, gizzards,liver,heart, legs, etc…So what would be he point.

By FCM

August 16, 2008 10:32 PM | Link to this

Perdue Chicken Breasts….BOGO @ Kroger.

By Jodi

September 7, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this

I was nine or ten years old when my daddy taught me how to cut up a chicken for frying. My mother wouldn’t touch raw poultry (after I started cooking when I was 7, she never went in the kitchen again uncupervised; I had to get the giblets out of the turkeys for her). It’s never bothered me though I am squeamish about a lot of things; I’ll cook stuff I wouldn’t eat. My husband is originally from a Pacific island nation and a lot of the indigenous food from his country of origin, I won’t touch. If I cook it, fine, but I don’t trust other people’s cooking on things I’m a little squeamish about. He tells me I’m just weird.

By first time

September 8, 2008 7:40 PM | Link to this

I accidently put a whole chicken into the crockpot until I read the last line that said “cut up” chicken. I looked up a video and watched it once in my office and went back downstairs to pull the chicken out (luckily it was still cold), and did exactly what the video said. It took me less than 2 mins to cut and figure everything out. Damn, i’ve been wasting tons of money on precut pcs! I think i’ll buy a bunch of whole chickens on sale and cut them all up but separate the chicken breast from the rest and freeze them!

By AC

November 3, 2008 2:35 AM | Link to this

Your grocery butcher will cut it up for you, for free. It takes a minute, you save $ and your local grocery butcher keeps his job. It’s all good, baby!