Antique Furniture Upholstery: How To Cut-Up A Whole Fryer And $ave Money

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Whole Fryer

Chicago Cutlery

I know, I know this has nothing to do with antique furniture upholstery. But in my early years I was once a retail meat cutter. Today, yes I do furniture upholstery work, but I also like to cook (yes it shows) and I also sell Chicago Cutlery Knife Sets in my My EBay Store. Chicago Cutlery is synonyms with professional quality cutlery. You don't need a Chicago Cutlery knife to cut up a whole fryer but it does help to have a good sharp knife. You also need a clean cutting area and a clean cutting surface that you can wash with hot , soapy water when the job is completed.

The first thing that you need to do is go to your favorite grocery store and purchase a nice, plump whole fryer. I always watch for sales and I can pick up nice fryers for 69-89 cents per pound. This fryer I believe cost me under $5.00. When you are at the store buying your whole fryer notice how much per pound already cut-up fryers and fryer parts are per pound.

Once I have the fryer at home I place the package in the sink and open it up. This allows all of the fryer juices to escape and go down the drain. While in the sink I remove the giblets and neck from the cavity of the fryer. I also remove the excess fat around the opening of the cavity. At this time I go ahead and cut the tail portion off of the fryer. These pieces that I have removed can be thrown away (which is what I do) or can be retained, frozen and used for soup stock at a future date. I then thoroughly wash the fryer in cold water, filling the cavity with cold water a couple of times to get all of the chicken juice out. I then pat dry with paper towels and place on my clean cutting surface.

Once I have finished with the above steps I place the fryer breast side down. When you are cutting a fryer, with a knife, you are cutting between the joints. I grasp the wing tip and wiggle the wing around to find the joint between the wing and the body of the fryer. I cut through that area and repeat the process on the other wing.

wing portion

the wing is in three parts. The wing tip, the middle and the portion closest to the body of the fryer. I separate these potions, again finding the joint area and cutting through those areas.

Meaty Wing Portions

I throw away the wing tip portion or you can add it to your soup stock collection and use at a later date.

Separating Leg/Thigh Portion

The next step is to lay the fryer on its back. Grasp the end of the fryer leg and wiggle the leg to find where there thigh is attached to the body. Cut down through the meat and through the soft joint. Repeat this process on the other leg/thigh portion.

Separate Leg/Thigh Portion

Take the leg/thigh portion and again wiggle it around to see where the joint is and cut down through the meat and through the soft joint. Repeat this process on the other leg/thigh portion.

Back /Breast Portion

When you have detached the leg/thigh portion you will have the breast and the attached portion. Grasp the one end of the back (tail end) and sharply bend backwards away from the breast portion. This action will break the bone and you can then finish by cutting through the meat to detach this back portion away from the breast portion.

Back/Breast Portion

What you will have left is the breast with back portion. I take this piece and lay the breast side on the cutting board. I securely grasp my knife and lay it in the middle of the back. I take the palm of my other hand and lay it across the top edge of the knife pointing my finger out away from the knife. I then, with a sharp, forceful motion push the knife down through the bones and meat until the portion is cut in half.

Two Breast Portions

You are finished.

Ready To Cook

Here you have, I believe there are 12 different fryer portions ready to bake, fry or grill using your favorite recipe. When finished cutting up the fryer make sure that you dispose of any paper towels that you used to wipe up the chicken juice. You must also thoroughly clean the cutting area, the cutting board and your knife with hot soapy water.