Cutting Chicken Fillets

Tree

honestly, run your knife sharpener over the side ofthe fork a few times. dont put the fork in your mouth but you could use it for cutting things no hassle

Dizzyblonde

Peewee_lane wrote: »

Aw cheers dizzyblonde -next week folks, cutting celery with a fork!

Aw no!! I was hoping it'd be 'mashing eggs with a spoon'

delly

Next to ironing, cutting chicken fillets is one of my big pet hates. I currently use the disposable gloves routine which works well and prevents the crappy little bits of meat from getting under the fingernails.

Thankfully my good wife knowing of my hate for the procedure does the dirty deed on my behalf, once I have a bottle of Chardonnay popped and waiting in the wings .

Tree

i suppoe if you're really lazy/hate cutting them that much, many butchers sell prechopped chicken.

TequilaMockingBird

I agree, I think the OP was a little "shot down" with her tip. Not really necessary imo.

My sister hates touching any meat as well. She uses the scissors to cut the meat directly over the saucepan, and for any trimming holds it over the original packet. Minimal touchage!

Looking forward to next weeks installment Peewee!

CombatCow

I use a fork and stick it into the "thicker" end of the fillet and then run it under the tap for a sec, then use a scissors to cut from the bottom up...and it just fall's into the pan,simple.

CC

Dr. Loon

I just use a very sharp chefs knife for everything. I know people that use scissors, but I disagree with it. I think control is lost, as well as feel. I honestly think you should "feel" what you're working with. Sounds weird I know, but to me it seems right. A knife all the way for me, but a good knife.

It's odd the way some people can't watch a chicken for example being killed, or want to handle a prepared fillet, yet it's their favourite food!? I think everyone should understand how their chicken curry got to the plate, and so on. with other animals and cuts.

Dizzyblonde

Dr. Loon wrote: »

It's odd the way some people can't watch a chicken for example being killed

Er, no actually - some of us are just too squeamish to look at that. For me it has nothing to do with being in denial about an animal being killed to feed me.

Feel free to kill a chicken in front of me, but only if you have the time to resuscitate me afterwards

the beer revolu

Skinless, boneless chicken fillets are my pet hate!!!!:D

I always find it odd that the driest, least flavourful part of the chicken commands the premium price.

Still, I shouldn't complain, it means that the yummy thighs are more or less a by product and cost a pittance!:)

Sparks

Wouldn't mind the taste, but I'm an odd sort of squeamish - I don't mind sliminess or carving up chunks of meat, but boning a joint just turns my stomach a bit. If they sold pre-boned thighs....

the beer revolu

Sparks wrote: »

Wouldn't mind the taste, but I'm an odd sort of squeamish - I don't mind sliminess or carving up chunks of meat, but boning a joint just turns my stomach a bit. If they sold pre-boned thighs....

They do sell thigh fillets in the English Market in Cork.

I think Tesco's used to do packs of them too.

pvt.joker

Thaedydal wrote: »

Use a knife and fork.

Really how hard is that, use fork to put fillet on cutting board, use fork to steady fillet and cut with knife.

+1


I thought that's what everyone did

Sparks

the beer revolu wrote: »

They do sell thigh fillets in the English Market in Cork.
I think Tesco's used to do packs of them too.

Cork's out since I'm in Dublin, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for them in Tesco.
Breast meat's nice for some tasks - like a quick from-a-jar curry at seven in the evening after a long day at work when you've no time for anything fancy - but for anything where you're going for a nice meal with lots of flavour, I'm all in favour of the thighs

Dizzyblonde

Sparks wrote: »

Cork's out since I'm in Dublin, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for them in Tesco.
Breast meat's nice for some tasks - like a quick from-a-jar curry at seven in the evening after a long day at work when you've no time for anything fancy - but for anything where you're going for a nice meal with lots of flavour, I'm all in favour of the thighs

Me too - you can't beat thighs for chicken chasseur or any casserole-type dish. I like fillets for my curry though.

Tree

pvt.joker wrote: »

+1


I thought that's what everyone did

nope, use my fingers on the fillet, and my other hand on the knife, careful to avoid my other fingers. this is the route for those of us who don't mind/like the feel of raw meat

Dr. Loon

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Er, no actually - some of us are just too squeamish to look at that. For me it has nothing to do with being in denial about an animal being killed to feed me.

Feel free to kill a chicken in front of me, but only if you have the time to resuscitate me afterwards

I don't actually kill chickens, but I understand how it's all done. That was my point. You missed out the piece where I also mentioned handling a raw fillet of meat. The fact that people have a problem with this, is odd to me.

My point is alot of people don't actually face up to what is done to an animal\bird\fish etc to get it to them in its nice little tray, de-boned, no blood and so on.

On topic though, dealing with bones and stuff, a cleaver is required. I bought one about a year ago. Good quality. Rarely used, but it's brilliant when needed.

Sparks

It's hardly a moral failing Loon! Besides, I'm pretty sure the root of my problem is that when I was a kid (as in, toddler to twelve-year-old), my parents had two life-size posters on my wall. One was basicly this:


And the other was basicly this:


There was also a lot of red cross/civil defence stuff on treating pretty unpleasant wounds all over the place. End result - I see bones, I tend to know what they're from and I don't tend to see any difference between human protoplasm and (say) bovine protoplasm (both are edible, mammalian, same colour, same texture, etc, etc), which is just a tad disturbing when you do all the cooking So, I prefer to keep my meat a little bit anonymous. Doesn't mean I couldn't catch/shoot, skin, butcher, cook and eat my food if it was necessary - but it isn't so why bother?

Minder

Sparks wrote: »

So, I prefer to keep my meat a little bit anonymous. Doesn't mean I couldn't catch/shoot, skin, butcher, cook and eat my food if it was necessary - but it isn't so why bother?

To each, their own, and I'm not arguing that anyone should change their preferences. But we switched from buying pre cut chicken to buying and butchering whole chickens after a particularly awful news report about condemned poultry being recycled back into the food chain. Whole chickens were being washed in saline solution and selectively butchered - the pieces that were not obviously contaminated were packaged for food. The lasting image from the news report was of a skidsteer loader being used to move the carcasses.

As provenance, animal husbandry and traceability issues have become more popular, confidence in poultry standards have, for me, grown. But I am now so used to buying and butchering whole birds that I don't bother with pre cut pieces anymore.

Sparks

I'm all for higher standards in poultry Minder, we'll only buy free range chicken, and try to get as much of it from a decent butcher (F&B's or FXBs) as we can. (We make up the savings by doing the bulk goods shopping in places like Lidl).