Unless you're cooking something specific for a lot of people in a time crunch, it doesn't make sense to buy packages of individual chicken parts. Even if you did need, say eight boneless breasts, you could just buy four birds, and freeze whatever you don't use. Anyway, imho, here's why you should be buying whole chickens.
It's much cheaper for starters. Used to see them less than a $1/lb, still under $2/lb now.
You get to work on your knife skills. Its worth knowing how to effortlessly break a bird down into its respective parts. You can even take it a step further and learn how to de-bone the bird without it looking like it went through a wood chipper.
It's all good. The wife likes boneless breast meat. (Also, likes her steaks well-done, so yeah.) Anyway, two boneless breasts coming up. Wings, add them to your ziploc bag with the others you've been saving in the freezer until you have enough for a meal. Thighs and drumsticks, roast or cook them in a skillet on the stove top. Once cooled down, pick off the meat for a recipe or just eat off the bone. Giblets, if you're not eating them, then use them for fishing bait or chum. Carcass, make stock out of it, be sure to add any of the bones, skin, fat, left after picking the meat off the leg quarters.
Also, imho, if you've never eaten a freshly killed, prepped, and cooked chicken, you've been missing out. Put it on your list of things to do.
Unless you're cooking something specific for a lot of people in a time crunch, it doesn't make sense to buy packages of individual chicken parts. Even if you did need, say eight boneless breasts, you could just buy four birds, and freeze whatever you don't use. Anyway, imho, here's why you should be buying whole chickens.
It's much cheaper for starters. Used to see them less than a $1/lb, still under $2/lb now.
You get to work on your knife skills. Its worth knowing how to effortlessly break a bird down into its respective parts. You can even take it a step further and learn how to de-bone the bird without it looking like it went through a wood chipper.
It's all good. The wife likes boneless breast meat. (Also, likes her steaks well-done, so yeah.) Anyway, two boneless breasts coming up. Wings, add them to your ziploc bag with the others you've been saving in the freezer until you have enough for a meal. Thighs and drumsticks, roast or cook them in a skillet on the stove top. Once cooled down, pick off the meat for a recipe or just eat off the bone. Giblets, if you're not eating them, then use them for fishing bait or chum. Carcass, make stock out of it, be sure to add any of the bones, skin, fat, left after picking the meat off the leg quarters.
Also, imho, if you've never eaten a freshly killed, prepped, and cooked chicken, you've been missing out. Put it on your list of things to do.
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