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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2016 8:43:15 GMT -5
So first off! Celebrations! We bought two whole chickens and my husband and I each cut one up for the first time! We had a lot of fun watching various YouTube videos trying to pop different joints and cut in the right places. We also learned... A) Our knives don't quite cut it (pun totally intended) and B) the space I had cleared out in our freezer is DEFINITELY not going to be enough for the organs and other meats I'm about to order. So...
What freezers and cutting utensils does everyone use/recommend?
P.S. Another mini celebration! Both of my cats went crazy over their first taste of raw chicken. Meowing and tapping on both my husband and myself to give them more the whole time we were portioning the chickens.
P.P.S I have no idea if this is in the right board, so I'm so sorry if I'm wrong!
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Post by Sherry on Apr 6, 2016 10:26:46 GMT -5
I use a good heavy cleaver, and ulu knife, and a large chef's knife. Those 3 do it for me. Others also like using good kitchen shears. Just remember- you ARE going to pay for decent knives. My cleaver I got on sale a few years ago for about $50, chef's knife ran about $45, ulu was much cheaper at $20(including shipping) Cleaver of course for chopping bones up. Ulu for cutting meat away from bone, or cutting joints. Chef's knife for larger chunks of muscle meats  Freezers, I have a 12 c foot upright, and a smaller apt style freezer(3cf) in the kitchen. |
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Post by bitbyter on Apr 6, 2016 11:02:30 GMT -5
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Post by msav on Apr 6, 2016 15:20:08 GMT -5
The major consideration in Knives/cleavers. Make sure the blade continues all the way through the handle. one continuous piece of metal.
Not halfway "all the way to the end" most Forged knives are to the end of the handle. Most Stamped are not. I have seen some stamped that go to the handle. Forged knives are superior to stamped. Forged are also more expensive.
There are other options of the type and hardness of the steel and even the degree that the cutting edge is machined at.
if you buy Cheap knives you will be buying them again soon.
edit
Also: For poultry Get yourself a get set of poultry shears. I use them more than my knife or Cleaver for poultry, and the shears do not fracture and splinter bones like a cleaver can.
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Post by bitbyter on Apr 6, 2016 20:54:20 GMT -5
If a cleaver is sharp and the proper weight it shouldn't fracture / splinter poultry bones.
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Post by msav on Apr 6, 2016 21:52:03 GMT -5
The cleaver I have is for Big bones and has a wedge edge it weights about 4.5 pounds. It is for large cow bones. It is not meant for chicken. I thought about getting a smaller one for poultry but the shears work so well I don't think I need it.
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Post by FerretsnFalcons on Apr 9, 2016 15:14:32 GMT -5
For cutting smaller animals (up to chicken size), I use kitchen shears since I don't trust myself with a knife lol and it's quicker. For large rabbits and duck, I use some kind of Top Chef meat cleaver that I found on Amazon. I'm sure you could find way better cleavers, but this one was pretty cheap and gets the job done. As far as freezers go, I don't know much about brands, but I HIGHLY recommend you take a look in Sear's. I got a 12 cubic foot chest freezer (it may be bigger than that, I can't remember the cubic footage) for a fraction of the retail price because it had a barely noticeable dent in the back corner. I think it retailed for over $600 and I got it for around $260. This freezer is my best friend, and I can't imagine living without it. I was able to finally switch my ferrets to whole prey because I could buy in bulk and store it in the freezer. I buy 6 month's of prey at a time, both for the ferrets and the hawk. Chest freezers can be kind of a pain if you have to dig through it all the time, but I organized it so that I keep the digging around to a minimum. Since I just got a new Rodentpro order in and filled my freezer-it's SUCH a good feeling to fill a freezer, I think it's good for the soul-here are some pics of my setup: The freezer (I lost the manual, but I think it is a Frigidaire brand?):  Here is the inside, with two organizing bins on top. In these bins, I store about a month's worth of ferret food (portions of duck, whole rabbits, chickens, quail, mice, chicks, and guinea pigs). These bins keep the ferret food at the top, so I don't have to dig around every time I have to find a quail or something. To the left of the bins is a shelf in the freezer where I store the hawk food for easy access.  Underneath the bins is where I store the excess prey. When I run out of, say, chickens at the top of the freezer, I will restock it with a new bag of chickens from the bottom of the freezer. I put dividers in to make it easier to distinguish between hawk and ferret food (they both eat the same prey animals, but different sizes). The top left section is where I store meat from when I used to feed frankenprey, stuff for the dogs, and miscellaneous things like ice packs. The top right section is for ferret food, the bottom right section is for hawk food, and the bottom left section is for prey that the ferrets and hawk share (small rabbits, quail, and chicks).  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2016 17:58:03 GMT -5
I love the way that freezer is organized! Thanks for sharing!
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Apr 10, 2016 18:06:53 GMT -5
FerretnFalcons did ur freezer come with dividers like that or did you make them?
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Post by FerretsnFalcons on Apr 10, 2016 20:32:27 GMT -5
abbeytheferret6, fortunately it came with the dividers and the bins. If you wanted to make your own dividers I'm sure something similar could be easily constructed with coroplast, or even cardboard.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2016 9:13:29 GMT -5
sounds odd! but i really like a knife with teeth, ( serated edge it allows you to grip and work around the bones and stuff better, and not get cut as easy but that is my personal preference.
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Post by RedSky on May 19, 2016 4:41:05 GMT -5
I find the most important thing after a good quality knife is keeping it sharp.
Before I start chopping any large amount of meat I sharpen the clever and any other knifes I might use.
I did buy some kitchen shears but find the cleaver, a serrated (bread) knife and a large knife and a small knife work much better. The shears weren't too cheap either but I have nerve damage in my arms/wrist/hands so it's probably just that.
Some think that with a sharper knife you are more likely to cut yourself, but I find if it get's blunt you have to put a lot more force behind it. If you do cut yourself while being forceful you are more likely to lose a finger than if you can take it slow and gentle with a sharp knife.
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