Justifying the honesuki

[BillHanna]

Me and the boy broke down a chicken today! He did the right leg, then got grossed out lol. He enjoyed watching me finish though. I’d give us(me) a 6/10. I think it wasn’t bad for a first time, but I left some meat behind.

 

[tostadas]

Well worth it!

 

[Koop]

Looking good. I break down 1 or 2 chickens per week. My wife and I agree that buying whole chickens and breaking them down ourselves results in fresher, better chicken than packaged chicken parts. Honesuki justified!

 

[BillHanna]

My local grocery store sometimes has them 3USD ea. Last day on the shelves. Those are the birds I’m aiming for. Maybe occasionally get a “good” one.

 

[DeepCSweede]

I got a Marko years ago and it was one of my better purchases. Pull the trigger, you won't regret it. I broke a duck down with mine just last night.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Awesome!

Good for you getting him involved!

I never worry too much about leaving some meat behind because I always use the carcass and bones for stock or soup.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Also, what's the knife?

 

[Carlo]

Awesome!

Good for you getting him involved!

I never worry too much about leaving some meat behind because I always use the carcass and bones for stock or soup.

Nothing makes me happier than a bunch of chicken carcasses in a zip lock bag in my freezer!

Cute kid. Wish my boy was ready for a knife but it would end badly.

 

[BillHanna]

Also, what's the knife?

Yamashin shirogami 1 from CKTG

The carcass is in the freezer now, waiting for scrap vegetables

 

[Midsummer]

I use mine to reduce rack of lamb to small lollipop chops. One of my better purchases.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Yamashin shirogami

Cool. A honesuki is on my short list and that is one I was looking at. How do you like it?

 

[BillHanna]

No complaints. The spine was sturdy scraping along bones; nice and stiff. Can’t wait to break down another.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

No complaints. The spine was sturdy scraping along bones; nice and stiff. Can’t wait to break down another.

Cool, thank you sir.

 

[BillHanna]

It’s only one bird but no reactivity as well. Getting through joints was easy, but I’m not sure if that’s more sharpness or design.

 

[MarcelNL]

Good for you to bring in the kid!
Joints should be easy, when the knife is sturdy enough to avoid chipping you just follow the path of least resistance and slide through.
First time I broke down a whole chicken I was amazed how easy it was

BTW; what do those animals eat , I mean the fillets look large enough to be from a Goose

 

[BillHanna]

Exactly. It Felt EASIER than the vids made it look. That’s a first.

He’s already had his first burn and first cut. Now all he needs is to curse out a server, and run out of something on a Friday night.

 

[DavidPF]

BTW; what do those animals eat , I mean the fillets look large enough to be from a Goose

North American chickens have been systematically bred to be oversized. I think I read that some of them can hardly even walk, and I know that some of them are extremely aggressive (with each other), an accidental side effect of the breeding program.

 

[BillHanna]

@MarcelNL I AM hoping to find some more natural sized birds from a local farm.

The boy wanted to weigh everything. I remember the breasts came out to 1lb 9.1oz

 

[DavidPF]

1lb 9.1oz

712 grams

 

[MarcelNL]

@MarcelNL I AM hoping to find some more natural sized birds from a local farm.

The boy wanted to weigh everything. I remember the breasts came out to 1lb 9.1oz

do they breed those animals near a nuclear breeding plant

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

do they breed those animals near a nuclear breeding plant

It really is incredible. When I buy "standard" chickens from the major grocery stores they all are like that these days. It's crazy. The breasts are probably as big and heavy as the whole chickens of my youth.

 

[BillHanna]

Three Mile Island IS nearby lol

https://www.world-nuclear.org/infor...ety-of-plants/three-mile-island-accident.aspx

 

[orangehero]

North American chickens have been systematically bred to be oversized. I think I read that some of them can hardly even walk, and I know that some of them are extremely aggressive (with each other), an accidental side effect of the breeding program.

So the chickens already do the job of plucking each other?

 

[DavidPF]

So the chickens already do the job of plucking each other?

Neatness is not their specialty, and unfortunately nobody tells them you're supposed to leave the skin on.

 

[orangehero]

Neatness is not their specialty, and unfortunately nobody tells them you're supposed to leave the skin on.

Sounds like you just gotta wait a little longer and it will select for itself.

 

[DavidPF]

Sounds like you just gotta wait a little longer and it will select for itself.

When you aim to sell them all, I guess that idea gets less attractive.

 

[Chips]

American's like cheap, big breasts. They've been systematically bred to produce larger and larger breast meat such that they often cannot even stand up for long periods of time. They grow so fast that their bone density in their legs don't develop fast enough to support their massive breasts. I believe the pecking and fighting is (in the industry) and acceptable result and marginal cost, as a result of their very stressed and short living conditions and confinement.

I can't remember the name of the documentary but there was one that came out about a year and a half ago that detailed the plight of the industrial scale chicken farmer and how badly they're manipulated and controlled by the few, massive corporations that distribute chicken.

OP, your picture is awesome! Get them on it while they're young! He'll be due for his first pocket knife in a few years!

 

[childermass]

I can't remember the name of the documentary but there was one that came out about a year and a half ago that detailed the plight of the industrial scale chicken farmer and how badly they're manipulated and controlled by the few, massive corporations that distribute chicken.

I guess you are talking about 'Food, Inc.'. I watched that one and it's a real eye opener.

 

[BillHanna]

712 grams

Y’know, I really should use the scale with him more, and toggle back and forth. Maybe just maybe both measures can become relatively natural for him at a young age. Converting on the fly, even.

 

[DavidPF]

Meh ... No need to toggle ... Ounces don't matter enough to continue using

Once you know this:

... and that if you fill it with water it weighs 1000 g ...

then you kind of know everything there is to know about metric for food. (And for most other things too.) After that it's just multiplying and dividing things by 10.