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I'm interested in spatchcocking a chicken for the first time. Rather than searching for a culinary-grade pair of shears, I thought I'd buy a pair of new gardening shears at the local home improvement store. Take it apart, wash thoroughly, assemble, and add a little vegetable oil for lubrication.
Is this dangerous? Should I buy official 'kitchen shears' instead?
I don't see why it wouldn't work, but just make sure the blades are thick enough to not chip while cutting bone. I'd hate to see ya ingest small bits of steel.
These are the ones I use, and I'm very happy with them. Not real expensive, and easy to take apart for cleaning. The only problem I see using gardening shears is that taking them apart to clean them is likely to be a PIA, so you might be tempted to skip it.
Same set I have had for several years. After spatchcocking chicken and turkey quite a few times, my only complaint is that the blades no longer seem to cut the skin cleanly. Probably time to sharpen them...
While I don't own their poultry shears, I jus haveta interject that I do own multiple Oxo Good Grips products, an have consistently been delighted with them all...
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
MAK 2 Star
Napoleon 500 Pro gasser grill
Pit Boss Ultimate 2-burner griddle
Instant Pot Duo Crisper 8 qt
Cuisinart food processor
Kitchenaid Stand Mixer
Breville Smart toaster oven
Anova Sous vide (Pro version and Standard Version)
Cabella 15” Vacuum Sealer
Combustion Inc Wireless Probe
Fireboard v2
Fireboard Spark
Thermoworks IR gun
Thermoworks MK4
Thermoworks Zero
Thermoworks Signals
TempSpike Wireless Probe
Grill Rescue brush
Grillmaster electric steam brush
7 Shun knives (paring to 12" slicer)
Misen Chef's knife
8-9 other knives (enough to get an eye roll from wife!)
2 Mandolins, 1 veggie spiralizer
Work Sharp E5 sharpener
Chef's Choice sharpener
That brings back vague memories of a Thanksgiving when my dad de-boned a turkey. I was young, uninterested in kitchen stuff, and don't remember how it turned out. My older siblings still laugh about it.
This will likely be one of those "...well, I've never had a problem...." deals, but for a health safety matter, whatever you choose should be made of stainless steel rather than just carbon steel such as most garden shears. I'm focusing more on the sanitizing part of the usage rather than cutting ease.
I watched a YouTube video of a butcher doing it with a knife and found his method to be faster. Neck end on the cutting board. Cut down along side of the backbone but not all the way through. Cut the other side all the way through and then finish the first cut side. Done!
Equipment:
'88 Vintage Fire Magic gasser with over 4000 cooks to its credit
Large Big Green Egg
18 Inch Weber Kettle (Rescued from neighbor's trash)
Rotisserie for 18 inch kettle
Dyna Glo propane smoker
Pit Barrel Cooker
Smokey Joe with mini WSM mod
Garcima paella burner
Anova Sous Vide
Slaiya Sous Vide (gift)
LEM grinder, sausage stuffer and meat slicer (all gifts)
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