The way a meat cutter cuts a chicken is a little different from restaurants where they typically leave the backbone on the breast and thighs. I was a meat cutter from 1978 to 1993. I left this video for a friend, but I hope someone else will get some use out of it.
By the way, I noticed that when watching this video in 360p, it tends to hang up around 4:45 in. Just click on the "360p" and you'll get a choice of other settings. The others don't hang up, and the higher the setting, the better the quality. You can go all the way up to full HD at 1080p! Looks great at full screen if you have the bandwidth for it.
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Paul is going to love this.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you do with all that chicken?
thank you for this...
Deb
And that is a one cool song! Who does it and where can I get it?
ReplyDeleteD.
Hi Deb!
ReplyDeleteDon't you recognize that voice? That's Larry Norman singing "Watch What You're Doing." He had his faults, but that WAS a great song indeed!
By the way, if anyone is watching this video in 360p, it tends to hang up around 4:45 in. Just click on the "360p" and you'll get a choice of other settings. The others don't hang up, and the higher the setting, the better the quality. You can go all the way up to full HD at 1080p! Looks great at full screen if you have the bandwidth for it.
ReplyDeleteSo now you need to put up a video of the easiest way to debone a ham.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing my own curing with the hams I get from the hogs I buy in the winter. It'd be nice to be able to do a real pretty job of taking them off the bone when we eat them at the holiday table.
ReplyDeleteNever say "debone" to a meat cutter! The word isn't in our vocabulary. We just say "bone" or "bone out" as in, "I'm gonna bone out this lug of meat before lunch," or, "I'm gonna leave the boning till this afternoon."
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, meat cutters don't bone out hams. That's done in a factory or slaughterhouse. So I have no experience doing that. It couldn't be too hard though. It's mostly just one big bone (small on one end and big on the other). I would take my bandsaw and cut the shank off the back too so you've got the ham flat on both sides, and then just run my knife around that big bone. You'd need a knife long enough to go all the way through though, so it's time for the 10" steak knife on that one probably. Then just take the skin off and trim the fat.
Boning the meat off that shank will be more troublesome because there's a huge knuckbone in there. A lot of the meat will come off in little slivers. Sometimes that's just how it is. You can always grind it up and make ham salad if you've got enough meat and a grinder. Just add mayonnaise and pickle relish. Umm! I could eat ham salad every day!
I'll wipe the word from my vocabulary immediately!
ReplyDeleteI know that there's a trick to it somewhere only because I used to have a friend that owned some restaurants that could take the bone out quickly and cleanly with just a few movements. I usually do it just as you described and it works but it never comes out as showy as his did.
We've got a big ol' #32 grinder (hand cranked until I get a motor to drive it) that we use for grinding deer, beef and pork. I take all the bits and pieces from the ham that aren't really usable and grind 'em down and make small packets that I keep in the freezer - perfect for salads and ham salad or just putting on crackers with some cheese.
The shank goes in the pot with beans and whatever else comes along. Cook up a bunch, eat some and freeze the rest.
We're finishing the smokehouse for this winter so we can start making sausages in a proper fashion. I want to learn to make high quality salami this year. The other thing on the list is to air cure a ham or two instead of doing it all in the cooler. I like country cured ham and feel confident enough now in the process of salting and meat handling to let one hang for a year or so to bring out the flavor. I also like that this means I'll have preserved meat regardless of whether I have a freezer or not.
Sounds like you've got quite an operation. I favorited this article last week about a guy homesteading in AK where he talks about prepairing food, mostly fish and Eskimo ice-cream. You might like it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/1978-05-01/Alaska-Homestead.aspx