Because the Chicken Was on Sale

I feel like this story is akin to Giving a Mouse a Cookie, but it all started when our local QFC had whole Draper Valley chicken on sale for 69 cents/lb. Previously, my aunt gave me a great recipe from Uwajimaya for steaming a whole chicken. I purchased two with the intent to do just that, but then I found some recipes for cooking a cut up chicken and I thought it was time to cut up my first whole chicken. Prior to this, I didn't like touching raw whole chickens. I used tongs to get the neck out and a spoon to scoop out the gizzard. I rinsed it off and stuck it in the pot as fast as I could. But as I watched this how to video from Gourmet Magazine, and this one from Chow.com, and these other two I realized this was a very hands on procedure.

So, if you give a frugal minded homemaker the idea that it is cheaper to cut up a whole chicken instead of buying chicken parts, she's going to start thinking about it. Then, if you put chicken on sale, she won't be able to resist. With the idea of tackling a new project in her head and feeding her family for less, she'll roll up her sleeves and overcome her aversion to touching raw meat and cut up said chicken to feed her family.


I used the chicken to make this meal: Classic Baked Chicken by Simply Recipes. It was tasty. I'm going to shred the leftover meat and use it in casseroles and for chicken salad sandwiches.

After cutting up my first chicken, realized it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, but it looks a lot easier online. I don't think I got all the thigh meat and I had a tricky time getting the back out and cutting the breasts in half. I also realized I need sharper knives. But, when whole chickens go on sale again, I'll pick some up. If I don't feel like cutting one up, I can still steam and shred it.