This week my Kroger has Tyson boneless skinless chicken breast on sale for $1.99/lb. This doesn’t seem to be an advertised sale, but check your Kroger to see if they are running it too.
Here’s how I cut up the chicken breasts to make them ready for use in meals. Each breast provides several different cuts that can be incorporated into a variety of dishes.
First, flip the chicken breast over and spread it out a bit. You’ll notice there’s a long triangular piece of meat that is only attached to the breast by the thin layer of meat. Cut along the breast to trim that off. We use that trimmed off piece to make chicken tenders.
Next… trim off any bits of fat that may be left on the chicken.
What you are left with is a large tear-shaped piece of chicken breast. Because of the irregular shape and thickness of a chicken breast, I always find that by the time the thickest part is fully cooked, the thin part is dry and overcooked.
To make pieces of chicken breast that will cook evenly, I slice off the triangular end about half way between the point and the rounded end of the chicken breast as pictured below.
The thicker piece of chicken I either leave whole or I cut it into fourths to use as chicken kabobs.
The other piece I cut into cubes for use in stir fries, chicken fried rice or stews.
This is what I got out of six packages of chicken breasts; all cut up and ready to be wrapped.
And here they are wrapped in freezer paper
During Kroger’s sale back in June, I ended up going back and buying several more packages to cut up and freeze. I’m down to only a couple of packages of chicken cubes, so I’ll be picking up several more packages today to restock our freezer for the winter.
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8 Comments
andrew aragon
April 17, 2011 1:37 amwhich way does the grain run on the breast and thigh pieces? I want to cut so the pieces look good and not sawed off.
Nathan
March 5, 2010 12:02 pmHello there – I’ve been having trouble with chicken breasts lately. You see, I purchase from a supermarket and there’s usually about 5 breasts in a packet but they all have remnants left on from the rest of the chicken, consisting of a mass of fat and bloody tissue near the top (the thick end) and a little row of tendons within the breast itself. I was just wondering what sort of cuts you would advise me to make in order to remove it all, before it goes into the oven or grill, or whether it’s actually possible to remove the tendons without totally destroying the portion. Hope you can help with this, it would be much appreciated!
supermom
March 9, 2010 6:43 pmHello Nathan,
Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you. To remove the fat and bloody tissue near the top… I would trim that away as I demonstrate in the second picture above. Sometimes the fat can just be pulled off but if not, run the tip of your knife between the fat and the flesh of the chicken. Do the same thing with any bits of bone, etc that may still be attached. I hope that helps.
Nathan
March 10, 2010 5:36 pmYes, that’s very helpful Supermom – I shall certainly try that out. Many thanks!
mom2fur
November 14, 2008 6:43 pmPrepping your chicken ahead of time is great. As far as that ‘fat end,’ I cut off the skinnier point, then I cut the fat part crosswise–over the equator, if you can picture that. I don’t like fat chicken pieces, LOL!
supermom
November 14, 2008 5:40 pmHello Kim, Not a silly question at all. Yes, it is special paper. We use Reynolds brand Freezer paper, but I imagine there are other brands out there too. One side (the side you put towards the meat) is plastic coated. I had switched to using ziplock bags but found that unless we sucked every bit of air out of the bag before sealing, the food would get freezer burn. So I’ve gone back to using freezer paper and haven’t had a problem with freezer burn since.
Kim
November 14, 2008 3:17 pmThis may sound silly, but is that a special freezer paper? I have wondered what is good for freezing besides ziploc bags, because they are so expensive. Thanks for the post!
Lynn
November 14, 2008 2:24 pmGreat idea. I usually just freeze it but cutting it up first is a great idea. It would be much easier to cut it all at once. Thanks for the tip.
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