I was walking through the supermarket the other day, looking for chicken.  I like most,  go for the parts, because its easier, right?  Well, I looked closely at the prices for the first time, and I was floored when I realized that the prices for the parts were more than twice the amount of the whole fryers!  I was immediately struck with a money saving epiphany: I would learn how to break down a chicken.

I purchased two fryers and when I got home, consulted my culinary institute, http://www.allrecipes.com, along with it’s liaison, http://www.youtube.com.  Youtube has a lot of videos that walk you through the process.  Here are two links.

http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cutting-Up-a-Whole-Chicken/Detail.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_I82a7EemA

Once you have this down, I challenge you to take it a step further.  When you’re done with the carcasses, make your own broth/stock (I still don’t understand the difference).  It is super easy, and if you use chicken broth/stock in your cooking, it will save you TONS of money, and you have the added benefit of controlling what goes in.  It’s been my experience that these items, over the counter, are full of sodium and chemicals I can’t pronounce.  With this, I am putting everything in and know what my family is consuming.  I do it every time I have two complete chicken carcasses (my wife hates hearing that term – ha ha!).  The leftover chicken from the bones used can be used for chicken soup or salad.

http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Making-Chicken-Stock/Detail.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YjUn5tclDc&feature=related

I hope you enjoy, and more importantly, I hope you enjoy the money saved!