Cooking Stack Exchange
Cooking Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [butchering]

28 questions
129
votes
7 answers

How can I tell the difference between a rabbit and a cat?

I received a shipment of prefabricated skinned rabbit last week and the shipment seemed unusual. Rabbits have a very close resemblance to cats once their “hair” and skin have been removed. Is there a telltale sign that I’m working with Bugs Bunny,…
Chef_Code
  • 1,875
  • 4
  • 14
  • 30
25
votes
1 answer

How to clean an octopus - and is it worth it

I've bought an octopus from my fish monger, but, when I asked if he could clean it, he openly admitted he's never done octopus before and doesn't know how. Well, neither do I but I've taken it on myself. This is clearly a poor decision, I don't even…
Dave
  • 1,166
  • 7
  • 18
  • 30
15
votes
5 answers

What is the difference between French and British cuts of beef?

What is the difference between French and British cuts of beef? I am told they just butcher the animals dfferently. Certainly the cuts don't seem the same. For example is faux fillet really exactly the same as British sirloin and is entrecôte…
marshall
  • 251
  • 1
  • 2
  • 4
14
votes
2 answers

Can I carve up a suckling pig like you would an adult pig?

I found this video of a butcher carving up a half adult pig (not gory) really interesting and would like to learn how to do this on my own. However, I could never eat a whole adult pig. Would a suckling pig have all the same cuts of meat that an…
Michael Pryor
  • 801
  • 3
  • 7
  • 15
13
votes
2 answers

Is this meat that I was told was brisket in Barcelona the same as U.S. brisket?

I was born and currently live in Barcelona. Here in Catalonia, or in Spain, beef is not butchered in the American style, so I can't get the cuts that are used for American BBQ. So, after my search and speaking to many butchers, the final conclusion…
Albert
  • 235
  • 2
  • 9
8
votes
1 answer

What is the easiest way to remove chicken leg/drumstick tendons?

I would like to make chicken drumsticks / legs (with skin on) easier to eat by removing the tendons and the fibula bone. Cook's Illustrated mentions this technique: Holding a paring knife just above the ankle and perpendicular to the bone, slice…
Daemon
  • 180
  • 1
  • 1
  • 5
7
votes
1 answer

Why is the fourth stomach (abomasum) of cows not used for tripe?

Many sources will state that the first three stomachs of cows are used in tripe. The only reasoning I have found for not using one of the stomachs is listed by sciencedirect.com: The third compartment of the ruminant stomach is the omasum. The…
Sdarb
  • 1,109
  • 1
  • 8
  • 19
6
votes
3 answers

Is there an easy way to french trim a rack of lamb?

I had to be part of a lot of french trimming of racks of lamb at the weekend, and it seemed to take a long time, so it got me wondering, is there an easy way to do this? Some preferred tool?
Sam Holder
  • 11,260
  • 17
  • 69
  • 113
6
votes
0 answers

Technique to find and eliminate the needle bone in lamb shanks?

In lamb and in cattle, the fibula and ulna bones are vestigial (http://www.aps.uoguelph.ca/~swatland/ch2_1.htm, "In beef and lamb carcasses there is a single major bone, the tibia or shank bone...") and I find often if I cut the cooked meat across…
Douglas Held
  • 494
  • 2
  • 10
6
votes
2 answers

Recommendations on how to have a hog butchered?

I have commissioned a pig from a local farmer and it will be going to the butcher soon. It turns out that I can have it butchered to my specific requests. Has anyone done this before and have any recommendations? Specifically, should I have the…
Jen
  • 472
  • 1
  • 4
  • 7
6
votes
2 answers

chef's knife for cutting chicken, or butcher's

Hey guys, I've had a set of Global knives for a few months now and love them. I cut up a whole chicken the other day, and had a bit of trouble getting through the bone, so use my large chef's knife as an axe/butcher's knife and chipped it in a few…
Mike
  • 163
  • 1
  • 3
5
votes
1 answer

What cut of beef can I use to make "sukiyaki beef"?

I want to try a recipe for Gyudon (shown below) that calls for thin-sliced "Sukiyaki Beef". My local grocery store doesn't carry anything by that name. I'm comfortable with thin-slicing beef myself (possibly partially freezing it first), but I'm…
Robert
  • 671
  • 1
  • 9
  • 12
4
votes
1 answer

Are chicken gizzards celiac safe?

Wheat is frequently included in chicken feed. Partially-digested wheat, therefore, would likely be present in chickens' gizzards before butchering. However, the chicken gizzards seen for sale in grocery stores don't appear to have any leftover feed…
Lainonymous
  • 41
  • 2
4
votes
1 answer

How do you french trim a lamb shank?

I could only find a couple of written tutorials and they weren't very good. Can anyone explain it to me or provide a good tutorial?
Präriewolf
  • 205
  • 3
  • 8
3
votes
1 answer

Why are chicken thighs sold as bone-in skin-on or boneless skinless but never boneless skin-on?

Chicken thighs are fantastic pan fried skin down for that crispy texture. The bones tend to get in the way of eating them however, and they are a hassle to remove (though quick with good knife/shear technique). I'd love to be able to buy boneless…
BenAdamson
  • 133
  • 1
  • 5
1
2