Chicken Cuts

Chicken Breasts

Perhaps the most common cut of any meat in the world, the chicken breast is also known as the ‘white meat’ of the chicken, owing to its white colour when cooked. This cut is favoured for its high protein content, being almost entirely lean, making for clean, nutritious, and waistline-friendly meals. However, as most have encountered at some time or other, chicken breast should never be overcooked, as it turns tough and chewy. Cooked the right way though, chicken breast can be incredibly succulent, with delicate flavours. Want to use chicken breast for your next meal? We recommend a well-cooked pan-seared chicken breast with pepper sauce, or for something a little more challenging, the impressive chicken kiev.

Chicken Legs

Chicken legs are where the dark meat is, with its darker colour owing to the leg muscles being the most active on the chicken. The chicken leg can be further separated into 2 parts, the chicken drum and chicken thigh, both being the most tender on the chicken as they are fatty and juicy. Unlike the chicken breast, chicken legs can be cooked low and slow on the bone and does not become chewy like breast meat. We recommend deboned chicken legs for chicken burgers (ask our butchers to debone the leg for you!) and for something fancy, the classics French Coq au Vin.

Chicken Wings

Who doesn’t love chicken wings? Though this cut does not have the most meat on it, it’s the cut beloved for its use in the classic finger food, fried chicken wings. There are 3 parts to a chicken wing, the drumette, the flat, and the wing tip, which is usually removed and used for stock, as it has practically no meat on it. That leaves the drumette, the flat, and the eternal debate over which one is better. Whichever one you prefer, ZAC Butchery can help you out with it!

Bones, Neck, Trimmings, Carcass, Wing Tips

Once the breast, legs, and wings have been removed, it leaves us with the chicken carcass and bones, which might include the neck, wing tips, and other trimmings. While they aren’t the best things to eat, don’t let them go to waste as they can be used to make a wonderful, all-natural chicken broth/stock. Simply sear them on high to brown them and develop some flavour, then throw them into a pot of water on the boil, with aromatics and spices.

The Whole Bird

Chicken, as with most poultry, is also classically cooked whole, without first splitting the bird into parts. This can be done in various ways, either roasted whole, or spatchcocked. So what is spatchcock? Spatchcock is cutting the spine of the chicken out, so that the chicken can lay flat. This not only shortens the cooking time, but also creates more surface area that the chicken can be cooked on with direct heat. One of our favourite spatchcock recipes is the Brick-press Chicken, which involves first laying the chicken flat on, and searing in an oven safe pan, and pressing down with a weight (like a brick) for maximum browning. Our friendly butchers at ZAC Butchery would be more than happy to help prepare your whole chicken, tressed for a whole roast, or spatchcocked for your ease of cooking.

Minced Chicken

Often made using breast meat, minced chicken is often used as a leaner alternative to beef, or other types of red meat mince. You can use it for burger patties, a heart-healthy Bolognese sauce, or meatloaf. If you prefer a fattier chicken mince, our butchers can customize the blend for you.