5 Tips for Cutting Chicken for Fried Chicken
Learn how to cut chicken for fried chicken the right way: pick heavy broilers, cut by part, skip fillets and stick to the standard 12-piece cut.
Fried chicken is the most common and most popular way to cook chicken. It is sold everywhere, from upscale restaurants to street food vendors, and you can also make it yourself at home. Besides its great taste, one reason fried chicken is so popular is the experience of eating it.
When you eat fried chicken, it tastes savory and makes a satisfying crunch with every bite. Its popularity has naturally helped chicken carcass processing and cutting businesses thrive. Cutting a chicken for fried chicken cannot be done any old way, but you can still do it yourself once you know how. Here are 5 tips for cutting up a chicken carcass for fried chicken.
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Choose the heaviest birds
It stands to reason that a fried chicken seller will not want to accept lightweight carcasses. Most sellers look for carcasses with the highest possible weight. The goal is clear: to get the most out of each bird and make the best possible profit. Keep in mind, though, that a dressed chicken does not weigh as much as a live one, because several parts have been removed.
Cut the chicken into its separate parts
For fried chicken, the carcass is usually cut according to its parts, and each part must be cut separately: the breast, thighs, drumsticks and wings. Why do the parts need to be cut separately? Because fried chicken is also sold by the piece, and each part is priced differently according to what the carcass meat cost.
Also read The Chicken Carcass Parts Consumers Need Most Often
Avoid filleted chicken
Never try to offer filleted chicken to a fried chicken seller. Why? Because the main flavor of fried chicken comes from the skin. Using fillets for fried chicken also gives disappointing results. Why? Because the batter on a fillet has a hard time bonding properly during frying. So carcass meat with a thick layer of fat is the right choice for fried chicken.
Number of pieces
Another thing to watch when cutting chicken for fried chicken is the number of pieces. The number is actually very flexible, because it can be adjusted to what customers want. Even so, it is best to follow the standard carcass cut and not go beyond it. The standard chicken carcass cut is 12 pieces. If you cut more than 12, the pieces end up much smaller, which risks complaints from customers.
Choose broiler chickens
As explained in the third point, filleted chicken is not recommended for fried chicken. So what about kampung chicken, also called buras (Indonesian free-range native chicken)? As it turns out, this type of chicken is not suitable for fried chicken either. So which chicken works best for fried chicken? The answer is the broiler chicken. Broilers are ideal for fried chicken because they are cheap, easy to cook and have a thick, fatty skin.
Also read Broiler Carcass Standards Every Business Owner Should Know
As it turns out, not every type of chicken can be used for fried chicken. The bird's weight and the number of pieces also affect the flavor, quality and quantity you end up with. If you want to start a fried chicken business, use the five tips above as your guide. And if you only want to cook it at home, the five tips for cutting chicken for fried chicken are still worth following.
