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SubscribeFor the first 25-ish years of my life I was a “boneless skinless snob.” It was THE only cut of chicken that I bought in college, after college, and for the first 3 years I spent in the Dominican Republic. I would travel over an hour one way to the “American grocery store” for a few packages of B/S chicken!
One HOT afternoon in the Dominican Republic, I thought I’d be brave and try to get past my “squemish-ness” issues and get past my B/S snobbish-ness. I walked straight past my fruit and veggie guy at the local open air market to the chicken counter. I looked nowhere other than the chicken man’s face, as I was afraid of what I might see. (There are no regulations for food in the DR. At least none that I am aware of. Or none that are strictly enforced!)
“Quisiera un pollo por favor.” (I’d like a chicken please.)
“Si claro.” (Yes, of course.) The chicken man busies himself getting my chicken ready. He got my chicken from his fridge. * sigh of relief* Then threw it up on the scale.
“Ciento viente pesos.” (120 pesos.) He tells me as he’s putting the chicken into a black trash bag for me. No tray, no plastic wrap. A trash bag. *breath of anxiety* OK. OK. Relax. This is just how they do it.
But wait. Feet. There are still feet on this chicken that he is putting in the trash bag. Feet. What? I don’t want any feet on my chicken. Who eats chicken feet anyways??? Not this B/S snob!
“Um, permiso, senor, sin pies por favor.” (Um, excuse me, sir, no feet please.)
“Pero es parte del pollo.” (But it’s part of the chicken.) Yep. Got that. Don’t want ‘em!!!
“Si, yo se, pero yo no quiero los pies.” (Yes, I know, but I don’t want the feet.) “Yo pagare por los pies y puede darles a otra persona.” (I’ll pay for the feet and you can give them to someone else.)
“OK.” With a puzzled look in his eye.
“Gracias senor.” (Thanks sir.)
“A su orden.” (Directly translated. At your service. Really means, happy to help.)
I share this to let you know that was the moment that I no longer considered myself a B/S snob. You’d think it would make me more of a snob, but no. It didn’t. It forced me to get over myself and learn what to do with an almost whole chicken!
Since getting over my squemish-ness and snobbiness, I have started buying bone in split chicken breasts (and sometimes a whole chicken) for 3 reasons.
- They are cheaper by the pound that B/S breasts.
- I can use them to make my own chicken broth since I don’t like to use store bought broth. It is loaded with preservatives, high in sodium and just not as good for you as homemade!
- I can buy a large package and prepare them for upcoming meals with chicken. This saves on time and dishes for future preparation!
Here is my trusty monthly meal calendar that is on my fridge. My March menu plan tells me that we’ll be having Chicken Fajitas and Honey Lime Chicken in the next few weeks, and Ginger Chicken Stirfry last weekend.
Here’s what I did to prepare the chicken for these meals:
First, I peeled off the skin. Sorta like the feet. I’m not a fan of the skin!
Next, I cut along the bone on the side of the breast as closely as I could, to keep the breast in one piece. After pulling off the breast meat, I then cut out the tenderloin piece that was underneath it. Leaving, as you see above, the breast, the tenderloin and the bones with a little meat on them. I cut all 6 split breasts like shown above.
I put all 6 bone pieces into the crockpot filled with water up, leaving about 1.5 inches from the top. I added a few garlic cloves, some Italian seasoning and 2 Tbsp vinegar (Jenn from Frugal Upstate shared this tip on the Keeping it Centsible Blog Talk Radio Show last week. Adding vinegar helps leach the calcium out of the bones and into the broth!) I set it on low for 8 hours and let the crockpot make me some free broth.
Once the broth was going, I finished up with the chicken breasts. I placed 2 breasts and tenderloins into another Ziploc baggies with a $.37 can of Rotel tomatoes for my upcoming Chicken Fajitas. I placed 2 breasts and tenderloins in another Ziploc with 2 Tbsp honey and 2 Tbsp lime juice. Both Ziplocs went into the freezer. To thaw, I place the tightly sealed Ziplocs into a bowl of warm water. In about 30 minutes, the chicken is ready to be sliced and cooked.
I have chicken ready for 3 meals, along with at least 4 meals worth of homemade chicken broth…for just $6.37! It doesn’t get much cheaper than that!
What is your favorite cut of chicken? Are you a B/S snob? Do you prefer to cook the whole chicken to get your chicken to use for future meals? I’d love to hear your favorite chicken “tips” or recipes!
P.S. I’ll be sharing this over at WFMW at We are THAT family!
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{ 72 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ll be linking to this article because these are on sale on Whole foods here in boston. I had no clue what to tell my readers to do with them
. Thank you!
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I WAS a S/B Snob until I realized they were not such a great deal. For me…I just take the skin off and put them in a big pot (or the crockpot would work) and then simmer them until cooked through. I usually shred my chicken up while the chicken is still warm and then bag it up in small freezer bags. The next time I make chicken enchiladas or chicken spaghetti I already have shredded chicken ready to go.
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Wow! Thanks for these tips. That’s a great idea to make the broth and how you freeze the meat with the seasonings. Why didn’t I ever think of that?
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Thanks so much for the tips…I may have to try chicken with the bone in. “Gasp!*
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Split breast chicken is half as expensive as the b/s kind. I had never thought to freeze it w/ the seasonings. Great idea!
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GREAT post…I have been buying split breasts more recently and pondering getting a whole chicken myself to cut up to save money.
And as for the broth, it is so much better for you! Great idea!
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you’ve made me realize what a snob I am….sigh…..but you’ve degrossed it for me…and deboning doesn’t sound so difficult now….
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Thanks for your tips!! I never thought to freeze the chicken with the flavorings I will be using it for. Go figure.
I DO love my B/S chicken but ONLY buy when it is a good sale. I have stayed away from bone-in cause I didn’t know if it really was a good deal with paying for the bone and all. But I am not afraid of it.
I LOVE to buy whole chickens and cook it in the crockpot. Then I break it down into 2 cup packages to use in casseroles and such. I also then have the broth to freeze.
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I am a closet snob for any meat that’s pre-cut. But Budget Snob does not let Pre-Cut Meat Snob visit. Almost ever. So I end up having to buy whole chickens when they are on sale (no feet), and cut them up myself. Then I cook the whole carcasses to make broth. Thanks for the broth tips!! They are new to me
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I buy my chicken at a farmers market (antibiotic free, and cheaper than store organic). I can buy a whole chicken and they will cut it for me. I still have to debone it when I get home, but it takes them way less time to cut the breasts, thighs, legs etc. apart.
Annie
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I am a former BL/SL snob. We still buy them at Sams to grill up a batch, but our local grocery store has chicken backs for $.48lb, and they are awesome to make my own stock with. I use a recipe out of Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill cookbook for them.
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Cracking up as I read this. I have THIS POST (well, minus the chicken feet and all
in my drafts right now! Maybe I’ll wait a few weeks before I publish it. 
Amy
Great minds…
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Great post! I’ve saved it so that I can refer to your technique when de-boning. In addition to b/s breasts, I often buy leg quarters and whole chickens–but now I’ll also be keeping my eye out for sales on split breasts.
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I'm not a B/S snob…I like dark meat and often buy thighs…but I don't buy a whole lot of meat on the bone. Thanks for the great tips. And I had honestly never thought of making broth in the crockpot. Um, duh!! You're a genious!
<3 Jessie
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Hillarious! I can so picture this!! I lived in the DR (Santiago) for 3 1/2 years, and I’m dying to know where you lived. I can remember when the Pola and then the Nacional opened…I remember being amazed before even walking in the door at how straight and orderly the parking spaces were!
And thanks for the how-to on the chicken breasts. I sort of freak out about using the bone-in breasts, but it would be much better for the budget to do it.
Kim
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I love breasts and thighs (um…no I not a man LOL) I like to poach boneless skinless breasts, cube them up and freeze for a quick chicken pot pie or chicken casserole! My favorite way to eat the thighs is just oven baked. I trim off all visible pieces of fat and just leave the top skin to keep it moist, rub them with olive oil and season with Itailan Seasoning, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt and Pepper and bake at 350 for an hour
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I usually buy whole chickens and cut them up myself, or roast/bake them whole. Two members of my family like white meat and two of us like dark meat — perfect. My favorite seasoning is Northwoods from Penzeys. We only eat chicken about 3X per month and (oddly enough now that I think about it) rarely in casseroles/stirfrys/pasta dishes, etc. — those are usually our meatless meals.
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I am probably the biggest B/S snob there is! I buy the huge packs from Sam’s and separate them into 2 breast packs and freeze them for use later. I’m 25 so maybe it’s time for me to get over my issues with bone-in chicken as that broth information is wonderful!
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I got a GREAT deal on boneless skinless chicken breasts at Target last week so I’m going to continue to be a chicken snob for a while longer. I loved your post!
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Whole chickens are super versatile! I use a whole chicken whenever I make chicken and rice, chicken & dumplings, homemade chicken and veggie soup.. you name it. The final dishes taste SO much better when you use "free stock" too!
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blimey! i would buy a whole chicken and make stock from the carcass. would only boil it for 2 hours though. i like the vinegar tip.
i am very fussy about my chicken. only buy organic free range. they are tastier.
having said that, i do buy skinless boneless breasts for fajitas. i wonder why. will check out your tip.
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LOL! Loved your story. We were B/S snobs too until DH accidentally bought a bag of the bone-in breasts at Sam’s Club. We grill out a lot, and we were totally amazed at just how much more flavorful and tender it was, so we buy it more often than not these days.
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I, too, love bone-in because the flavor is so much more intense! I will actually just cook the entire thing in a crockpot and then pull the chicken off. But it makes it more shredded instead of chunks. And we like chunks in some of our recipes. I’m a doofus. It never occurred to me to cut the chicken off FIRST before the cook it. Duh! Thanks for all your tips! We can always learn new ways, huh!
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I like to buy whole chickens, cut them up and bake or BBQ them on Sunday or Monday. There are three of us and we eat about 1/2 a chicken for the meal then the other 1/2 gets used later in the week for a casserole or FFY (fend for yourself) Saturday.
I will put the bones and uneaten skin in a baggie in the freezer until I get enough to make a large stock pot full of broth. Roasted bones make the best broth!
Once I get enough, I’ll make the broth, slow simmer all day and over night with some garlic and onion, then strain it and can it in a pressure canner.
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This is such a great post. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
I used to be a B/S chicken breast snob too, until I got married. My husband actually prefers the darker meat chicken, and/or bone-in because that is what he got used to growing up. I thought it was weird at first, but it does have some advantages, such as being cheaper.
Thanks again
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I was the same way! But once I realized how much more you can do with the bone-in breasts, I was hooked. And since I can almost always get them on sale for under a buck a pound, it’s a win-win! (I totally didn’t know about adding vinegar when making broth – thanks for the tip!)
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Erin,
Like you I used to be a B/S Snob. I HATED dealing with he skin and the bones, but about a month or two ago when I really tried to cut my grocery bill and get things for as frugal as I can. I came across some Split chicken breast, bone in in the manager special section, I decided to give them a try and trimming them down was a PIECE OF CAKE! its all I buy now. I especailly love when Kroger has them buy one get one free, I sock up with as many as I can! The tenderloins are prefect size for my son and I only get of it what I need for me and my husband! GREAT article!
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I love all white meat chicken. I think I prefer with the bone in because it turned out so nice barbequed on the grill. My favorite recipe for bone in chicken breastes is to place my skinless chicken breasts in a baking dish and place potatoes that have been cut into eighths into the dish. I think pour a very large amount of olive oil over top and then about a cup of butter over that. Then I sprinkle Italian seasonings ove the chicken and potatoes, cover with foil and bake until everything is crispy on the bottem.
I don’t make it much anymore because I am trying to lose weight but it makes me druel thinking about it.
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Bluh — boneless/skinless chicken is BLAND! All the flavor is in the bones and the skin.
Whole chickens aren’t very economical for me, since our family right now is just hubby and me, but we buy the big “family pack” of chicken thighs (usually 10-12 in a package). I get more meals out of a package like this than I can out of a whole chicken. I put the thighs in ziplock baggies, 2 or 3 to a bag and freeze for use later. I don’t season ahead of time, though. I can’t be that detailed with my menu plan in advance. My tastes are too capricious.
The vinegar tip for making stock is awesome–I’ll have to remember that.
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How much do the bones weigh? Do you plan to use 1.25 pounds of bone in chicken in place of 1 pound boneless skinless? I’ve thought about trying bone in chicken, but am never sure how much to buy.
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Great idea! Quick question, what is a good buy for bone in chicken?
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This is a very helpful post!! I just started buying split chicken breasts because they are so much cheaper. And I found out that I actually prefer the flavor. I am glad that you walked us through making the chicken broth because I have never known how to do that!! Thanks!
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I’m a B/S chicken snob but I’m slowing working on changing that. My husband grew up with bone in chicken and prefers it so I’ve been buying more and more of it that way. Thanks for showing how you make broth. I think I will try that next time I use bone-in chicken
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My sister after many years of cutting chicken off the bones had it! She bought a whole chicken for .59 a pound and boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.59 a pound and deboned the whole chicken and weighed the meat she had and discovered that for those prices they were the same price….but you do not get the bones for broth, which I like. But I will still buy BS at times for ease of use.
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I just started buying whole chickens, cooking then in a crock pot, and I stretch them over 5 meals in one week. Usually don’t freeze any of it, but I think I may start soon. I just found whole chickens at Aldi for $.79/lb! I’m sure they aren’t the organic/antibiotic free kind, but when you have a next to nothing budget for food you buy what you can afford. We always look for the chickens that are at least 5 lbs. so they will stretch for those 5 meals.
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brilliant! I’m terrified of bone-in chicken– but TOTALLY willing to try this!! Thanks so much!!!
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Thanks so much! My mom is the ultimate b/s snob so I never knew exactly how to handle the whole process. I’m 28, almost 29 and just now learning to cook things that don’t come in a box. I love your blog.
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Love the play by play and I think I might have increased my Spanish vocab!!
You know I trust you without hesitation, but I’m sticking to my B/S snobbery…for now.
But I’m bookmarking just in case!! LOL!
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I’m not a b/s snob because I prefer the dark meat, and also because a whole chicken is so much cheaper and so much more versatile. When I get a good deal on a whole chicken, I really stock up. If I want to make oven fried chicken, I cut it up myself, which is very easy and can be accomplished in just a couple of minutes. The “wages” for the few minutes it takes to cut up a whole chicken is probably pretty high. The best price I see for bone in breasts is about 99 cents/pound, and every once in awhile chicken goes as low as 49 cents a pound here. It probably takes me 3 minutes to cut a whole chicken, so 3 minutes at 50 cents equals 10 dollars an hour (if I did my math right!). For chicken meat, I can fit five chickens in a big roaster pan. I remove the skin first, then put them in the pan with salt, pepper, onions and garlic, Cover tightly and bake till the meat falls off the bone. Let it cool and remove the meat, to use as needed, then boil the bones with a little vinegar to make a wonderful bone broth.
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Thank you!! This was really, really helpful! My hubby is a B/S snob and this will help me in convincing him that it really is cheaper and better to buy the chicken with the bone in. And the recipe for broth is JUST what I needed.
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I am a B.S tenderloin snob. I love that I can just grab a few pieces out of the bag at a time,if I’m just cooking for myself. What I don’t love is the price. I’ve watched a 3 lb. bag go from $5.75 to $6.99 in a little over a year. I’m going to take your advice and try this…
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Whole chickens used to seem too messy and ‘ucky’ to me. Now, however, I’m budgeting and have found they aren’t as hard to handle as I once thought. And…for those of you with dogs ~ when you buy a whole chicken, you get a liver free!! lol. I Also thought liver was nasty, but boy…once I discovered how little effort was needed to drive my dogs crazy with love for moi lol…just sprinkle that liver with a little garlic powder and cook about 12 minutes in a pan sprayed with Pam and your babies will do ANYthing for a bite! …thanks for the great post! I’ll try adding vinegar next time to my broth.
~tracy
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Thanks so much for this timely post – I’ve been getting braver with the split chicken breasts and just bought some yesterday as they were BOGO. I was wondering today what the heck to do with them and now I know! Thanks!
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Former B/S snob here! But now I buy them pretty infrequently. I actually roast a whole chicken every week or so, pull off all the meat we don’t eat that night (a fair bit) and throw the carcass in the stock pot to make me some free stock (I add onions, carrots, celery, etc. if the chicken was pretty plain). We’re considering going organic with our meat, so even though a whole organic chicken will run me about $10, it will give us two meals’ worth of chicken, plus a couple of quarts of organic chicken broth. Works for me!
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Funny – I just learned to not be a “snob” I was simply trying to save money and I couldn’t believe how many meals I can get out of it when I use the whole chicken, I made some really good spicy chicken taco-ish soup the other night from the bones and some meat I purposely left on them.
I have another chiken to use which I will make chicken tacos, chicken pizzas and some more soup from:)
http://cheapcookinmama.blogspot.com
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Thanks for the tips on the chicken. I have been wanting to do some cutting off the bone for a while, but haven’t attempted it.
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I’m a snob here. (not so proud of it) Thanks so much for this article, it has made me want to be brave and try the bone in chicken!
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So inspiring! Confession: I’ve never bought chicken with a bone in it unless it was already cooked. Teach me, oh Great One. I’m ripe to learn!
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Wow – What a great post! I learned so much and am ready to try out all your great tips!
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Okay you’ve convinced me, I’m totally going to give it a try. You are inspiring girl!!
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