(And here’s some ideas for what to do with chicken breasts, and what to do with chicken thighs!)
For 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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Oh yes, I am absolutely a snob. I prefer white meat, but I also heard that the br. meat was healthier as it has less fat, etc. Don’t know if that’s true. I have cooked whole chickens before though.
This made me laugh since I just purposely tried chicken feet at dim sum yesterday. They were, interesting.
Wow!! I tried cutting chicken breast when I was in college (I lived in the dorms). And I was terrible at it!! I felt like I was dissecting a frog. LOL… It still baffles me how my mom makes it seem so effortless and enjoyable.
I’m a B/S snob! I really don’t like any meat with bones in it and for me, its just not worth it to de-bone it myself. Plus, the thought of de-boning myself just grosses me out. LOL.
Slightly off topic … is there something else to be done with the bones besides broth? My family has been eating a lot more turkey than normal lately because of the incredible sales … My freezer is stocked fairly well with turkey broth at this point, but every time I’m faced with the carcass, I can’t bear to throw it away … is there anything else I can do with it?
Your post may be the one that tips the scale for me… I have seen several posts and recipes for making homemade broth and cream soups lately, and while I do normally buy B/S breasts for convenience – stocking up on sales – I haven’t seen a good sale in a while! Now that I have a good use for the bones, I think I’ll go all out! That’s part of what has kept me from doing it so far – feeling I would waste the bones and the bits of meat which are left on them. Oh, and the idea to freeze the chicken in with the sauce is great! That might just get me to make a full commitment to menu planning as well. Thanks again.
Here in Mozambique Africa the chicken feet is a delicacy! It’s a great honor to receive the chicken foot on your plate. I, however, have not managed to eat it. And there is ZERO meat on that foot, I have tried to find it and it’s just not there! It is seriously just skin and crunchy bones.
My husband ate some kind of bird feet in China one time. LOL
I love how you packaged it!
-Kim
OK, so THIS is awesome! Thanks so much! We pretty much only eat chicken in this house and your tips are fantastic. Not only are they going to help us save money, but time. WOOT!
Peace and love~
~*Michelle*~
Last week when Meijer had the split chicken for $1/pound, I stockpiled. Good, right? Well…we are s/b snobs (nothing to be ashamed of
). For the first time ever, I actually cut the split chicken into b/s! All on my own! And it didn’t look bad and all in one piece!! 
Wow, did I save a ton of cashola by doing that.
Erin, Thanks so much for sharing this. I guess I am a B/S snob. I hate looking at the insides of the chicken. I don’t even eat fried chicken on the bone. It all grosses me out. But, because of you last week I actually bought bone-in chicken. I cooked some of it the other day and it wasn’t so bad. Today I’m going to try and do it your way. Thank you so much for helping me save money!
Thank you for this. I am a B/S snob, mostly because I have never know or tried anything different. This is a great education and I will have to try it.
I’m a B/S chicken snob! But that’s mostly because I have the hardest time cutting a whole chicken. My mom gets these amazing rotisserie chickens, but I can never slice them. So I automatically go for b/s chicken breasts. The sad part is, my mom is an amazing cook and actually owns a catering company, I’ve just never asked her to show me how to cut a chicken. Thank you for the advice though. I’m new to your blog, but I think it’s such a fantastic idea.
God bless,
Hannah
Ok so I have to be honest with you I am totaly a snob too!! I will only buy boneless skinless chicken breast but……. I am willing to try it now I am and will go and buy the whole chicken darn it!! I am going to try it and I am going to save ur blog to so I can com eback to it and tell you all about it thank you so much no more S/B snob lol
I love this website! You do a wonderful job! I’d just like to caution thawing meat in warm water. Cold water should always be used to thaw meat. It’s a sanitation issue.
I have tried buying cheaper cuts of chicken, but it really isn’t worth the time for me. I have a rule that I will NOT buy B/S breast unless it is $1.99/lb or less (and there are quite a few of those sales around here). I tried the bone-in breast, but:
-I have a hard time getting the skin off (it’s so slimy & hard to keep a grip on while you cut it).
-I haven’t been doing anything with the bones (I don’t have a crock pot, so I still don’t know what to do with the bones).
-From the time I open a bone-in package to the time it’s in a storage baggie, it seems like it has taken me FOREVER to deal with. Maybe I’m just a slower cook. I don’t know.
As long as I keep finding the $1.99 B/S, I will keep dealing with that. Thank you for the article!! It was very informative, since I didn’t know how to make broth!!
Just found the site today after you appeared on the RR Show-which is my new favorite! Thanks so much for the great tips. I’m finally a stay-at-home mom so any new trick will help. My newest trick for chicken-I boil a combo of bone-in Thighs(.78/lb) and bone in Breasts (.99/lb) then chop the meat for chicken casseroles for the rest of the month. After I divied up the meat in zippies, my cost per dish is now $1.56. I saw on RR show that the thigh meat is very comparable to the breast meat but cheaper. After cooking it, the thigh meat did seem to be very similar to the white meat and I will do this combo from now on.
My mother is a fabulous cook and I can remember calling her in college to ask how to cut a whole chicken-phone on shoulder, chicken in one hand, knife in the other. Since then I have never been afraid of bone-in chicken. My husband unfortunately is a LOUD B/S snob, so I have to camouflage the bone-in chicken. I am slowly winning him over with my frugality and maybe soon he will see the light!
To Claire:
To get skin off a chicken, use a paper towel to peel the skin back. It’s not slimy and comes off pretty easily.
As for the bones, no crock pot, don’t worry. Get a big pot and do exactly the same thing only on a stove on very low heat for 8 hours. It’s the same thing.
Time savers: get a moist towel to put under your cutting board to keep it from slipping, make sure you have a sharp knife to work with, have your pot ready for the bones, have a ziploc ready for your new b/s chicken breasts to go in the freezer or to marinate.
Hope this helps,
Gina
I believe you need to try out for: “Hey Can you cook” on rachael ray ( I know you’ve been on the show) OR Next Food Network STAR – as you are a star and have lots of interesting stories and the such like they want on the program! Thanks so much for all the tips, recipes, and fun here on $5 dinners! Maybe we should all take inspiration from the movie Julia and Julie too and blog our way through various cookbooks – like you are your own too – Or try to turn the recipes into $5 dinners!? Just a thought… I post favorites from various sites and especially Food Network on my blog! Cooking, Baking, Shopping, Meal prep, couponing, and all is SO MUCH FUN!
I wasn’t always good with whole chickens. Here are a few things I’ve picked up. Apart from basic good procedure, like SHARP knives, get a pair of kitchen shears made to cut food. (Mine are from Smith & Wesson. They even have a notch by the pivot just for chicken bones, and they come apart for cleaning. They are incredible!!)
Cool, and the pickings should fall right off. Perfect for salad, casserole, whatever.
My best cheat for whole chickens is to stuff the bird with a chopped onion–dust the onion with paprika, curry, herbs, or whatever YOU like. If you can’t sew, close the openings with toothpicks, but don’t ‘bury’ the picks. Oven roast. Lay the bird breast up for a “show” bird, or breast down for the juiciest roast chicken you’ve ever had. Then the whole thing is already cooked, and the leftover can be picked as soon as it’s cool enough. QUICK, CHEAP, EASY! The Cheapskate trifecta!!
Chicken comes from a whole animal: bones, gizzards, guts, skin, feathers and feet. Your story about the Dominican butcher gave me a good laugh, but it also made me appreciate my roots on the farm. I’ve killed, plucked, prepped, roasted and eaten chickens that I’ve known and fed. I also got a puzzled chuckle out of the comments about being “grossed out” by a whole chicken, or even the parts that aren’t purely muscle. You and I have skin and bones; so do birds. Even the ones we eat. Remember, respect and be grateful for/to the animals you eat.
@red.kitteh, Oops, I think I left in a gratuitous sentence there at the end of the first paragraph. Sorry.
how is cutting frozen chicken easier? i can see partially frozen. sorry I just found this website and it’s awesome
@kim,
The knife cuts cleaner through the chicken when frozen. (But you hands will get cold!)
Thank you for posting this. I too am kind of a b/s chix snob but I think it’s becuase I have no cooking skills and didn’t even know where to begin with whole chickens. I buy food through the Angel Food Ministries program and they always put in whole chikens and split chicken breast, becuase it’s cheaper, but I never know what to do with them. You post has helped greatly. Thank you!!
Great post! I just got a package of split chicken breasts last week for .88/lb. Once they were partially thawed, I pulled the skin off (easier than trying to do it after the chicken has completely thawed). Next, I boiled all five breasts, then pulled the meat from the bone, shredded it, and put it in freezer bags. I plan to use one pkg for chicken enchiladas next week. Not sure what I’ll use the other pkg for just yet.
@Lisa,
Great deal…and the possibilities are endless for that shredded chicken…perhaps some chicken salad sandwiches or a yummy wrap?!?
Girl, that’s the best part of the chicken.
I like to make Chinese style food and the breast goes best with those recipes.
This one is good.
http://www.xomba.com/stir_fried_chicken_cashew_nuts
Some people love chicken feet because they’re chewy. I don’t see why I should pay for something I don’t want.
This is a great article! I used to be a B/S snob too! Split chicken breast is a lot cheaper than B/S. I can usually find it for about half the price per pound than boneless. I never realized though that the tenderloin was in there, but it makes sense now because I always found that meat to be so tender! Great tips here!
Growing up b/s chicken was all my mom made. Her reasons were time and the easy prep. Being a single mom of 3 growing boys and 1 girl it’s whole chicken all the way!! I need to cook at least 3 whole birds at a time with very littl leftovers. I taught myself how to seperate and debone the chicken into pieces. I’m always on the lookout for new recipes!! So keep em coming!!
I can’t find the Honey Lime Chicken recipe on your site. Please share the link! Thanks
Thank you! You are awesome! I have a pack of 5 breasts at home waiting for me, and this is exactly what I am going to do with them. My husband is from El Salvador and my aversion to bones and other parts (liver, TONGUE!) perplex him… but now, B/S snob no more! YAY!
not tried the hole chicken. I used the chicken breast but it would be nice to make the chicken broth/stock from scratch but I don’t think my crockpot would do it. (mine is a rice cooker with slow cooking capabliites).
Wow that is alot of work. How long does it take for you do that? A day? phew! I don’t think our fridge/freezer would allow for that much stockpiling. I already feel like i’m stock piling as it is. and its just me and the hubby…
Thanks so much for this!
Great story, Erin! I still can’t brave the butcher in the market but I do buy bone-in breasts and whole chickens either at a new meat shop across from Pizza and Pepperoni or when we can make it down to Santiago. Just wish I had a bigger freezer!
LOL I just read this, and thank you for sharing it! I too am almost always a B/S snob. on occasion I will buy thighs, but I always wind up saying, Ugh…B/S is SO much better, and go back to it. Or Drumsticks for grilling, but DH doesn’t like meat on the bone–LOL and won’t eat those.
Thanks to your post, I may just try a split breast next time. And I definitely like the idea of making homemade broth! The store-bought broth is SO high in sodium.
Chicken feet can also be used for making stock, just throw em in crock pot with the bones. It actually adds a nice gelatinous quality to the stock you can’t quite get from bones alone. I made a pretty awesome okra stew for a Mardis Gras-themed potluck using chicken feet stock.
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Appreciate it!
Next time try not cutting the breast off the bone until the chicken is fully cooked. It will be so juicy and tender you will wonder why you ever did it any other way.
Hi just thought i would let you know something.. It is twice now i?ve landed on your weblog inside the last three weeks searching for totally unrelated things. Wonderful Info! Maintain up the very good function.
OK, so I know it’s been a couple of years since you wrote this, but I stumbled upon it after doing a search for bone-in chicken breast recipes (first time buying these).
My questions – How do you store the broth, and how long does it keep?
Thanks!
Jena
Yes, just stumbled on this and love it!! I was really looking for a broth recipe, but I found this–even better!
Hello, thank you really much for this post. I am interested in the design you are using. Could you send me an email?
Good job … I dont like feet on my chicken either
When a local market had bone-in split chicken breasts for $.98/lb I stockpiled! I came home, pulled up your post and got to work. It took me just over an hour to de-bone, de-skin and separate 2 packages which contained 10 large breasts. The 2 pkgs weighed 5.4 lbs each and cost a total of $10.58.
This resulted in:
10 beautifully cleaned, boneless, skinless chicken breasts weighing 4 lb 15 oz
15.8 oz of boneless, skinless chicken tenderloin meat
and a crock pot filled and cooking with homemade chicken stock!
Cost of the breast meat came to $1.79/lb in the end. For the 2 of us, this creates 6 meals not counting the stock. I’m lovin’ it!
Awesome Laura…great find and great job getting it all prepared and ready to go!!! Yay for spending less on groceries!
Erin
Where can I find your recipes? (the fajitas, honey lime chicken and Ginger stir fry)
Thanks for the info! I’m about to attempt it. Do you let your chicken breasts marinate in the rotel and the honey lime marinades for a day and then freeze them for later?
Thanks!!!!
I am definitely a b/s chicken snob – no ifs and or buts. I just love the versitility. I just got 40 lbs of chicken from Zaycon for 1.49 a pound! Thought it was fabulous. Picked it up on Saturday and wrapped it into 12 packages of at least 2.5 pound packages. If you are interested chech out https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf55585
to see if they have a drop off point in your area. This time it was chicken, next will be ground beef but they will have salmon,cherries, blueberries … I don’t remember all the others – but they are the wave of the future. No sitting on shelves or warehouses like some supermarkets – from farm to you!
Love the recipe and write up. I am not much of a cook but I always looks for ways to improve and get better cooking ideas and get new recipes as well. I will come back again for additional recipes that I may be able to add to my cook book so to speak. Thanks
You have some awesome ideas on cooking with some great recipes, I will follow more of your $5.00 recipes and try some of these out, Thank you for the information.
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Thanks for such a wonderful post. I’m so glad I read this one.
I tried this recipe. Thanks for giving me the idea on how to cook delicious chicken. My family loved this.
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