<p>I have never never cooked with actual breast filets. The prices are just too outrageous, and even with “deals” the prices are at 2-3 times the type of chicken I normally buy. </p>
<p>Normally when a recipe calls for small chunks of meat to be fried, my technique has been to semi-cook cheaper cuts of chicken (chicken backs, leg quarters, etc.) in a pot of boiling water, let it gather some broth, then take out some of the meat and use a large knife to cut out the partially-cooked meat and use that for frying. The bonus is that I also have some broth (I put the rest of the chicken cut back in, including all those valuable bones!!) that I also add to the pan when the recipe calls for water later.</p>
<p>My question to you parents is how effective this substitution is, what I’m missing out, whether anyone has done similar things before, etc. </p>
<p>Also maybe breast filets aren’t all that expensive if you use them properly. But I’m an experimenter.</p>
<p>It’s only food. You can make your own boneless pieces of meat by removing the skin and bones yourself. Cooking by boiling- yuk for my palate. It doesn’t matter, experimenting and modifying recipes is the way to go. If it tastes good, saves time and money- great! Don’t obsess over your food, even if you enter a cooking school.</p>
<p>I’ve been seeing boneless chicken breasts and thighs on sale for $1.99/lb. Not sure, but Costco and similar stores must have these frozen for that price or less. Unless you’re a huge eater, a pound stir fried with vegetables should produce 3 or 4 meals. </p>
<p>Hard to believe you’re getting better value from chicken backs which is bone and fat. You’re also missing out on the nutritional benefits of lean meat. </p>
<p>I’d recommend eating less meat to save money and only buying meat on sale because it freezes well. Watch the stores for their loss leader sales and freeze in small portions.</p>
<p>Heh, wasn’t sure what this thread was about based on the title… it’s a funny combination of words.</p>
<p>Anyway, <em>ahem</em>, I prefer dark meat–the thigh and drumstick, to breast meat anyday. Boneless thighs can be substituted for breast filets easily. They don’t have that nice shape, but they have the advantage of staying moist even when overcooked.</p>
<p>I spend way more on vegetables than I do on chicken…spices, milk and yogurt come next. Chicken comes last.</p>
<p>I don’t consume that much meat, really. </p>
<p>My average budget is 10 dollars/week, and even I find that appalling (my goal is 5 dollars/week) with 2 meals a day.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Uhh I’m a huge eater and a huge exerciser I guess. I’ve been losing weight steadily since I entered college. Lost about 30 pounds (from 194 to 164) on cheap cuts during the school year … now going on 40… I guess it’s why unit price is very important for me.</p>
<p>Make sure you’re not getting malnourished. On $10/wk I’d start learning about all of the things you can do with dried legumes. They are a good source of cheap protein and they’re tasty and filling.</p>
<p>If you are throwing away 50% of the weight of thighs and wings that cost 99 cents per pound, your actual cost goes up to $1.98 per pound, not including the labor and time spent on de-boning and de-skinning.</p>
<p>There should be no need to pre-boil your chicken to make stirfires. Just cut it off the bones, remove the skins and fat, and you are good to go. I think that dark meat tastes better than breast meat in stir fries. You can still use the bones and skins to make chicken broth and soups.</p>
<p>Well they’re 79 cents a pound, I find I use most of it. 70% is meat while 30% is bone, and did I mention bones are very useful? The meat is one thing, but bones provide all that nutritious marrow…</p>
<p>At some point I weighed the bones left from deboning chicken breasts and decided that it was well worth it to pay the butcher. The price difference was minimal. However I agree that you can always substitute darker meat. You may have to cook it a tad longer.</p>
<p>I have found galoisien’s cooking inquiries fascinating and enlightening. I have 2 young adults beginning to move into that cook for yourself world so it’s fun to get the various perspectives!</p>
<p>I no longer HAVE to penny pinch like my younger days, but still do in certain areas. Chicken is one of them. Having a family to feed makes it worthwhile to always have Costco boneless chicken breasts in the freezer. At $2.99 a pound and the convenience - it’s a great deal.</p>
<p>I’m also a big fan of buying whole chickens. I can’t imagine partially cooking to get the meat off though - that’s a lot of lost flavor you’re giving to the stock. I’d suggest learning how to debone your chicken. If I find a great deal on whole chickens, I will cut the pieces I really want for that meal and freeze the rest. You’ll get the good meat for your current recipe and salvage any left behind meat when you cook for stock.</p>
<p>Because I’m cooking for a family, I use most of the “good” pieces right away. I collect those odds and ends and boney pieces in the freezer, then every once in a while I’ll boil them all together with veggies etc to make a nice stock.</p>
<p>Kudos to you in the kitchen. I like your adventurous spirit!</p>
<p>I agree with not boiling first to use chicken for frying or stir-fry. It is not hard to learn to cut up a chicken and de-bone. Parboiling may give you stock, but the flavor is in the stock and not the meat that is left. I LOVE a good pair of kitchen sheers. Nothing better for cutting up a chicken. De-boning a breast–or any other part, is then easy. There is still plenty left to use for stock, etc.</p>
<p>Another vote for don’t cook the chicken first if you are stir frying. If you are primarily cooking Asian dishes (and don’t have a lot of use for cooked shredded chicken) I would buy a whole breast pack or maybe even a boneless breasts, then cut into small strips and freeze the raw strips in serving size packs. My understanding of stir fries is that the point is extending the meat, and in a household one chicken breast might feed 4-5 people cut into stir fry strips. Reproducing this economically from an American grocery store might be harder than you think, because the packaging automatically causes a lot of waste.
If you are very discplined, and don’t eat a lot of meat, the pre-cooked chicken strips with Asian flavorings for stir fry (they come for fajitas, too) might actually be the most economical choice, because there is no waste, you just re-seal the bag, using 3-4 strips per meal.</p>
<p>Admittedly I almost never thaw my frozen chicken (which makes it hard to debone uncooked)…probably why I boil it too (to make the defrosting faster). Well I’ll see what I can do.</p>
<p>And I’ve tried deboning unfrozen chicken before …aaahhhhh! Now I have a bigger knife than what I had in the dorms though. But still, ahhhhh!</p>
<p>mom60 - I’m VERY picky about my chicken. Only buy organic boneless…and yes it’s pricey.
I cut it in small pieces and use it in stir fry with LOTS of veggies - served over brown rice…so I don’t need so much. I also use it for fajitas - but again - I use lots of other fillers (black beans, avocado, peppers, onions, light sour cream).<br>
I sometimes get thighs - usually in the winter to use in a slow cooker.
I only boil chicken (actually, I call it poaching) when I make chicken salad and that’s rare. Never before stir frying.
You can defrost in a microwave if you’re patient.</p>
<p>I only buy locally raised and fresh - never frozen. I am tending to look more and more for organic when possible, balancing it with cost. As the family shrinks and I need less, I’m willing to spend more. Lately I’ve been buying the double pack of Costco organic whole chickens and cutting them up as appropriate.</p>
<p>We almost always have some cooked chicken in the fridge - that and flour tortillas. A lot can be done with those things, the right veggies, beans, a little cheese…</p>