!WARNING! the text, images and descriptions below may be graphic or disturbing to some individuals. the purpose of this post is to accurately explain butchering methods to be used to process whole animals, that yes, were once happily trotting around in a field, and now are not.!
ever go to the store and compare the price of bone in chicken thighs to the price of bonless chickenb thighs? the cost of the average pound of chicken thighs ranges between .89 cents and 1.49. bonless thighs? they cost more like 2.49 - 3.49 a pound. that a signifigant differance. and yes i do realize that with bone in you are paying for the weight of the bone, but the bones dont really weight much and make exceptional soup broth.
aside from price, you might find the boneless thighs in a good amount of grocery stores, but would be hard pressed to find yourself boneless turkey or duck thighs anywhere.
so what do i do? i bone out my own thighs, and it is EXTREMLY easy to do. there is only ONE bone in a thigh, and its strait as an arrow, pokes out at both ends and only takes a few cuts to remove.
i used turkey thighs for this demo because A.) i already had them and B.) they are bigger, so you can get a better look at what i am doing
aside from price, you might find the boneless thighs in a good amount of grocery stores, but would be hard pressed to find yourself boneless turkey or duck thighs anywhere.
so what do i do? i bone out my own thighs, and it is EXTREMLY easy to do. there is only ONE bone in a thigh, and its strait as an arrow, pokes out at both ends and only takes a few cuts to remove.
i used turkey thighs for this demo because A.) i already had them and B.) they are bigger, so you can get a better look at what i am doing
lay the thigh skin side down on a cutting board. i prefer to place mine right in the sink for easy clean up, but the counter is fine. look at where the thigh bone pokes out at either end of the thigh and cut along the bone to expose it through the flesh.
gently pull the flesh back while working in and around the bone. be careful at either end of the thigh at there is cartalegse around the bone caps that you want to be sure to remove.
work the knife down both sides of the bone until only the flesh underneath remains attached hold the bone up off the cutting board so the weight of the flesh pulls the meat down. cut the hanging meat free from the bone and work up and down toward the bone caps. be sure to cut wide to avoid any small loose pieces.
gently pull the flesh back while working in and around the bone. be careful at either end of the thigh at there is cartalegse around the bone caps that you want to be sure to remove.
work the knife down both sides of the bone until only the flesh underneath remains attached hold the bone up off the cutting board so the weight of the flesh pulls the meat down. cut the hanging meat free from the bone and work up and down toward the bone caps. be sure to cut wide to avoid any small loose pieces.
at this point i like to pound out the meat and stuff, but chicken, duck and turkey thigh are also pretty good bathed in BBQ on the grill. since its all of Negative 2 outside now, here is a nice stuffed turkey recipe to get you started