# Your cutting tool



## chewice (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey!

I was tearing apart a 10 oz turkey neck...how that was in there with 2 5 oz necks beats me... but what do you guys use for portion dividing? Meat cleavers... scissors.....

I can barely get thru the turkey and was scared of cutting off a finger so I got the bf to do it with a cleaver.

Kendyl


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

I use either very sharp knives or a poultry sheers. The sheers work really well, just be careful where your fingers are when you use them. I darn near cut the tip of my index finger off the other day cutting frozen liver.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I use either my Shun chef's knife, a butcher knife that I bought super cheap but it's AWESOME or just some heavy duty scissors.


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## liquid (Dec 28, 2011)

A very, very sharp knife.

With the right kind of cleaver, you can cut through just about anything. Just make sure your hands arent in the way!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Shears for sure....Ive never used a knife since starting raw!!:tongue:

I have 2 sets of shears...love them both and keep them nice and sharp and they love me too!!:wink:

(Oh and of course the sawsall for the larger bone pieces!!:thumb


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## leilaquinn (Sep 7, 2011)

Time for some shopping for me! Shears sound good and a cleaver sounds like a fun thing to buy. I just use a big knife but it's not that effective


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I got the idea for shears on here and got some and they are fantastic. I still use a knife some, but not a whole lot.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I love my sawzall, I need to get some shears though. I do have a game processing kit from Bass Pro as well with a variety of knives...ooohh, maybe there are shears in that actually, I need to go look.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Must be something about turkeys...I struggle with them too. Turkey legs are too big for Louis so I usually divide it up into the meat and give the bone as a rec bone. Out of all the things I've cut so far, I hate them the most. I use shears for most of my other poultry (wings and backs) and I use my Shun knife on the rest. It's super sharp, but it's also a really tiny one because I found it on clearance at Marshalls :frown: Those of you who use Shun knives, what size do you have? I swear one of these days I'm going to nick myself by accident :shocked:


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I have this one! 

http://www.amazon.com/Shun-DM0706-Classic-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B0000Y7KNQ


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## chewice (Jan 1, 2012)

....139 bucks!!! I hate how expensive knives are. I think Im going to just go buy a pair of good sheers. I dont want to ruin my normal knife set and dull it a ton. Canadian tire here I come.


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

I just have a cheapo cutting knife and an ulu, it's not going to chop through bone unless it's chicken or something but legs/wings/necks I just pop the bone out of joint and cut in between. I've almost chopped a finger off so many times, it is totally true when they say feeding raw is dangerous.


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

GoingPostal said:


> I just have a cheapo cutting knife and an ulu, it's not going to chop through bone unless it's chicken or something but legs/wings/necks I just pop the bone out of joint and cut in between. I've almost chopped a finger off so many times, it is totally true when they say feeding raw is dangerous.


Now that's interesting-- I had no idea what an "ulu" was, and did a search. Very cool; I like the shape, and seems like it would be safer to use.

Where did you get yours?


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

A girl in Alaska on my ferret forum sells them, I think it was like $5, they are a big tourist thing up there and come unsharpened but that's easy enough to fix. I have a cleaver but I'm too scared to even touch that thing, it really looks like a bad idea for me lol. I did just buy a hatchet to chop up whole rabbits into smaller chunks, my supervisor says it works if they are frozen, we shall see.


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## chewice (Jan 1, 2012)

Do you find the ulu better to chop through bone than a clever?


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Does anyone use the shears from Pampered Chef? A coworker sells Pampered Chef recommended it. It is only $25 and I am thinking about buying it to help prevent cutting my fingers off.


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## Kbug (Oct 23, 2011)

I use the knife set I bought for the lab portion of my meats class from college. Yes, I spent an entire semester learning about meat. Its got a scabbard, a skinning knife, boning knife, steak knife, and a steele. I hate turkey necks, but I usually just find the point where I want to divide it and cut into the neck the whole circumference. Once I've made a cut all the way around I just pull the neck back to break it and twist it apart. 

Kbug


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

NewYorkDogue said:


> Now that's interesting-- I had no idea what an "ulu" was, and did a search. Very cool; I like the shape, and seems like it would be safer to use.
> 
> Where did you get yours?


Funny, I have one of these but never thought about using it for cutting up the stuff for Sheba. Will give it a try...


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

I mainly use these Amazon.com: Home Kitchen Chicken Bone Scissors Professional Poultry Shears: Kitchen & Dining
and then this knife Amazon.com: Pure Komachi 2 Series Serrated Multi-Utility Knife: Kitchen & Dining the tip is super sharp and the back end is serrated. The shears are great for bone, but really need to be sharpened to cut skin. That is next on my list, a knife sharpener.


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

Cuisinart shears, might even be from Canadian Tire. Can't remember where I bought them. I had a meat cleaver first, the shears are superior to a cleaver for cutting necks.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Sharp knife here. Real sharp. Wayne usually does all the cutting because I'm rather clumsy with the whole cutting thing.


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

I recommend folks wear cloth gardening gloves when cutting up large amounts of meat. Saw that in a youtube video on butchering. It does cut down on a lot of those small nicks. I also noticed it kind of makes it easier to hold the meat if, like myself, you don't have a meat hook.


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

Tried the cleaver with the rubber mallet over the weekend.....GENIUS. Less mess and it goes through anything. Thanks for the tip....I learn so much here it amazes me on a daily basis.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

I have always used a good meat cleaver and a rubber mallet. By far the easiest way that I've found. I have heard that a good pair of shears will work well too. 
I'm kinda a wimp so I have trouble cutting some bone heavy items, the cleaver and mallet have worked really well for me. :thumb:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

that's funny...a sawzall....not quite there yet.

really sharp carving knife, mallet, cleaver, and shears. 

i guess it depends on what is...that i'm getting ready to feed.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

trikerdon said:


> Funny, I have one of these but never thought about using it for cutting up the stuff for Sheba. Will give it a try...


same here. my grandmother had it...i have it now...and i just keep it. have to look at it again.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Cliffdog said:


> I recommend folks wear cloth gardening gloves when cutting up large amounts of meat. Saw that in a youtube video on butchering. It does cut down on a lot of those small nicks. I also noticed it kind of makes it easier to hold the meat if, like myself, you don't have a meat hook.


yeah, but it takes all the fun away....


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

when buying a carving knife or any kind of knife, i would suggest feeling one, before shopping on the 'net to get the best price.....

the shun is a great knife, but the handle didn't feel right for me....so i have a henckel....one of their higher end knives. 

it's a good investment, a higher end knife, like the shun, simply because they last longer....

one of these days, i'm going to learn how to properly sharpen a knife instead of ruining the blade over time with the electric sharpeners.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

I use a cleaver for turkey necks (I get the tom ones that are HUGE so I cut them in half) and quarters. I can do a 40lb. case of quarters (I just cut them in half, my guys can't stand when I give whole ones and they never try to gulp them, so it works) in like 30min. with that thing, it's great!

Fiance got me an electric knife for Christmas.. it's really nice for the bigger cuts, like pork shoulder. Other than that, I just have a really sharp knife that my dad gave me that works great.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

magicre said:


> that's funny...a sawzall....not quite there yet.
> 
> really sharp carving knife, mallet, cleaver, and shears.
> 
> i guess it depends on what is...that i'm getting ready to feed.


I used a recip on a frozen deer carcas! :lol:


I don't really use anything for portioning anymore though... i can't remember the last time i cut anything or portioned anything out on a scale. usually we used a normal kitchen knife, even to split turkey necks in half it did the job just fine.


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

I didn't read all the post. 

Use poultry shears almost daily and like magicre a Henckel Knife...sometimes an electric one. I have no need for a cleaver...just a knife and shears is all I need.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

I use a set of shears like these. You can get them off of Ebay for $20. I like them because they come apart easily for cleaning.

OXO Goog Grips Poultry Shears (719812019680) | eBay


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Huginn said:


> I mainly use these Amazon.com: Home Kitchen Chicken Bone Scissors Professional Poultry Shears: Kitchen & Dining


I LOVE these shears!!

I have to say, after having 3 other pairs I LOVE the fact that these do NOT come apart! I DETEST that about most kitchen shears you find....but these ones dont!:thumb:


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> I LOVE these shears!!
> 
> I have to say, after having 3 other pairs I LOVE the fact that these do NOT come apart! I DETEST that about most kitchen shears you find....but these ones dont!:thumb:


Are yours sharp enough to cut through skin? It seems like I am mostly tearing mine or having to get it in just the right spot.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Huginn said:


> Are yours sharp enough to cut through skin? It seems like I am mostly tearing mine or having to get it in just the right spot.


The tips are...but I also have my scissors that I use just for skin/meat.....NOTHING else is allowed to be cut with them!:wink:


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