Kitchen Poultry Shears
Posted on December 18, 2009
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Kitchen poultry shears are designed specifically for cutting through bone, chicken or fish skin, and other tough materials. Poultry shears can be utilized as general kitchen shears and they are suitable for variety of heavy duty kitchen tasks. Poultry shears may not be considered an essential kitchen tool, but they when it comes to cutting apart a whole chicken they make the job so much easier.
Kitchen poultry shears look similar to a scissor, however, they are heavier and the handles are generally larger for a firmer grip. Most are made of carbon steel or stainless steel, which holds an edge as well as making them extremely durable. Depending on the design, the shears may be solid molded, or handles in materials like plastic may be attached. The former is considered to be higher quality and will last longer. Some kitchen poultry shears will have one serrated blade, which can better grip the bone or meat while it is being cut.
Kitchen poultry shears are great for cutting a chicken’s breastbone, although some cooks prefer to use a cleaver for that purpose. They can also be used on an assortment of tough foods to cut rapidly and with a great deal of control. You may note that specific recipes call for poultry shears in particular for things like trimming and cutting meat. Because the blades of the meat-shears can cut through meats and other foods from two directions at the same time they can often handle the kind of cutting job that a simple knife can not accomplish. Ideally, poultry shears should not be used for non-kitchen tasks, although most are perfectly capable of being used in this capacity.
Be sure that the poultry-shears you choose can be sharpened. Like knife blades, poultry-shears will dull over time. Because blades can become seriously damaged or bent blade, rather than purchase an entirely new set of kitchen shears, it’s a good idea to pick up replacement blades. For added protection, purchase and use a sheath, not only to keep your hands from getting cut when reaching into the kitchen drawer, but also to keep your poultry-shears from getting dull.
When making your first kitchen poultry shears purchase, it pays to spend a little more as cheap poultry shears have a short life-span. Look for solid kitchen shears that feel heavy and well balanced in your hand and avoid poultry shears with materials that feel flimsy or shoddy. You should also stay away from shears with lots of nooks and crannies around the handle, as those areas are difficult to clean and can easily harbor bacteria. Their blades and handles should be composed of a hard metal, typically stainless steel, although the steel handles are usually coated with a layer of protective and slip-proof plastic. Less expensive brands of the shears will feature metal blades that are embedded at one end into plastic handles. The principal design of kitchen shears is the fulcrum (the pivot about which a lever turns) on the blades, which are positioned further from the handles. This placement helps to enhance the ability to angle the shear’s blades in just the right direction for a cutting task. At the same time, the design also makes it possible to increase the rate of pressure that is exerted as the handles are used to move the blades toward one another. In addition, the tips of blades are often rounded or blunted rather than coming to a point, although this is not always the case.
There are several different designs of kitchen poultry-shears with different types of shear-blades, eg., offset (which allow you to cut at an angle while retaining leverage), blunt or softened tips (so that the ends of the blades will not rip or tear the foods that the cook is working with), and serrated shear-blades (for special projects).
Some of the best kitchen-shears brands best suited for cutting through chicken (or fish) are WMF poultry shears, Wusthof poultry shears, Henckel poultry shears, OXO poultry shears, Messermeiseror kitchen shears, or Masterclass Professional Poultry Shears that are all metal. They’re invaluable for cutting up a whole chicken for frying as well as other cuts of meat that contain bones. Kitchen shears also make it possible to quickly cut through green leafy vegetables. They work especially well when cutting through bundles of kale, collards, orturnip greens. Bundles of asparagus spears or green onions can also be quickly cut into small sections using a pair of kitchen-shears. Some cooks believe that using the shears for these types of applications works better than using a chopping knife and a cutting board.
Care for kitchen poultry shears in the same way you would care for any cutlery. When not in use, keep them wrapped or in a knife rack to protect the blades and to prevent injuries. After use, hand wash them with very hot water and soap; a few drops of bleach may be used periodically to keep bacteria off the shears. Never run kitchen shears of any kind through the dishwasher, as this can dull the blade and damage the handle.
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