What Do you Use for Poultry (esp. Turkey) Shears?


 
timothy said:
I was looking at a knock-off ( much cheaper ) version of this.

Wüsthof Poultry Shears 26cm 5501 1049595001 Stainless Steel - Teddingtons Australia

Buy Wüsthof Poultry Shears 26cm. Order online. Fast delivery Australia-wide. Razor-sharp scissors for cutting through poultry flesh and bones. The curved blade allows the shears to manoeuvre around the bird. Features a spring bolt hinge. Blade notch for cutting bone. Stainless steel...
www.teddingtons.com.au www.teddingtons.com.au
I remember a few cooking shows on PBS the chefs used something similar.

If all else fails a hand held meat saw like my Dad had will work.
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chicken, yes. turkey, no. those are high quality ones. i've seen them used in commercial settings for cooked chicken and thy worked well.
 
Lynn, those are great tools! Very similar to what Shane posted. The spring loaded ones are much easier to work fir extended periods with than scissor style ones. Just my experience. I just remembered I have another pair of “real” poultry shears around here that were on the blow out table somewhere, I think they were (are) “Pioneer woman” or some fluffy TV personality’s offering, if memory serves, they weren’t very good. I suppose that would land them on the blowout table, wouldn’t it?
 
I have the Oxo shears, and have had good success with them spatchcocking turkeys. Not quite like 'butter', but no significant effort cutting through everything. They do work 'like butta' on chicken, etc.

EDIT: the 'hook' on the one side of the shears really helps give you some additional leverage for cutting through some of those thicker bones. The blades separate which makes for easy cleaning. I just separate the blades and put the in the dishwasher.

I read the other posts about using a cleaver. I've been thinking about getting a good cleaver anyway, so maybe this is the time.
 
The JA Henckels came today and I gotta say it's a very impressive piece especially at the $17 price
 
Lots of helpful replies; thanks for the tips! I ordered the OXO shears for now to try. Now I need to find another turkey.
 
I sometimes use a cleaver on chicken wings but there's something about the thought of using one on a turkey backbone--elevated high above the cutting board--that seems daunting to me. Probably because I'm not well-experienced with cutting utensils.
 
BFletcher said:
I sometimes use a cleaver on chicken wings but there's something about the thought of using one on a turkey backbone--elevated high above the cutting board--that seems daunting to me. Probably because I'm not well-experienced with cutting utensils.
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It’s not a guillotine, it’s a chopping motion cleaver. You first score the back bone to make your cutting line, using a sharp knife, then make a 3-4” high chop cuts starting at the neck area and work down to the part that goes over the fence last. And don’t destroy that last fence part. It’s prized in some households.

Work within your skills. Cleavers are excellent kitchen tools and they last forever.
 
Brett-EDH said:
It’s not a guillotine, it’s a chopping motion cleaver. You first score the back bone to make your cutting line, using a sharp knife, then make a 3-4” high chop cuts starting at the neck area and work down to the part that goes over the fence last. And don’t destroy that last fence part. It’s prized in some households.

Work within your skills. Cleavers are excellent kitchen tools and they last forever.
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This visual helps. Thanks.
 
BFletcher said:
I sometimes use a cleaver on chicken wings but there's something about the thought of using one on a turkey backbone--elevated high above the cutting board--that seems daunting to me. Probably because I'm not well-experienced with cutting utensils.
Click to expand...
You sometimes see chefs use the palm of hand to punch down on a chefs knife.
You could do the same with a cleaver or use a rubber mallet to strike it while holding it.
I did the windows and fins on the public library in Chinatown- Chicago and got a chance to watch some serious knife skills.
 
timothy said:
You sometimes see chefs use the palm of hand to punch down on a chefs knife.
You could do the same with a cleaver or use a rubber mallet to strike it while holding it.
I did the windows and fins on the public library in Chinatown- Chicago and got a chance to watch some serious knife skills.
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I love to watch Chinese chefs cut up chicken, duck, ribs and pork with a cleaver on a big block, especially if it was hanging in the restaurant window. I do miss that about Seattle Chinatown, particularly my favorite, Kau Kau BBQ Restaurant in the Seattle International District.
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Update on these OXO shears: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PGG7ZQ/?tag=tvwb-20

I've been using them over the past 6 months on chickens with great ease. Yesterday was my first time using them to spatchcock a turkey, which weighed 24 pounds, and they did a very credible job. I was able to cut the backbone without taking any breaks, lol, and without having any hand fatigue.
 
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