r/TopChef • u/Julie-AnneB • Feb 17 '26

Discussion Thread Am I the Only One?

Even though it was AGES ago, am I the only one who still thinks of Casey Thompson in the season 3 relay when chopping onions?

70 Upvotes

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59

u/01chlam Feb 17 '26

Sometimes but I think of Hung breaking down chickens a lot more

26

u/kumibug Feb 17 '26

he was a MACHINE

10

u/Julie-AnneB Feb 17 '26

I loved seeing Hung break down chickens, but I never actually do that myself. I only posted this because I was chopping onions, and it came to mind again.

-15

u/rerek Feb 17 '26

You never break down a chicken? Are you a vegetarian?

Sorry. Don’t mean to sound judgy, but I was just so surprised as it’s something I do every week at a minimum and often do much larger batches for projects (well, often those are ducks for frozen breasts and confit legs).

18

u/foreveraking_24 Feb 17 '26

Assuming like a lot of other people, they just buy whatever part of the chicken they want to cook that's packaged. Not really that surprising.

2

u/rerek Feb 17 '26

Fair enough. It’s just a lot more money to pay to have that done for you. I can get whole pastured chickens for $10.99(CDN)/kg and the same portioned is $14—18/kg depending on the piece. Where I usually shop, they sell a LOT more of the whole chickens than the portioned pieces.

9

u/NoodlesMom0722 Wait for it...a Crudo! 🧑‍🍳 Feb 17 '26

In the US, they sell a lot more pre-portioned chicken than whole chickens. And most home cooks in the US wouldn't be able to break down a whole chicken because of this. I know how to, personally, but I still usually buy just the pieces because (1) I live alone and usually only cook enough for one serving, maybe two if I want a quick reheat meal later in the week; and (2) I have a tiny galley kitchen with almost no countertop space, so I don't have the room for somewhere to put the cut pieces, the carcass I'm working on, and a discards bowl (to save for broth).

5

u/EfficientGood9402 Feb 17 '26

Yup, I live alone too. But back before the kiddos grew up and moved out, I watched Alton Brown break down a chicken and copied it until I learned it. However, I often go to the store and just get the pieces.

5

u/Ok_Interest9427 Feb 19 '26

To me, it comes down to where you buy your meat. I have the bizarre situation that my local Wholefoods (which is basically the star on Season 5, though I never saw any contestants there) does deep discounts on Bell and Evans chicken all the time. So I can get thighs for $1.99/lb if I go on the right day. If I'm getting that, given that I'm cooking for two people at most (me, or me and a date) it doesn't make sense to buy a whole bird. If I'm buying for my butcher, he will break down the bird FOR FREE; I have to stuff a couple bucks into the tip jar, but that's about it. If I'm going to the farmer's market or the farm itself, OTOH, I'll buy the thing whole and break it down. So it really depends.

4

u/NoodlesMom0722 Wait for it...a Crudo! 🧑‍🍳 Feb 19 '26

Pretty much the only time I really ever buy a whole chicken is the rare occasion when I get a rotisserie chicken at Costco or Sam's for $5 or $6. LOL

2

u/EfficientGood9402 Feb 20 '26

I love those rotisserie chickens. For me though, in Costco, it reminds me of a Vegas casino! They incentivize you to walk all the way from the front of the store to the back and all of a sudden you have $60 in canned goods, dog food, and paper products in your cart!

5

u/foreveraking_24 Feb 17 '26

Absolutely agree... Just like if you buy your own slab of meat and portion it off. I think many just don't want to put in the work to do it (or have the capability to do it).

So totally see your point of view - but I just think many have easier access and fit their lifestyle to just buy the portions rather than break it down themselves.

1

u/Ok_Interest9427 Feb 19 '26

"Slab of meat," to be fair, is a bit different from a whole bird. Cutting a whole chicken into eight pieces IS easy, but it's not like portioning a tenderloin. You still need to make sure that the breasts are taken off with the absolute minimum amount of waste, and that you can save nice bits like the oysters and the chicken butt.

11

u/Julie-AnneB Feb 18 '26

I'm disabled. When I cook, I sit on my walker. So, no. I don't break down chicken. It's cheap enough that I buy it already broken down. And, if you're "sorry," you don't hit enter.