FaCS Meat Lab

To demonstrate tender-cut meat cookery, my students made recipes from Cook This, Not That!: Kitchen Survival Guide. Books from the whole Eat This, Not That! series are excellent because they offer lots of flavor for low calories. The recipes are fairly simple to make and can easily be adapted to use less expensive ingredients.

Thai beef lettuce wraps (I used a flat iron steak)

Chimichurri Flank steak (I used a sirloin)

Grilled Pork Chops with Pine Nuts and Peaches

Pound for pound the most expensive part of this lab may have been limes. $1.50 each!

Chopped! Chicken Lab Results

After my students didn't send me their recipes on time I had them do a "Chopped" style lab. In the Food Network show, contestants are given several mystery ingredients that must be made into a specified dish. The students each drew a market cut of a whole chicken and had 50 minutes to create an entree.

Batter-fried chicken thighs with fried flat bread, giblet gravy, and cheddar cheese

Chicken-noodle soup with baking powder biscuit

Barbecue chicken wings with oven baked fries 

Cajun chicken tenders with mashed potatoes

And the winner was... The GIBLET GRAVY group!

FaCS Demonstration: Cutting A Whole Chicken

Probably my least favorite farm task, although my parents were supportive of me getting out of it, was cutting up chicken. It is, however, a very economical way to purchase meat for a family. Instead of market cuts families can take advantage of the "extras" like bones and giblets to stretch meals.

Students got started with their study guides, Culinary Essentials Study Guide, Chapter 22: Poultry. We watched the last ten minutes of Cutthroat Kitchen which shows contestants cutting a whole chicken and preparing chicken giblets.

Good Eats Season 14 [HD] Grillis Domesticus does a great job explaining various market cuts of chicken as well as a demonstration of cutting up a whole chicken in the first ten minutes. My set of DVDs does not include this episode but it is only $1.99 at Amazon.

Last week my students drew cards for various chicken parts. I demonstrated cutting up a whole chicken and reviewed student study guides using this outline.

Students worked in groups to decide what to make with their assigned market cut. Their grocery orders are due today at the end of lunch. I look forward to seeing what they come up with. I've heard rumor of fried chicken with waffles and giblet gravy. :-/