Whole Chicken Butchery + Cooking Techniques
Demystify whole-animal butchery & nose-to-tail cooking with this introductory butchering workshop. Stefano Diaz will walk you through the basics of setting up a clean, safe at-home butchering station, processing a whole chicken multiple ways, and best practices for utilizing every scrap. Techniques discussed will include: spatchcocking, 4-8-10-part butchery, trussing, rendering fat, grinding meat, stock preparation, and various cooking methods.
[Español] Descargar PDF: Carnicería del pollo entero y técnicas de cocinar
Live workshop held April 19, 2021
Materials NOT Included in the Material Packet
Sharp knife, preferably boning or utility knife (recommended brands include Victorinox and Dexter) — if not purchasing material packet
One 3-4lb whole chicken
Cutting board (large enough to splay out a full chicken)
Honing steel (optional)
Kitchen or paper towels
Sanitizing solution (1 small cap full bleach in 1/2 gallon of water)
Disposable gloves (if desired)
Roasting pan (optional)
2 pots (1 larger for stock, 1 smaller for rendering schmaltz)
Kosher or sea salt
Black pepper
Vegetables for stock (such as onions, carrots, celery)
1 cup AP flour
1 lemon
4 tablespoons butter
Materials Included in the Material Packet
Victorinox 6” boning knife (Amazon, JB Prince and other kitchen supply stores)
About Stefano Diaz
Stefano Diaz is owner & head butcher of The Meat Wagon in Kingston, NY. The Meat Wagon began as a mobile enterprise, offering butchery & custom cutting services to farmers markets throughout the Hudson Valley, before Stefano opened his brick and mortar earlier this year.
After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Pittsburgh, PA, in 2011, Stefano trained at the renowned Biltmore, the former family estate of the Vanderbilt family, in Asheville, NC. At the Biltmore he discovered his passion for butchery & its role at the intersection of farming, cooking, food systems, and community. Upon returning to New York, he completed a butchery apprenticeship at Fleishers Craft Butchery in Brooklyn & worked for three years as head butcher of Fleishers’ original location in Kingston, where strong bonds were born with the community. Following his tenure at Fleishers, Stefano was manager & head butcher of the Marbled Meat shop in Cold Spring before returning to open his own business in Kingston in Jan 2021.