Poultry shears

[Marmish]

I've wanted a pair of poultry shears for awhile now, but haven't made the purchase for some reason. Do you use them? Do you like yours? What does one look for in a pair of shears?

[Gifted Gourmet]

You might wish to check out Chef Depot for a wide variety of shears .. mine got wet so often and were too cheap so they finally rusted .. I would advise one of the better ones as a result ...

I would buy these next time ...Product # CDR30001-24SHEARS-CHROME for $29 but on sale ...List Price $29.99 and up ... On Sale $22.95

[andiesenji]

I wouldn't be without them. I have more than one pair. My favorite is the Wusthof professional (all stainless steel) for the toughest jobs, expensive but worth every penny. They are incredibly sharp and will shear through turkey bones easily.

Wusthof.

I have a pair of Forschner which are inexpensive but better than some more expensive I have tried. My local butcher uses them.

Edited February 14, 2007 by andiesenji (log)

[Chad]

I've wanted a pair of poultry shears for awhile now, but haven't made the purchase for some reason.  Do you use them?  Do you like yours?  What does one look for in a pair of shears?

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Shears are amazing. Yes, you need a pair. A good pair of shears can handle anything from snipping grapes from a cluster for school lunches to cutting the backbone out of a chicken.

The Messermeister shears are the bargain of the century. Not only are they strong enough to take anything you can dish out in the kitchen, they pop apart for easy cleaning. Seems like a simple feature, but it makes a big difference. Most kitchen shears require you to use a screwdriver to disassemble them, which leads to not using them because they are a pain to clean. You tend not to use shears that harbor hunks o' nastiness down in the crevasses. These simply snap apart for hand washing -- or you can just drop them in the dishwasher if no one is looking. They'll come out none the worse for wear if you don't do it too often.

Please note: these are multi-purpose kitchen shears. Spring loaded poultry shears -- the ones that look like tin snips -- are not as useful. They may, in theory, be stronger, but I've yet to find any evidence. They are harder to clean and less practial all around.

Chad

Edited February 14, 2007 by Chad (log)

[phatj]

In my very limited experience, the "tin snips" type shears are more efficient for cutting poultry because the way they're laid out makes it easier to exert force, and you need a good bit of force to cut through chicken bones.

I'd recommend something else for lighter-duty work, though. Those Messermeister shears look nice.

[Octaveman]

This may seem weird coming from me but I have heard that the shears made by Cutco are the only thing that this company makes worth buying. Owners of them say they are truely the best they've ever used.

[Barbara Moss]

I actually have the Cutco shears courtesy of a friend's child that needed a summer job. They are fine and i use them all the time and just drop them into the dishwasher. No muss,no fuss. I also have sterling poultry shears which are ok at the holidays but a little much for everyday.

[Marmish]

I've wanted a pair of poultry shears for awhile now, but haven't made the purchase for some reason.  Do you use them?  Do you like yours?  What does one look for in a pair of shears?

←

Shears are amazing. Yes, you need a pair. A good pair of shears can handle anything from snipping grapes from a cluster for school lunches to cutting the backbone out of a chicken.

The Messermeister shears are the bargain of the century. Not only are they strong enough to take anything you can dish out in the kitchen, they pop apart for easy cleaning. Seems like a simple feature, but it makes a big difference. Most kitchen shears require you to use a screwdriver to disassemble them, which leads to not using them because they are a pain to clean. You tend not to use shears that harbor hunks o' nastiness down in the crevasses. These simply snap apart for hand washing -- or you can just drop them in the dishwasher if no one is looking. They'll come out none the worse for wear if you don't do it too often.

Please note: these are multi-purpose kitchen shears. Spring loaded poultry shears -- the ones that look like tin snips -- are not as useful. They may, in theory, be stronger, but I've yet to find any evidence. They are harder to clean and less practial all around.

Chad

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I saw those on Amazon and liked that they come apart. Thanks for the endorsement.

[budrichard]

Wusthof all SS. I use them on Canada Geese on down.-Dick

[jsmith]

This may seem weird coming from me but I have heard that the shears made by Cutco are the only thing that this company makes worth buying.  Owners of them say they are truely the best they've ever used.

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When I was a teenager I went to a job interview for a "sales position" that turned out to be for Cutco knives. The only thing I remember other than them wanting me to put down $200 on a demonstration set to use to hawk the crap to my parents and their friends was them using the shears to cut a penny in half.

[tafkap4d]

Ditto on the Wusthof. I had no idea how much I would use them. In other sets I had - I always ended up using the shears for other things but these...HOLY GRAIL! I've had them four years - in excellent shape. I use them on chicken, turkey, beef, pork, you name it. Impeccable.

Worth the money! I always think about the old saying "Buy cheap...buy twice" when it comes to my kitchen. (Disclaimer - this by no mean is to imply that inexpensive items can't be good).

[insomniac]

Ditto on the Wusthof.  I had no idea how much I would use them.  In other sets I had - I always ended up using the shears for other things but these...HOLY GRAIL!  I've had them four years - in excellent shape.  I use them on chicken, turkey, beef, pork, you name it.  Impeccable.

Worth the money!  I always think about the old saying "Buy cheap...buy twice" when it comes to my kitchen.  (Disclaimer - this by no mean is to imply that inexpensive items can't be good).

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Have to agree about the Wusthofs....and to think my son had to talk me into getting the set as I was going to buy something else cos I thought I wouldn't make use of the shears...WRONG

[Carolyn Tillie]

Stay away from the Henckel shears. I have had mine about five years and the BF somehow caused a crack on the inside plastic of the handle. It now broke through and while they are still slightly functional, I can't get a great grip on them for hefty shearing jobs.

I've just been too lazy to buy new shears...

[Fat Guy]

I've got two pair of shears and love them both:

The shears on the left are Wusthof. They're great for all sorts of kitchen tasks, for example if you open a can of whole peeled tomatoes you can cut them up in the can with the shears -- totally self-contained, no mess. I use them with reckless abandon to cut open packages and, yes, to trim the fat and gristle off pieces of chicken.

The shears on the right are Premax of Italy. They're dedicated, spring-loaded poultry shears. You wouldn't use them for much else. But for cutting through the joints of a bird, they are in my opinion far superior to the scissor-type shears -- I'm certain that if you did the equations you'd find that they exert more force on account of their shape, and the spring action keeps your hand from getting tired if you're performing the task repeatedly (something I've only done once, but I was glad to have the right tool). For that one task, they're worth having. They're also quite menacing in appearance. They look like a prop from the episode of Star Trek where they depict an evil alien human-experimentation surgical bay in space.

When I do occasionally cut up a whole chicken with shears, I use both -- the Premax to do the heavy lifting, and the Wusthof to trim.

The Premax shears are about twelve years old. The Wusthof slightly younger, but probably near a decade old.

[The Blissful Glutton]

I think they are a must-have. I use them every day for something. Got mine at Williams Sonoma. Good selection and they have them on sale right now. I prefer the pull-apart shears for easier cleaning. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/srch/index....Go&words=shears

[Fat Guy]

Williams-Sonoma sells Premax shears, described just as "Made in Italy," though I don't know if they still sell the exact model I have (which I think is better than the straight Premax shears I saw last time I was in a Williams-Sonoma). You can occasionally find Premax shears like mine on eBay for about $25, though I don't see any for sale at the moment.

[phatj]

Anyone have any thoughts on what scissor-type shears would work well for a lefty? Those Messermeister ones look like the handle is "polarized," if that's the right word.

[mrsadm]

Just like Fat Guy I have kitchen shears and poultry shears. The poultry shears are great for cutting king crab claws and other shellfish as they are "pointier" than general shears. Recommend both!

[maggiethecat]

Ikea sells a set of regular plastic-handled scissors for, like 2.99. I've never used them on anything bigger than a turkey, but they take care of all my usual poultry/shellfish/present wrapping needs. Really.

[Marc Olson]

We have three pairs: Cutco (purchased 16 years ago after my college-buddy cut a penny with his demo pair...), a Henkels and a Wustoff. The Cutco don't see the light of day much. I usually reach for the Henkels when I'm doing food shearing; rarely larger than a quail though.

The Cutco do easily come apart but I find that the size of the blake on the Henkels makes them perfect for the small shear jobs we do.

[Melic]

Three kinds of shears here.

Spring-action poultry shears, Henckels I think (whatever Williams-Sonoma had at the time), which work so well I feel positively guilty for not having to hack through bones and shell with a knife anymore

Regular pull-apart kitchen shears. Buy whatever's on sale. Good for cutting up stuff, cutting into packages, whatever. Definitely a must-have.

Dainty-ish, slender Joyce Chen Chinese shaped scissors with the red handles. Great for snipping parsley and other herbs. Beats chopping with a knife any day. No bruised leaves, and you can control where the snippage lands...

[Fat Guy]

Joyce Chen scissors are great (and outrageously overpriced). I wasn't imaginative enough to list them with my other shears, but I use them whenever I can find them (they're so small they tend to disappear at the bottom of the utensil crocks and drawers).

[Melic]

Joyce Chen scissors are great (and outrageously overpriced). I wasn't imaginative enough to list them with my other shears, but I use them whenever I can find them (they're so small they tend to disappear at the bottom of the utensil crocks and drawers).

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Expensive, yes, but ... but .... they have RED handles!!!!

I keep my shears in my knife blocks (of which I have too many; wonder why?) so they don't sink to the bottom of the bottomless utility drawers, crocks, and other kitchen black holes where everything I'm looking for goes to hide out. My knife blocks have various large slots for carving forks and cleavers, and I have bravely limited myself to just one cleaver (um, except for the huge Chinese one I keep wrapped in brown paper) and one weapons-grade impaling fork, thus freeing up homes for the shears.

Prime objects of kitchen objects loss: zesters, tiny scoopers, my little bitty whisk that will fit nicely in a coffee mug, champagne stoppers, apple corers. There is no way to keep these things from disappearing, and then reappearing after I've gone out and bought a replacement.

Which brings me to another kind of shear I have: a Toss n' Chop. OK, I've admitted it now; I don't chop a salad with a couple of 3 foot chef's knives. As for the Toss n' Chop, it's not perfect, but helps in space-challenged settings. Good, especially if someone gives you one as a gift...