There’s one tool that every kitchen must have and yet, so many kitchen warriors don’t even use it. Well, maybe to open a package of meat, but not in the capacity in which it should be used. I’m talking about the kitchen shears.
How many of you have even used them? Are they gathering dust in your knifeblock? Don’t even have them? The horror! Go get a pair!
So, how can these shears be used other than cutting the stems of the flowers that hubby brings you home?
Snipping: one of my favorite Nigella Lawson recipes is her chicken pot pie. Although I’ve modified the recipe somewhat to suit my tastes, it begins with snipping bacon. Simply take two slices of bacon and use the shears to cut tiny pieces into a hot pan to render the bacon fat. Bacon makes everything better.
Chiffoning: roll your herbs into a tight roll, then snip away, making thin ribbons of herbs to freshen up your dish.
Cubing: this use I like the best. If I don’t feel like making a big mess (and usually I don’t!) I use the shears to cube my meats. Take a chicken breast or steak and hold over the pan. Snip a one inch section almost all the way through. While that strip is dangling, use the shears to snip it into smaller, cubed pieces. Then cut the strip the rest of the way through.
Boning: sometimes I buy chicken thighs on the bone because they’re cheaper. Instead of using a boning knife, I use the shears. They’re much faster!
Making chops: I used to buy whole pork tenderloin from the local Costco, and then cut them into chops and cubes for future use. It was easy work and way cheaper than purchasing store made chops and cubes for grinding. I also used to do this with kitchen knives, but found I had difficulty cutting through the fat. Sure, I could trim the fat, but who wants to? Just like bacon, fat makes everything better. So, I tried the shears, and what do you know? I was done in half the time and they slice through the fat easily.
See? Your kitchen shears are excellent multitaskers and you didn’t even know it. They help to avoid larger messes associated with getting out the cutting boards and knives, and they’re easy to clean. Maybe next time you have to perform one of these kitchen tasks, you’ll choose the shears instead.