Cutting and products: whole chicken, cuts, offal, carcass and cutting yields
A live 2.2 kg chicken does not give 2.2 kg of meat to sell: it gives about 1.55 kg of carcass, of which 30 % thighs, 31 % breast, 11 % wings and 20 % back and neck, plus 100 g of offal. Whoever does not know these figures does not know what he sells, does not see when the unit loses meat, and sets his rates at random. This lesson gives the reference yields, the way to measure them in your own unit, the range of products a small slaughterhouse can offer, the cutting actions and the conditions (temperature, time, tools) to cut without breaking the cold chain.
15 min read · 5-question quiz at the end
By Abdul Hussein ChoumanFounder of NEXTEKCI · Agnibilékrou hatchery since 2006This lesson is part of Slaughterhouse and processing specialisation. It opens to every registered student, from free registration. Levels 1 to 5 and the tracks remain readable by everyone.
A live 2.2 kg chicken does not give 2.2 kg of meat to sell: it gives about 1.55 kg of carcass, of which 30 % thighs, 31 % breast, 11 % wings and 20 % back and neck, plus 100 g of offal. Whoever does not know these figures does not know what he sells, does not see when the unit loses meat, and sets his rates at random. This lesson gives the reference yields, the way to measure them in your own unit, the range of products a small slaughterhouse can offer, the cutting actions and the conditions (temperature, time, tools) to cut without breaking the cold chain.
- ✓Calculate the carcass yield of a lot and compare it with the references (70 to 75 % depending on the type of chicken and the calculation method)
- ✓Know the cutting yields (thighs, breast, wings, back, offal) and measure them in your own unit
- ✓Decide on a range of products (whole, half, quarters, cuts, offal) suited to your customers and your cold capacity
- ✓Cut by the rules: cool room, limited time, tools, order of cuts, sorting and packing of the pieces
- Carcass yield: definition and calculation pitfalls
- Cutting yields
- The range: what a small slaughterhouse can sell
- Cutting by the rules
- Reading yields as a dashboard
- Going further
- •Carcass yield = ready-to-cook carcass ÷ live weight; 70-72 % on house weight, 72-75 % on post-fast weight, for a white broiler; 68-71 % for a coloured chicken; 63-67 % for a spent hen; set the method (arrival weight, 20 min draining, no neck or offal).
- •Cutting yields on the carcass: legs 30-33 %, bone-in breast 30-34 % (fillets 20-23 %), wings 10-12 %, back and neck 18-22 %, fat 1-2 %, losses 1-2 %; offal on live weight: liver 2-2.5 %, gizzard 1.5-2 %, heart 0.5 %, feet 3.5-4 %.
- •Downgraded = healthy carcass with an appearance defect (torn skin, bruise, burn, red carcass) → cutting the same day; less than 3 % good, more than 8 % to correct.
- •Range built from customers and cold: whole fresh and frozen first, then legs, wings, breasts, offal, feet; you cut the demand, not the unsold.
- •Cutting cold (12 °C), fast (back in the cold in under 30 min, 10 carcasses at a time), clean (plastic board, dedicated knives, steriliser); 2 to 3 minutes per chicken in six actions; scale checked every morning.