There are a lot of articles sprinkled around the internet with titles like "The Only 3 Knives You Should Own" and "Here's How Many Knives You Actually Need." We, in fact, have one of these articles here at Epicurious. Usually they lean hard on the fact that you can use a chef's knife for almost anything, with the occassioal assist from a paring knife or a bread knife. Here's the thing, though: More specialized knives actually do their jobs better.
Take the boning knife. A narrower blade makes it easier to get around a piece of meat when you're butchering it. A flexible blade makes skinning a fish cleaner, or trimming excess fat from a pork shoulder a breeze. And the pointy tip helps you get in between joints when breaking down a chicken in a way that a chef's knife could mangle.
No, a boning knife is not something you'll use every day, but when you do have a job for it, it will really perform.
After putting a whole box of boning knives to the test, we think you can't do any better than the two below, either of which will make a useful addition to your knife set.
Best overall: Wusthof Classic
This is a knife that will work just as well for someone learning to butcher as it will for an expert. Its straight tip is easy to see and maneuver when you're in the middle of a project, it has good weight to it, as well as a big bolster that makes choking up easy.
Best budget: Victorinox Fibrox Curved Boning Knife
For a quarter the price of the Wusthof, the Victorinox is just flexible enough for skinning a fish, but still stiff enough to cut cleanly through meat. The handle is thick, but still comfortable to hold, and textured to prevent slippage. The only thing to know is that this one has a curved tip. Experienced cooks may prefer the curved blade, which is easier to move around, but cooks with less experience using a boning knife may lose track of where the end of the knife is and will need a little practice.
—Noah Kaufman
No comments:
Post a Comment