How to Cut Up a Chicken

This can save many dollars at the grocery store.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 8-10

Prep Time: 5 to 15 minutes   Cook Time: varies  

Ingredients

one chicken, a cutting board and a very sharp 5 inch knife.

Directions

Start with a whole fresh store bought chicken. If you grow your own you already know how to do this. Grasp a wing by the last joint and lift to expose the armpit, with a sharp knife cut at about a 45 degree angle until the knife hits bone. Dislocate the joint and finish the cut through soft tissue. Repeat for the other wing.

Lay the bird in its back and spread the legs. Cut the skin between the thigh and the body and force the leg farther out and disclocate the hip joint. Starting from near the tail locate the bony part of the back and cut towards the hip joint through the muscle. You should be able to pull the thigh bone away from the hip joint and cut it free from the back. Repeat for the other leg. There is a line of fat on the inside of the leg that marks the location of the joint between the drum and the thigh. With the leg laying flat on your cutting board slice parallel to that line of fat a quarter of an inch to the thigh side of the line. This will slice through the joint without hitting bone.

Lay the bird on its back and locate the breast bone and slice straight down until you hit bone and gently work along the ribs until you have separated the breast half from the bones. Repeat for the other side. You now have two wings, two drumsticks, two thighs and two boneless breast portions and the bones you need to put into the stock pot.

Categories: Budget, Main Dish, Poultry, Tips & Tricks

Submitted by: ross on December 31, 2010