I actually did this photo spread back in April of this year, but never posted it. Since there seems to be some interest in DYI stuff, here it is finally pulled from my archives. This procedure gives you 2 Leg Quarters, 2 whole Wings, and 2 skinless, bone-in breasts.
Cutting up your own chicken can save you TONS of money……and when you get used to it, it is actually fun and zen-like.
Next time you are in the grocery store, notice that a whole chicken is about 2 bucks a pound, but breasts are 5.99 or more a pound, and wings are 4 bucks or more a pound.
Why? It’s all chicken right?
Yes it is, but any time they have to pay the butcher to cut the meat for you, the price goes up. Look at a whole pork loin that you can get for 2.99 per pound and cut your own chops. Those same boneless loin chops packaged by the butcher sell for 4.99 or more per pound…..because they pay the butcher to cut your meat.
Save that money and cut it yourself! You can buy nearly twice as much meat for the same money, and with a little practice, you get the cuts YOU want and not the cuts THEY decide to give you! Not to mention, as with a whole chicken, you get that carcass which makes great stock or soup!
How To Cut Up A Whole Chicken
Equipment
* Cutting Board
* Filet or Boning Knife
* Heavy Knife (preferably serrated)
* Kitchen Shears
Procedure
1. Naturally, start with a whole chicken. Personally, I like to use a cheap and flexible filet knife. It’s incredibly sharp, slender, and easy to guide through the curves of the bird. I’ve done this with a more rigid boning knife, and it works as well, but personally, I like the feel of a flexible filet knife.
2. Lay the chicken on its side and grasp a wing. Pull the wing into the air and look closely at where it connects to the bird. You can easily see the “round” meat around the joint. What you want to do is use your knife and trace that circular “round” to expose the joint.
3. Once the joint of the wing is exposed, lay the wing over to offer tension on the joint, and then slice gently through the knuckle (the spot where the two bones come together).
4. Now it’s time to cut away a leg quarter. On the same side as you just removed the wing, grasp the drumstick and pull it up into the air. You’ll see the skin from the breast is holding on. Poke your knife through the skin to begin cutting it away.
5. Using your knife, trace a cut from the breast up towards the backbone. When you reach the backbone, make sure to dip your cut down and remove the “oyster” as well. Always try to include that oyster on your leg quarter. If you look carefully as you do this, you can easily see the “lines” you need to trace with your cut to remove a perfect leg quarter.
6. After cutting out the oyster, you’ll reach the thigh joint. Now is a good time to being a new cut on the opposite side of the leg quarter. Trace up to the joint so that both cuts meet and the joint will be exposed.
7. With the joint exposed, lay the leg quarter back to give some tension to the joint. Use a little force here to aid in breaking the joint. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt anything. Now gently slice through the knuckle to separate the bone and then finish any cuts to fully separate the leg quarter.
NOW: Repeat steps 2 - 7 on the other side of the bird. This will give you two whole wings and two leg quarters with only the breast remaining.
Cutting up your own chicken can save you TONS of money……and when you get used to it, it is actually fun and zen-like.
Next time you are in the grocery store, notice that a whole chicken is about 2 bucks a pound, but breasts are 5.99 or more a pound, and wings are 4 bucks or more a pound.
Why? It’s all chicken right?
Yes it is, but any time they have to pay the butcher to cut the meat for you, the price goes up. Look at a whole pork loin that you can get for 2.99 per pound and cut your own chops. Those same boneless loin chops packaged by the butcher sell for 4.99 or more per pound…..because they pay the butcher to cut your meat.
Save that money and cut it yourself! You can buy nearly twice as much meat for the same money, and with a little practice, you get the cuts YOU want and not the cuts THEY decide to give you! Not to mention, as with a whole chicken, you get that carcass which makes great stock or soup!
How To Cut Up A Whole Chicken
Equipment
* Cutting Board
* Filet or Boning Knife
* Heavy Knife (preferably serrated)
* Kitchen Shears
Procedure
1. Naturally, start with a whole chicken. Personally, I like to use a cheap and flexible filet knife. It’s incredibly sharp, slender, and easy to guide through the curves of the bird. I’ve done this with a more rigid boning knife, and it works as well, but personally, I like the feel of a flexible filet knife.
2. Lay the chicken on its side and grasp a wing. Pull the wing into the air and look closely at where it connects to the bird. You can easily see the “round” meat around the joint. What you want to do is use your knife and trace that circular “round” to expose the joint.
3. Once the joint of the wing is exposed, lay the wing over to offer tension on the joint, and then slice gently through the knuckle (the spot where the two bones come together).
4. Now it’s time to cut away a leg quarter. On the same side as you just removed the wing, grasp the drumstick and pull it up into the air. You’ll see the skin from the breast is holding on. Poke your knife through the skin to begin cutting it away.
5. Using your knife, trace a cut from the breast up towards the backbone. When you reach the backbone, make sure to dip your cut down and remove the “oyster” as well. Always try to include that oyster on your leg quarter. If you look carefully as you do this, you can easily see the “lines” you need to trace with your cut to remove a perfect leg quarter.
6. After cutting out the oyster, you’ll reach the thigh joint. Now is a good time to being a new cut on the opposite side of the leg quarter. Trace up to the joint so that both cuts meet and the joint will be exposed.
7. With the joint exposed, lay the leg quarter back to give some tension to the joint. Use a little force here to aid in breaking the joint. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt anything. Now gently slice through the knuckle to separate the bone and then finish any cuts to fully separate the leg quarter.
NOW: Repeat steps 2 - 7 on the other side of the bird. This will give you two whole wings and two leg quarters with only the breast remaining.
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