How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken

You’re thinking about purchasing a whole chicken.

BUT how in the heck do you cut one up if you only want to use the legs?  And how do you get the rest of the pieces off?

Well don’t worry!  I’ve got you covered.

Watch this step-by-step video and you’ll be parting your chicken out like a pro.

Maybe next time I’ll get my whole face. 🙂

Incase you’re someone who learns best by reading, I’ve got the steps below:

Okay, so we’ve got the whole chicken here on the cutting board.  It’s easier if your chicken is slightly frozen or very cold.

The first thing you’ll want to do is cut through the breast meat along the keel bone on both sides and then down the neck along the wishbone.

We’re not going to breast it out at this point.  It’s just easier to get the cuts in before the rib cage is unstable with the legs missing.

Next, take the legs of your chicken and pry them apart from the main body of the chicken.  Now, you can easily cut the skin where the legs attach.  Once the skin is cut, spread the legs even further until you hear the joints in the thigh bones pop.  Now, you can cut the meat along the back of the chicken and through the thigh bone joint to remove the leg and thigh.

To separate the leg and thigh, flip the piece over with the skin side on the cutting board.  You can see a muscle line between the leg and the thigh.  Cut right through this line.  This should separate out the leg from the thigh.

Repeat for the other leg.

Now for the wings.  When you look closely at the wings you can see a ring where it attaches to the body.  Run your knife right around this ring.  It should cut right through the wing joint and remove the wing. 

With the wing removed, let’s separate the wing drumette from the wing bow.  When you look closely at the wing, you can see a line of muscle down the center of the wing separating the two pieces.  Cut right down this line and it should cut between the joint and provide you with your two pieces.

Repeat for the other wing.

Time to remove the breast meat. Continue with your cuts you made next to the keel bone down along the rib cage.  The breast meat should easily come off.

Repeat for the other breast.

You did it!

That wasn’t so hard, was it?

You now have all the pieces of the chicken parted out to cook or freeze for another meal.

What’s the best way to cook each of these pieces and what are some great recipes? 

Find out in our next blog!

Also keep an eye out for how to boil your rib cage to make some delicious chicken stock and  soup.

What’s New on the Farm?

Is there something you used to do as a kid and not think twice about and now as an adult it either scares you or you’re afraid you’re going to fail?

I’m in the process of training my two three year old fillies.  As a teenager, I had all the confidence in my ability to train a horse and I was very proud I could produce a calm, quiet, family friendly mount.

Not sure if it’s age or the fact that I am VERY out of practice, but they intimidate me now more than ever and I’m either afraid I’m going to get myself hurt or ruin a perfectly good horse.

It’s been hard to work through this.  I’m on my second day trying to get back into the routine of working them.  I can tell you, there has been lots of YouTube video watching and reading of articles, gleaning everything I can.

Here’s hoping I can stay committed and gain back my confidence to get these girls pulling carts and carrying a rider by the end of the summer.

Aren’t they beautiful! Their names are Bunny and Dot. Ever read Little House on the Prairie? Laura Ingalls had a horse named Bunny (actually it was a mule) and my Bunny was also born on Easter.

Dot got her name because she has one little black dot inside her white patches.

What is your favorite animal?

Leave a comment, I’d love to know!

P.S. Don’t be afraid to cut up that chicken and save a little.