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5 from 2 votes

How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken

It’s easy and cheaper than buying chicken parts to learn how to cut up a whole chicken into 8 pieces on your own! Plus, we enjoy having a variety of different pieces to grill or fry so everyone can choose what they like best! This step-by-step photo tutorial will show you how it’s done!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 pieces
Author: Amy Nash

Equipment

  • cutting board
  • Large sharp knife
  • Kitchen shears
  • Airtight containers, for storage

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken

Instructions

  • Remove packaging from fully thawed chicken and pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Place chicken breast-side up in the center of a cutting board with a groove for catching juices.
  • Use a large, sharp knife to slice into just the skin between the leg and the body of the chicken. Bend the leg back until the hip bone pops up out of the socket. Cut with the knife just past the joint to slice off the leg quarter from the body of the chicken. You shouldn’t feel any resistance at all and should be able to easily cut right through. Then repeat on the other side with the other leg quarter.
  • To separate the drumsticks and thighs, flip the leg quarter skin side down and look for the line of white fat running between the drumstick and thigh. Use your knife to slice right along that fat line to separate the drumstick from the thigh, then repeat with the other leg quarter. Again, there should be no resistance. If there is, shift your knife just a bit until it goes through the joint easily.
  • To remove the wings, turn the chicken on its side and lift up one wing, pulling it away from the body. Cut through the joint to separate the wing, then flip and repeat on the other side. It helps to slice the skin first so you can feel and see the joint better and easily slice right below that to remove the wing from the body.
  • To remove the backbone, flip the chicken onto it’s side and look for a white line of fat running down the side. Cut down the fat line with strong kitchen shears to remove the backbone, then discard or save in a freezer-safe back for making stock or bone broth later.
  • To remove the breasts, make a slit right in the center of the rib area where there is some cartilage with the skin-side down. Then flip the chicken over, breast skin-side up and press in between the breasts with the heel of your hand to flatten. Slice right between the breasts to separate them and you are done! See note for boneless breasts.

Notes

  • If you prefer boneless chicken breasts, then after Step 4, rather than removing the backbone, use long strokes of your knife to slice the breast away from either side of the ribs, keeping the knife close to the bones to get as much meat as possible.