Free Roaming Hand Gathered Eggs
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This is a basic method for cutting up and disjointing a whole chicken with the least amount of waste. It takes more than one go at cutting up a chicken to become an expert. However, once you've got the hang of it, you can cut up a chicken in very little time and with hardly any effort at all!  |
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1. Remove the legs Place the chicken breast side up on a solid cutting board. Pull one leg away from the body and cut through the skin between the body and both sides of the thigh. Bend the whole leg firmly away from the body until the ball of the thighbone pops from the hip socket. Cut between the ball and the socket to separate the leg. Repeat with the other leg. |
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2. Divide the legs
Place the chicken leg skin side down on the cutting board. Cut down firmly through the joint between the drumstick and the thigh. |
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3. Remove the wings With chicken on it's back, remove wing by cutting inside of wing just over joint. Pull wing away from body and cut from down through the skin and the joint. Repeat with the other wing. |
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4. Cut carcass in half Cut through the cavity of the bird from the tail end and slice through the thin area around the shoulder joint. Cut parallel to the backbone and slice the bones of the rib cage. Repeat on the opposite side of the backbone |
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5. Remove the breast Pull apart the breast and the back. Cut down trough the shoulder bones to detach the breast from the back. Cut the back into two pieces by cutting across the backbone where the ribs end. |
 See below for separating the breast |
6. Cut breast in half You may leave the breast whole if your recipe requires. To cut in in half, use a strong, steady pressure and cut downward along the length of the breastbone to separate the breast into two pieces. |
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7. Optional - Creating boneless breasts a. If desired, remove the skin from the breast. Remove by getting a firm hold at the thickest part of the breast, grasping the skin, and then pulling the skin away from the meat until all the skin has been removed. The chicken breast will be slippery, so to get a firm hold, use a paper towel when gripping the breast. b. Begin removing the bones by placing the breast on the cutting board with the bone side up. Start by cutting through the V of the wishbone. c. Cut through the cartilage around the top of the keel bone (the bone separating the two halves). d. Cut along both sides of the breastbone and then bend each side of the breast backwards until it cracks and reveals the keel bone. e. Get a firm hold on the keel bone and peel it, with the cartilage and the breastbone, away from the meat. Cut off any cartilage that did not come off with the keel bone. f. Using a sharp knife, hold it close to the rib bones. Following along the ribs, start cutting them away from the meat with short swiping cuts. Pull the bones away from the meat as you cut. Cut out all bones staying as close to the bones as possible. Remove the wishbone by trimming it away from the flesh. |
