How to Cut up a Whole Chicken

FMM: I find cuttin up a chicken a lot easier if you have poultry scissors, expecially for cutting along the backbone.

To the right is a picture showing you what pieces you get. This is helpful for deciding where to cut the breast in half

Cutout the backbone

1. Spatchcock the Chicken

Note: Placing paper towels on your cutting board makes cleanup a lot easier. Sharpen your kitchen knife and cleaver, if using, well before you start.

First you are going to spatchcock the chicken. A spatchcock or butterfly cut chicken is one that has been cut open such that the breast of the bird is fully intact and flatted while the backbone is removed. Spatchcocking allows the bird to cook evenly and rapidly.

Place the bird breast-side down on a cutting board with its legs towards you.

The easiest way is to grab a pair of sharp kitchen shears (or poulty scissors) and cut down each side of the backbone. Whether you're using a knife or kitchen scissors for this, you shouldn't struggle to cut. If there are bones in the way, it's an indication that you're doing it wrong. Try to cut as near to the backbone as possible.

Remove the backbone and stash it in your freezer for stock-making.

Flatten the chicken

2. Flatten the Chicken (Spatchcocked Chicken)

Now that the back bone has been removed, use a chef's knife to make a score on the center of the underside of the breast bone, and then flip the bird over. Using the heel of your hand, press down like you're giving the bird the Heimlich. You'll hear a snap and the bird will flatten beneath your weight.

If it doesn't crack or the breast softens more than it should've, make a slit about half an inch through the breast bone and do it again. This will ensure that the entire chicken flattens effortlessly.

Your bird has been spatchcocked.

Halve the chicken

3. Halve the Chicken

Make sure the chicken skin is evenly distributed across the front of the bird—just adjust it by sliding left or right if necessary.

Using your biggest, sharpest knife (or a cleaver), slice through the skin in the center of the breasts from top to bottom to ensure it's evenly divided. Then, place the knife on that line and press down through the meat—you'll have to use a bit of muscle to cut through the bones and cartilage here—until the chicken is cut completely in two.

Your chicken is now halved.

Cut into quarters

4. Cut into Quarters

Flip one half over with the skin facing down. Locate the hip bone. Bend each leg back until the bone pops out of its socket. Cut through joint and skin to detach leg completely.

Your chicken is now quartered.

Other Instructions (I can never loosen the hip bone):

  1. Remove the legs by cutting through the skin between the chicken breast and drumstick. Pull the leg slightly away from the body to expose the joint, then cut through the joint and through the bottom to release the leg. Repeat on the other side.
Separate Leg from Thigh

5. Separate the Leg from the Thigh

If you want to separate the leg from the thigh, use your fingertip to locate the ball joint between the thigh and drumstick. If you place the legs skin side down on your board, you can also locate the joint by the line of white fat that runs along it.

Cut through the joint, separating the thigh from the drumstick.

Other Instructions (I can never loosen the ball joint):

Separate the drumstick and thigh. Place the leg and thigh on a cutting board skin side down, then find the joint where the top of the drumstick meets the thigh. Cut through the joint to separate the drumstick and thigh. Repeat the process for the second leg.

OR: Cut the skin where is it loose between the legs and the breast to expose the leg and thigh joints. Position your hands under the chicken focusing most of your hand under the thigh. With your figures under the thighs push up with slight pressure until you feel the bone pop out of the socket. Put the chicken breast side down and grab one of the drums. You want to follow the outline of the thigh meat through the skin. As you get closer to the backbone of the chicken you are going to cut out the oyster in the chicken. You don’t want to miss this part of the chicken, it is a coveted piece of meat.

Separate the wing from the breast

6. Separate the Wing from the Breast

Locate the joint that connects the wing to the breast. Pull back to pop the joint. Cut through the joint, separating the wing from the breast. 

You will now have 8 pieces, plus a backbone for making stock:

2 breasts
2 wings
2 thighs
2 legs/drumsticks

Other Instructions (I can never pop the joint):

Remove the wings. Locating the joint is even easiest if you turn the chicken breast side down on the cutting board. Locate the joint where the wing meets the breast. Pull the wing away from the body to expose the joint and cut through the joint with your knife or kitchen shears. Cut towards the wing and not the body of the chicken. Also be careful not to cut into the chicken breast. The entire wing can be removed using your kitchen shears.

Cut the Breast in Half

7. To Cut the Breast in Two

If you’d like to cut the breast into smaller pieces (this will help the breast cook evenly with the smaller pieces of chicken such as the thigh and drumstick and is used especially for fried chicken).

Flip the breast over, skin side up then take your chef’s knife and cut through the breast almost in half/off center to the thicker side so the thinner piece is bigger which will help the chicken cook more evenly.