How to cut up a whole, roasted chicken

Beautiful platter of chicken pieces, isn't it? I roast whole chickens every few weeks, and use this method to cut the whole chicken into serving pieces.

So, on facebook the other week, we had a conversation about preparing a "company" dinner with what was in the kitchen already. For me, that meant using a whole chicken for the main course. (Great sale a couple of months ago on whole chickens.)

Many of us buy whole chickens, as this can be the least expensive way to buy chicken (aside from occasionally finding a great deal on chicken leg quarters). How to make a whole, roasted chicken presentable for guests, is the challenge.

There's always carving a chicken in the same way that you carve a turkey, taking slices off the bone. But I prefer to use this method of cutting a whole chicken into serving pieces. It just looks tidier upon serving.

I saw this done on a cooking show a while back. And I thought to myself, "hmm, that looks easy enough. Surely I could do this." And it is. I've been cutting up our whole chickens this way ever since, and been delighted with how neat it looks, as well as how much more chicken meat I'm able to use. (I wasn't getting the bones picked completely clean before, when I was making soup from the entire carcass.)

This is most easily done with a freshly oven-roasted or outdoor-grilled whole chicken, as the joints are loose and allow for easy positioning to make the cuts and breaks. But you can also do this with a rotisserie chicken, using a sharp, heavy knife and just a little more upper arm strength.

The cooking show, where I saw this done, cut the whole chicken into 4 large serving pieces. I found, for our family, that cutting this into 8 smaller serving pieces worked better. I'll show you both ways. Either way, you end up with the back section for soup scraps.

Cutting into 8 portions is ideal for families with small children, who can't eat the larger pieces, or, for individuals who would like a variety of meat at one meal, or, like for us, just don't want a huge amount of meat at any one meal. (Whole chickens seem to have gotten larger over the years.)

I'm not overly skilled with this, yet it only takes me about 10 minutes, total, to cut a whole, roasted chicken into serving pieces. And I don't need any special tools, but a chef's knife and cutting board. No poultry shears or any other cutting equipment. Here it is.

How to cut up a whole, roasted chicken for serving

After roasting, remove the chicken from the oven, and tent with foil. Allow to rest for 20-25 minutes. Don't rush it. Your work will be that much harder if you try to cut it up fresh out of the oven. A hot bird is more difficult to handle.

Step 1:  Cutting the leg/thigh portions off the chicken

cutting through the skin at the place where leg is attached to the body

Move chicken to a cutting surface. Using a heavy, chef's knife, cut the chicken in the joint-space between the leg and lower portion of the breast. This is a natural breaking point in the bird.

pressing the leg quarter out and down to cut it away from the bird easier

Cut the skin, press the leg out and down, and cut at the joint between thigh and body. Cut close to the bird, removing the entire thigh, along with the drumstick. Do this on both sides, and set leg quarters aside.

Step 2:  Cutting the back off the body

making that cut just below the wing

Now, set the bird on its side, so that the breast faces to one side, and the back to the other. Just below the point where the wing attaches to the breast, begin cutting the back away.

cutting the breast away from the back

Turn the bird over, and make the corresponding cut on the other side, just below the wing. You'll leave the breast portions completely intact. Set the back pieces aside for soup-making.

the entire breast without the back

Rest the breast portion on the cutting board, without the back attached. Trim off any extra skin and fat.


Step 3:  Cutting the breast into two halves

splitting the breast into halves

Place the double-breast on the cutting board, skin side up. With chefs knife, begin cutting the breast into two portions at the top, along the center breast bone. You'll have to break/cut the wishbone. Press down on the breast as you cut the whole in half.

the split breast with large breast bone to be removed

As you reach the end of the breast nearest the cavity, you should be able to wiggle the large part of the breast bone and cartilage right out of the chicken. Pull this out carefully and set aside with back pieces.

the "extra" bits -- meat and bones for making soup

Finishing cutting the breast into two parts. Pull out any loose bones on the underside, as desired. You should be able to pull most of the rib cage out from the underside. (There may be a small bone or two remaining in the breast after you finish.)

4 large portions, 2 leg quarters and 2 breasts

You now have 4 large serving portions, two leg quarters and two breast portions. For large eaters, this may be just right. For moderate appetites, or when wanting to give the option of different types of meat to your diners, you can cut these 4 pieces in halves, resulting in 8 smaller serving pieces.

Step 4:  Turning 4 pieces into 8 servings

leg quarters can be cut into 2 portions, thigh and drumstick

The leg quarter consists of both the thigh and drumstick together. Find the joint between thigh and lower leg.

leg and thigh

Pull at this joint. It will mostly come apart, and will need just a small cut at the joint to separate the leg quarter into drumstick and thigh.

breasts can be cut into 2 smaller portions each

Cut your breast pieces sideways, in half, leaving the wing attached to 1 half.

8 small servings from 1 whole chicken

Voila! Eight nice serving portions. Before serving, I tuck the skin around each piece, as it just makes a tidier serving package. Cover with foil and pop the platter of chicken pieces into a warm oven while everything else is finishing up. Easy-peasy done!

Bones in the serving portions

Thighs 
When cutting the thigh and drumstick apart, the thigh bone often comes loose. I just remove it, and tuck the skin around and under the thigh meat, to make one tidy little serving piece.

Breasts
There are a couple of small breast bones that often remain in the breast meat. If I turn the breast over, I can easily remove these bones, along with a bit of cartilage, to make easy-to-eat serving pieces.


In addition to being a tidy way to serve a whole chicken, this cutting method allows for super easy soup preparation. The meat scraps on the backbone are easily accessible for removing. Then I simmer the remaining bones in water, with seasonings and vegetables for the broth.

Nice and tidy serving pieces and super easy soup-making -- that's my kind of kitchen task.

Hello friends!

May is now behind us. I can scarcely believe it. The beginning of May feels so much like spring, while the beginning of June marks the start of summer for me. What a difference one month makes.

June is the month that my two youngest take their university finals, and complete their first year of university studies. Classwork may come to an end, but full-time summer employment is just beginning. Summer employment for my daughters means a Monday through Friday position on campus, cleaning dorms, kitchens, and meeting rooms, as they're on the housekeeping team. It's hard physical work, but at least they come home to rest, instead of studies and papers. Friday afternoons are the real highlight for the girls. The university puts on a barbeque lunch, gratis, for its student staff. Bonus -- they get 1 hour for lunch instead of 30 minutes. These are real perks when you're 19 years old. The other really awesome thing for them -- they each received raises! Summer employment may be a necessary evil in their eyes, but at least they're treated well, and earn a significant portion of their tuition each summer.

June is also the month that my part-time employment comes to a close. I'll start back to work in September. But I'll miss those little guys, and I'll miss the opportunity to earn some money. But this now means that my Thursdays are free again. And maybe I can take on more projects around the house. I have this one major sewing/decorating project, for which I bought all the necessary materials a year ago, before news of our income reduction. Adjusting to this reduced income took all of my energy last summer, fall and winter. It still takes a good deal of work and energy, but maybe, just maybe, I can tackle this project, which, for some reason, feels like summer work.

June is the month that I can take a break from planting the garden and just keep up with weeding. It does mean that more produce will come into the kitchen for me to process. But that's a fun thing, to watch the freezer stock of garden veggies grow.

June is the month for strawberries, and more strawberries and even more strawberries in our garden. We are so blessed with a healthy crop of strawberries this year. My favorite way to eat them is simply fresh. If there are enough strawberries, my second favorite way to eat them is in strawberry sorbet. I'm hoping to be able to make at least one batch of sorbet this June.

June is also the month of roses, here in the Pacific Northwest. While some of the rose bushes began blooming in May, June is when I cut roses every week to fill vases for the house. My favorite roses are the English roses, with their full blossoms. But we also have some nice hybrid tea roses, a rosa rugosa, and one lovely, old fashioned climbing rose that I have entwined in an apple tree in the front yard. I saw this in a photo years ago, a climbing rose entwined in an apple tree. It caught my eye, and I vowed to recreate this some day. Well, ours has been growing now for 2 years, and is on the verge of looking like something I once saw.

June is the month of Father's Day. My father-in-law lives 2 hours north of us. We'll drive up to visit with him. I'd like to bring a couple of homemade goodies with us, perhaps a batch of eclairs, or a box of cookies, and some homemade jam.

June is also the first full month of cookouts for our family. We do hot dog roasts around the fire pit, as well as bbq's on the grill. Our weekend entertainment centers around the outdoors for the summer. We have a croquet set and some horseshoes for active fun. Then after dark, there are s'mores to be made, then the waiting and watching for signs of nightlife in the yard. We sometimes see a family of raccoons crossing down by the pond. And the bats are interesting to watch circling over the neighborhood. Occasionally, an owl will be spotted. These creatures keep themselves hidden during the day, but provide interest for us in the evening.

My wish for you is that June will be a month of abundant joys, as it is for me. Let's make June spectacular!

with warmest regards,
Lili Mounce