Technique #30: Butcher Whole Chicken for Custom Parts

If you’ve never done it, the first time might be slow. But it’s an easily learned skill that becomes simple after just a little practice.

The only kitchen tools you need are a cutting board, chef’s knife, and kitchen shears. The most challenging part is figuring out where the joints are. Wiggling the leg or wing and pulling it away from the body will help you locate them. 

Don’t be squeamish about getting in there with your fingers. You can even pop the leg joint out of its socket. When you cut, your knife should glide right through. If it hits something hard, you’re cutting through something other than a joint.

You should expect about a 25 percent yield loss when cutting up whole chicken for parts. 

For example, if you need 3 pounds of parts, you should buy a 4-pound chicken. Even so, butchering a whole chicken yourself will always save you money over buying packaged parts. While boneless, skinless chicken breasts definitely have a place in our refrigerator, if that’s all you’re accustomed to buying, you’ll be shocked at the price saving.

This technique will also give you better results in your finished dish. Packaged parts are inconsistent in size because they come from many different birds. You might get one leg quarter that’s twice as big as the other leg quarter, and this makes it difficult to cook them properly. 

Furthermore, a packaged, cut-up chicken doesn’t include the back, an essential ingredient for great homemade stock. The back can also be added to simmering foods like stew to lend flavor and body, the way a ham bone does.

We prefer to buy chickens labeled “USDA Organic.” We also recommend “air-chilled” chickens, which have been cooled by being hung from a conveyor belt in a cold room. “Water-chilled” chicken sits in a chlorinated bath, where it absorbs water that inflates cost. 

When buying whole chickens, choose broilers or fryers, which weigh 21⁄2 to 41⁄2 pounds. Don’t rinse the chicken before cutting it up, as this will only spread bacteria around the sink (and perhaps elsewhere).