How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken
Learn how to cut up a whole chicken to save money and take advantage of sales! Break down a chicken and learn how to use every part in the kitchen.
Is it better to buy whole chickens?
When you see that whole chickens are on sale, what’s your reaction? Indifference? Mild interest? It should be excitement! Catching a great sale on whole chickens means spending a little time prepping can save you a ton of money. With just one whole chicken, you can get 2 drumsticks, 4 party wings (or 2 whole wings), 2 thighs, 2 breasts, 2 tenderloins, and several cups of chicken stock. This is an inexpensive way to stretch your grocery budget and improve the quality of your cooking!
Why should you buy whole chickens?
- Save money – Buying individual cuts will cost you more money as the higher demand cuts (like chicken breasts) have a higher markup in the store. For example, the average package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the U.S. (as of April 2023) hovers around $4.10 per pound. However, the average whole chicken price is $1.87 per pound. While you will lose some of this weight to skin, bones, and cartlidge, those things can be used for chicken stock and not wasted. You may have to break down multiple chickens to get the right amount of the cut you need, but it can be worth it if you have the freezer space for the rest.
- Spur your creativity – You don’t have to worry about getting into a rut when you’re using the entire chicken! By cutting up a few chickens in a couple different ways, you’ll be able to make any chicken recipe imaginable.
- Use rarely-considered parts – It often wouldn’t be convenient to make your own chicken stock because you don’t naturally end up with “extras” when you buy just the cuts you need! Because of this, you end up buying expensive and bland chicken stock for your soups, risottos, and sauces. When you buy a whole chicken, though, you can always have “extra” chicken parts in the freezer for fresh, delicious chicken broth or stock!
How much meat do you get from a whole chicken?
This is hard to generalize because there are many variables. Some chickens have added water and some don’t, so it’s difficult to estimate how much meat you will get. Generally you can assume about 30% of the raw weight will be cooked meat. For example, a 4-pound chicken will provide about 1.2 pounds of cooked meat or a 3-pound chicken will provide about 14 ounces of meat. The majority of the meat will be chicken breast. You may get less depending on your butchering skills or the amount of water added to the chicken.
How to cut up a whole chicken
For this process, you’ll want a sharp chef’s knife and a cutting board. It’s best to have a specific cutting board only for raw meat to prevent cross-contamination issues. Here’s a step-by-step guide to cutting up a whole chicken for parts. If you prefer to skip the entire break down process and cook it whole, click here for whole chicken recipes.
Remove Giblets
First, prep the chicken by wiping away any residue, plucking any remaining feathers, and trimming off excess bits and pieces. If there’s a bag of giblets in the chicken cavity, remove and discard or set aside for other purposes. Lay chicken on a cutting board, breast-side up.
Detach the legs
First, place the chicken on the cutting board breast-side up. Pull one of the drumsticks away from the body, then cut through the skin attaching the drumstick to the breast. Bend the chicken leg backwards, turning the chicken onto its side and popping the thigh out of its socket.
Cut down through the joint, separating the entire leg (drumstick and thigh) from the carcass. Turn and repeat on the other side to remove the second leg. You can cook these leg quarters or separate them into two dark meat pieces: the thigh and the drumstick.
Separate thigh and drumstick (optional)
If you want to cook the thighs and drumsticks separately, first turn them skin-side down on the cutting board. You’ll see a fatty white line where the two pieces meet at the joint–Cut through this and the skin to separate into two pieces.
Click here for chicken thigh recipes or here for chicken drumstick recipes!
Detach the wings
Return to the carcass, still on one side. Pull the wing away from the breast so you can see the joint. Slice through the joint and skin to separate the wing from the breast. Turn the chicken to the other side and repeat. You can cook wings whole, or you can separate them into three pieces–The wing tip, the mid-joint wing, and the drummette.
Separate wing tip, mid-joint wing, and drummettes (optional)
If you’d like “party wings,” you’ll want to separate your whole wings into three pieces each (but only two pieces are edible as wings–The third piece is great for stock). Lay the chicken wing skin-side down on the cutting board and slice through each joint. The wing tip doesn’t have enough meat to be edible, but the cartlidge and nutrients it provides is perfect for making chicken stock.
Click here for chicken wing recipes!
Detach breasts
Turn the chicken so that it’s upside down–The neck opening should be on the cutting board, rib bones up in the air. Cut down the rib cage and through the shoulder bones, separating the breasts from the back bone. Set aside the back bone — It’s another piece perfect for chicken stock.
Lay the breast plate skin-side down on the cutting board. Swiftly chop through the center bone with your knife, separating the two breasts.
Separate breasts and chicken tenders (optional)
Most chicken breasts recipes call for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can easily achieve this by carefully slicing between the bone and the breast meat, carefully prying it apart. You can cook this entire cut in any chicken breast recipe, but this technically includes the breast AND chicken tenderloin. To separate, find the fatty white stripe the outlines the thin tenderloin and slice along the line.
Click here for chicken breast recipes or here for chicken tenderloin recipes!
What are giblets? What should I do with chicken giblets?
Giblets are the chicken organs that are often included inside the cavity, or they naturally are included when butchering your own chicken. These pieces usually consist of neck, liver, gizzard, and heart. Each of these has a specific benefit and can be used if you’re resourceful! Click here to learn how to use chicken giblets.
More Kitchen Tips & Tutorials
- What to Do with Chicken Giblets
- DIY Canned Tomatoes
- How to Make Chicken Stock
- Cast Iron Seasoning Guide
- Chicken Meal Prep Tips, Ideas, & Recipes
How to Cut Up A Chicken
Equipment
Materials
- 1 Whole Chicken any size
Instructions
- Wipe away any residue and trim off excess bits and pieces on the chicken. If there's a bag of giblets in the chicken cavity, remove and discard or set aside for other purposes. Lay chicken on a cutting board, breast-side up.
- Pull one of the drumsticks away from the body, then cut through the skin attaching the leg to the breast. Bend the chicken leg backward, turning the chicken onto its side and popping the thigh out of its socket. Slice through the joint, separating the entire leg (thigh and drumstick) from the breast.
- OPTIONAL – If you want to cook the thighs and drumsticks separately, first turn them skin-side down on the cutting board. You'll see a fatty white line where the two pieces meet at the joint–Cut through this and the skin to separate into two pieces.
- Pull the wing away from the breast so you can see the joint. Slice through the joint and skin to separate the wing from the breast. Turn the chicken to the other side and repeat.
- OPTIONAL – If you'd like "party wings," you'll want to separate your whole wings into three pieces each. Lay the chicken wing skin-side down on the cutting board and slice through each joint. The wing tip doesn't have enough meat to be edible, but the cartlidge and nutrients it provides is perfect for making chicken stock.
- Turn the chicken so that it's upside down–The neck opening should be on the cutting board, rib bones up in the air. Cut down the rib cage and through the shoulder bones, separating the breasts from the backbone. Set aside the backbone — It's another piece perfect for chicken stock. Lay the breast plate skin-side down on the cutting board. Swiftly chop through the center bone with your knife, separating the two breasts.
