Learning how to properly break down a whole chicken is an essential skill for any home cook. Not only does it allow you to cook chicken in more ways, but it also saves money compared to buying pre-cut chicken pieces. Once you know the right techniques, breaking down a whole chicken into parts takes just a few minutes. This guide will walk you through the entire process step-by-step.
Why Break Down a Whole Chicken?
There are several benefits to breaking down whole chickens yourself:
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Save money – Whole chickens cost much less per pound than buying breast, thigh, and wing pieces separately You can get more meat for your money
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Control portions – When you cut up the chicken yourself, you can divide it into whatever size pieces your recipe calls for. This helps reduce waste.
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Make stock – The back, neck, wing tips and any other unused scraps can be used to make delicious homemade chicken stock.
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Learn a useful skill – Mastering basic butchery skills impresses dinner guests and helps you become a more confident cook.
What You’ll Need
Breaking down a chicken is a simple process that only requires a few essential tools:
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Sharp chef’s knife – A quality 8-inch chef’s knife works best to cleanly cut through joints
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Cutting board – Choose one that won’t slide around and is reserved for cutting meat
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Kitchen shears (optional) – Shears make cutting through bones and cartilage easier.
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Whole chicken – Fresh, never frozen is ideal. Opt for air-chilled chicken if possible for better flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps to properly break down a whole chicken:
1. Remove the leg quarters
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Place the chicken breast-side up on a cutting board with legs facing you.
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Pull each leg away from the body and slice through the skin between the breast and drumstick.
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Flip the chicken on its side. Bend one leg back to pop the thighbone out of the hip socket.
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Cut through the hip joint to fully detach the leg quarter. Repeat on the other side.
2. Remove the wings
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Pull a wing away from the body and slice through the wing joint.
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Repeat with the other wing. Set wings aside.
3. Separate the breast and back
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Use your chef’s knife or kitchen shears to cut down along both sides of the backbone to detach it.
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You can save the back to make stock.
4. Split the breast in half
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Place the breast skin-side down and cut lengthwise along the breastbone to halve each side.
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For four total pieces, you’re all done! For more cuts, keep going.
5. Cut breast halves into quarters
- For smaller pieces, slice each breast half diagonally into two pieces for a total of four breast quarters.
6. Divide leg quarters into drumsticks and thighs
- Cut each leg quarter at the joint between the drumstick and thigh.
And that’s it! In less than 10 minutes you’ll have 8 to 10 pieces of chicken ready for any recipe. The more often you practice these steps, the faster and more confident you’ll become. Before you know it, you’ll be breaking down chickens with ease. Put your new skills to use right away and turn a whole chicken into delicious homemade meals for your family.
Shopping for and Storing Chicken
Just two quick tips here:
- Buy air-chilled chickens. Air-chilled chickens, like those from Bell and Evans and several other “premium” brands, are chilled with cold air after slaughter rather than being dumped into an ice bath, which is what mass-market brands do. This means they come to the market with less retained water. Not only does this give you a better value (since youre not paying for water weight), but it also creates more concentrated flavor.
- Avoid kosher birds. Kosher birds have been heavily salted before packaging in order to remove excess liquid. While in some cases, this is desirable—such as when you are roasting it—in other cases, the excess salt can ruin a recipe. A braised chicken where the braising liquid is subsequently reduced can get far too salty from the excess salt within the chicken. It also limits your stock-making ability, since a salty stock cannot be reduced. Youre better off buying a regular bird and salting or brining it yourself if the recipe calls for it.
As for all your other options, I personally prefer to pay extra for premium brands of free range or specialty heirloom breeds because of the improved flavor they offer. Theres not much worse than bad chicken. Maybe bad margaritas, but thats about it.
How to Break Down a Chicken Into Four Pieces
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Lets start with the basic four-piece breakdown. Other than spatchcocking (which isnt really a butchering project), this is the simplest way to butcher a bird. Using this method, you will end up with four pieces of chicken for eating: two bone-in breast quarters with wings attached (for a fancier presentation, see my treatise on fashioning airline breasts) and two bone-in leg quarters (plus three pieces of chicken for making stock: two wing tips and the back). Heres how to do it.
Super Quick Video Tips: How to Break Down a Chicken for Parts
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