How Cut Up Whole Chicken

Introduction of How Cut Up Whole Chicken

This is all about how to cut up whole chicken step-by-step and with pictures. You’ll discover that you can have anywhere from 6 to 12 pieces in total when done cutting. See how to cut up a raw or fully cooked chicken, fryer, hen, or whatever is similar. Keep reading and you’ll learn the knowledge of what restaurant cooks and butchers know, in the comfort of your own home and you’ll save money doing it.

Can You Buy A Whole Chicken Already Cut Up?

When asked “Can you buy a whole chicken already cut up”?, the answer is YES. But, they’re not always available because that’s a low volume seller in a grocery store these days. Everyone’s very busy so most people will select either the bulk cutup breasts, leg quarters, or wings. So, with that said, the whole raw chickens are often available because cooking a whole bird remains popular. Why get a whole chicken and then cut it up? Because overall, it’s cheaper most of the time, assuming you and your family or guests will consume all the pieces after cooking so there’s no waste.

How To Cut A Chicken Up

Here’s how to cut a chicken up with steps and pictures. Each section below covers the different number of pieces for achieving each amount of parts that you ultimately want. We’ll start first with the typical highest amount of pieces and finish with the least amount. Just know that the most common number of cutting a whole chicken into is 8 or 9 pieces. Let’s proceed.

Regardless of how many pieces you end up with, you always start the same with these initial preparations. Here are the starting steps of how to prepare to cut a whole chicken before cooking.

• Begin with clean, washed hands.
• Remove the store packaging and discard. Take note of the weight if needed for a recipe.
• Rinse the entire chicken in cold running water.
• Reach inside both ends of the chicken and remove any organs or packaged items, including the neck bone, as available. These items are set aside for other usage in recipes, as desired.
• Rinse the entire chicken again in cold running water, inside and out.
• Place the whole, raw chicken on a cutting board and have your preferred cutting knife ready.
• Optionally, you can pat the chicken somewhat dry to make it easier to handle for the first cuts.
• Proceed forward with the section that shows how many pieces you want to end up with.

Cut Whole Chicken Into 12 Pieces

Here’s how to cut whole chicken into 12 pieces. We cut the leg with thigh, the full wing, the back is separated, the breasts are split, and then the other individual parts are further cut into pieces.

• You’ll end up with 2 breasts, 2 drumettes, 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 back pieces.

Now we’ll begin with those steps.

Cutting the Chicken Leg with Thigh

1. Cut into a chicken leg with thigh.
2. Leave the thigh attached for now, cutting completely into the leg joint to separate it.
3. Repeat with the other leg and thigh. Set both aside.

Cutting the Full Wing

1. Cut into a chicken wing area.
2. Remove entire wing, repeat with other side, and set both full wings aside.

Cutting the Back

1. The back is cut along the sides to separate it fully. You want to emphasize cutting more towards the spine in order to retain more ribs on the body of the chicken. If needed, you can stand the chicken up to have a safer or stronger cutting action.
2. After the back is separated, cut it in half, with one side being mostly bone and little meat. Discard the lesser half. The better half also won’t have much meat but it will be noticeably of better usage for broths or soups. This retained better half is then split in half, if desired. Note: It sometimes is difficult to actually split so you can optionally cut out and discard the central column of this better half.

Splitting the Breasts

The remaining main portion of the chicken is the breast cage. You just turn it upside down (viewing interior side) and use the knife to pierce the very center. It takes a firm pushing inward to puncture the bone and then lower the blade downward but strongly to perform a breaking cut continuing down this middle section. You can then remove the knife work it to perform a complete cutting action to fully separate the two breasts. You can then optionally, remove the skin from the breasts, if desired.

How to Cut a Whole Chicken Wing

Now, you take each whole chicken wing to prepare to cut. Each wing has two joints. For our purposes, we only cut the joint to separate the largest, meatiest end (drumette) from the folding wing portion. The very end of the wing, the tip, has little or no meat. However, it’s usually left alone and not removed because it serves as a “handle” while consuming the rest of the wing. Also, some do like nibbling on the wing tip for its skin flavor.

Separating the Leg from the Thigh

Now, you take each leg quarter section and cut into the joint to separate the leg from the thigh. Sometimes, you can just cut into the joint a bit and then use your hands to bend it backwards to finish the joint separation. All that remains is to cut the meat still joining the leg to the thigh. At other times, as an alternative, you can maneuver the knife blade to find that softest area and it cuts right through the joint to easily separate.

You now have 12 pieces of an entire chicken. However, due to all the handling, I usually put it all in a colander at this time and give all the pieces a final rinse over cold tap water. Then, I either begin the cooking steps or prep them for storage in the fridge or freezer in a plastic food storage bag.

How To Cut Up A Chicken Into 10 Pieces

Here’s how to cut up a chicken into 10 pieces. Just like the earlier 12 pieces instructions, we cut the leg with thigh, the full wing, the back is separated, the breasts are split, and then the other individual parts are further cut into pieces. However, here are the differences:

• The wings are left alone after cutting them away from the chicken body, i.e., they are not cut again.
• You will have 2 breasts, 2 full wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 back pieces.

How To Cut Up A Chicken In 9 Pieces

Here’s how to cut up a chicken into 9 pieces. Just like the earlier 12 pieces instructions, we cut the leg with thigh, the full wing, the back is separated, the breasts are split, and then the other individual parts are further cut into pieces. However, here are the differences:

1. The wings are left alone after cutting them away from the chicken body, i.e., they are not cut again.
2. The back is one solid piece and is not cut further.
3. You will have 2 breasts, 2 full wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 1 back.

How To Cut Up A Chicken Into 8 Pieces

Here’s how to cut up a chicken into 8 pieces. Just like the earlier 12 pieces instructions, we cut the leg with thigh, the full wing, the back is separated, the breasts are split, and then the other individual parts are further cut into pieces. However, here are the differences:

1. The wings are left alone after cutting them away from the chicken body, i.e., they are not cut again.
2. The back is cut away and discarded.
3. You will have 2 breasts, 2 full wings, 2 legs, and 2 thighs.

How To Cut A Chicken Into 6 Pieces

Here’s how to cut up a chicken fryer into 6 pieces. These are where the chicken has the largest pieces of any method of cutting a whole hen. Just like the earlier 12 pieces instructions, we cut the leg with thigh, the full wing, the back is separated, the breasts are split, and then, here are the differences:

1. The wings are left alone after cutting them away from the chicken body, i.e., they are not cut again.
2. The back is cut away and discarded.
3. The left is not cut away from the thigh, i.e., the leg and thigh are served together as one piece.
4. You will have 2 breasts, 2 wings, and 2 leg-thigh quarters.

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More About Chicken as a Food

The history of Chicken as a Food goes back to starting in India. When it was available in the United States, it was sought out by the wealthy as it cost more than common meats. But, by the end of World War 2, the pricing was much different and there were shortages of pork and beef. In Europe, around 1996, chicken became more popular than beef and pork due to consumers being made aware of mad cow disease.

How Much Does a Whole Raw Chicken Weigh?

A whole raw young chicken weighs around 5 pounds in the store. They vary often between 4.5 to 6.5 pounds. If the cost per pound is nominal, you end up saving by cutting up your own. The hen, however, is usually smaller in weight and is about half of that.

Which Chicken Parts are White or Dark?

While there is a little overlap, the parts of the chicken for white and dark meats are defined well. The breast and wing are white meat. The leg and thigh are dark meat.

Conclusion

You’ve now seen a significant set of choices of how many parts to have from a raw whole chicken fryer/hen. You’ve got anywhere from 6 to 12 pieces to choose from, depending on your recipe or grilling needs. Plan ahead, save money, and add whole chickens to your grocery list for cutting up and then storing or cooking your chicken meals. Read further and check out this barbecue chicken recipe on the grill!