Lulu Grimes

How to... Joint a Chicken

Appears in
The Cook's Book of Everything
The Cook's Book of Everything

By Lulu Grimes

Published 2009

  • About
Cutting a whole chicken into pieces is called ‘jointing’. The flavour of a dish will often be better if, rather than buying pieces, you cut up a whole bird. Large birds can be cut into four, six, eight or ten pieces.
Method
  1. Lay the bird on a board with the cavity end facing you. Pull both legs away from the carcass and twist the thigh bones out of their body sockets.
  2. Cut through the flesh to remove the leg. Keep the small piece of meat, known as the oyster, that is found at the back of the body attached to the leg meat.
  3. Cut between the drumstick and the thigh along the natural fat line, which is visible on the underside of the thigh. Your knife should slide easily through the joint.
  4. Cut down either side of the backbone and lift it out (easier with a pair of poultry scissors).
  5. Turn the bird over, remove the wishbone and cut down the centre of the breastbone.
  6. Cut through each piece of breast at an angle so it makes two equal pieces. Leave the wing attached to one piece and trim off the wing tips and any straggly pieces of skin.