Poultry – Preparing and Sectioning

To remove any feathers or quills left in poultry, quickly heat the skin with a kitchen blowtorch – this burns off the small ones and chars the others so that they are easy to see and remove with fish tweezers.

Rinse out the cavity well with cold water to remove any remaining offal or blood, then pat dry with paper towel.

Cut off and discard the first two joints (wing tips and wings) of the wings (or reserve for stock). Using poultry shears, cut the bird in half so that both drumsticks and thighs (marylands) are in one piece and both breasts are in a single piece. Cut off the neck and surrounding skin. Remove the wing joints (mini-drumsticks) from the breasts. Cut out the backbone, then the ribs. You should now have 8 pieces: 1 double breast, 1 double maryland, 2 mini-drumsticks, 2 rib sections, 1 neck and 1 backbone. To serve, cut the marylands into thighs and drumsticks and halve, quarter or slice the breast, depending on the recipe.