How to cut chicken is an easy guide to help you save money by cutting your own bird!

How to cut chicken? Easy Peasy. And the same method can be applied to cooked chicken (duh) for any other bbq chicken recipes..

First, remove the leg.

Cut through the leg joint. To find the joint bend the leg and look to see where the "knee" joint is (for lack of a better term!)

If you miss the joint, no big deal. Just look where you have cut and find the joint. The leg should come right off.

Now, remove the wings. Flip the chicken onto the breast (I find it easier this way) Again, move the wing and zero in on the joint to where it connects to the body. Cut through.

Now, remove the thighs. Move the thigh to find the joint and bend it as far from the body as possible. This will expose the joint more. You can see the knife tip pointing at the joint. Cut through to remove:

Now, you should have the central breast and back piece:

To separate, you can cut through the two with kitchen shears, but I prefer a heavy chef's knife as shown. Hack down between the two pieces separating from the ribs:

Now, separate the back into two pieces. Many people don't like the back: it has a bit of fat. But, if cooked properly, the fat will render and leave a lot of skin with unctuous meat.

Perfect for me. Simply cut through. If you need a bit of help you can use a rubber mallet or shears.

To split the back, again, you can use shears or a knife. I like to cut trough the meat to the "keel bone" first and then cut through the bone. This gives more control and a more uniform piece:

Almost there! Now split the breasts further into quarters. Although optional, this extends the chicken into more pieces, and makes them easier for people if they want a bit of this and a bit of that. You can use a hacking motion to break the bone or shears, or a mallet as in the picture:

Voila! 12 pieces of chicken. And, it's at a cheaper price per pound than cut chicken or specialty packs. Plus, if you buy a few whole birds on special you will be even more thankful you know how to cut chicken!

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