How do I joint a whole chicken?

A whole chicken costs substantially less than the same weight in portions, and gives you a carcass for stock as well. The technique is finding joints rather than applying force — if you are sawing, you are in the wrong place.

Safety

What you'll need

• Whole chicken
• Sharp knife
• Board used only for raw meat
• Kitchen paper

Step by step

1. Pat the chicken dry and set it breast up.A dry bird is much easier to hold. Board only for raw meat, and everything else cleared away.
2. Remove the legs.Pull a leg away from the body and cut the skin between thigh and breast. Bend the leg back until the ball pops out of the hip socket, then cut through the joint. Repeat.
3. Separate thigh from drumstick.There is a line of fat on the underside marking the joint. Cut straight down through it — no bone, just cartilage.
4. Take off the wings.Pull the wing out, feel for the shoulder joint, and cut through it. Trim the pointed tip and add it to the stock pile.
5. Remove the breasts.Cut down one side of the breastbone, then follow the ribcage with the knife angled towards the bone, easing the meat off as you go. Repeat on the other side.
6. Keep the carcass.Bones, wing tips and trimmings. Roast them and make stock, or freeze until you have enough.
7. Clean everything immediately.Board, knife, hands, and any surface the chicken touched. Hot soapy water, then dry.

Tips

• A boning knife helps, but a sharp cook's knife works. Sharp matters far more than the shape — a blunt knife slips and that is when people cut themselves.
• If you hit bone, you are in the wrong place. Back off, feel for the joint with your fingers, and cut there.
• The oysters — two small round pieces of dark meat near the backbone — are the best bits on the bird. Do not leave them behind.

Questions people ask