How to portion a chicken
Cutting a whole chicken into joints is cheaper than buying ready-portioned pieces. Here's a simple technique that will only take a few minutes.
Remove the legs and thighs
Start by removing the legs and thighs. Just cut through the skin between the thigh and body. The thighs and legs will come off in one piece. Twist the thigh and leg backwards until the bone comes out of the joint and cut through it to separate the piece from the breast. Do the same on the other side, cut through the skin, pop the joint and cut through. Then cut off the little knuckle bits on the end of the drumsticks and discard them.
Separate the leg and thigh
The next step is to separate the leg and thigh. With the skin side down, cut through the joint. A sharp knife will make this easy. Do the same with the other leg and thigh.
The breast and wings
So far, that's four portions. Then get to work on the breast and wings. Cut along the side of the backbone and then on down the rib cage keeping close to the bones. Then, keeping the wing and breast in one piece, cut through the joint. Then just do exactly the same on the other side.
How to get eight portions
Depending on what you're using the chicken for or how many you're serving, you can cut the wings off and serve whole breasts. But a good way to get 8 meaty portions is to cut through the breast and leave a little of the breast attached to the wing. Roughly cut the breast into thirds with one third attached to the wing. Cut the other breast and wing in the same way. This is one of those cooking techniques that sounds difficult but really isn't.