How to Cut Chicken Wings

Learn How to Cut Chicken Wings into portions to use in your favourite baked,
fried, or air-fried wings recipes.  With only two simple cuts, you can quickly
and easily turn a whole chicken wing into a drumette, a wingette, and a
wingtip.  You can then store them to use later or cook them and then toss in
your favourite wing sauces

Instructions
1. Flip the whole chicken wing over so it is skin-side down, and you can
easily see the joints.
2. Use your fingers to locate the first ridge between the drumette and the
wingette portions.
3. Place a sharp knife just beside this ridge and also parallel to the long
axis of the drumette. Cut all of the ways through it - your knife should
slide right through with very little resistance.
4. Next, locate the second ridge between the wingette and the tip portions.
Cut all of the ways through to separate the two pieces.
5. Use cut chicken wings in these Buffalo Chicken Wings , Air Fryer
Chicken Wings , or Parmesan Garlic Wings  recipes.
How to Cut Chicken Legs
1) if you are going to cut chicken leg quarters that have attached a back piece, cut along the
junction between backbone and thigh to separate meat and joint between thigh and back
2) cut excess skin around the thigh if necessary
3) hold firmly chicken leg quarter by pressing it to the chopper, then cut perpendicular in the
middle of the chicken leg joint that keeps together thigh and drumstick

2) Place the chicken leg quarters onto a cutting board. Wash your hands
with antibacterial soap and warm water before handling the chicken.

3) Grab onto the chicken thigh with one hand. Hold onto the chicken leg
with the other hand. Bend the chicken leg against the joint so that it
dislocates.

4) Cut through the dislocated joint with a sharp knife to separate the thigh
from the leg. If you have difficulty using a fork, separate the pieces with
sharp kitchen shears.

5) Remove the excess fat from the chicken leg quarters with a sharp knife.
Slice the excess skin off with kitchen shears if you desire.

Tip

Place the chicken legs and thighs into freezer bags. Separate the chicken
pieces with freezer paper to prevent them from sticking together. Remove the
air from the freezer bags to avoid freezer burn. Store them in the freezer for
up to eight months for best results.
How to Cut Whole Chicken
Cutting up a chicken is easy, economical, and the best way to get the exact chicken pieces you
want! Here’s how to do it.
INGREDIENTS

 One whole chicken
 A large, sharp knife
 Kitchen shears (optional)
 Put the chicken
on a large
cutting
board. Cut into
the skin where
one of the thighs
meets the body,
revealing
the joint
underneath. Pop the joint out of the socket, then cut
through the joint to release the leg quarter. Repeat on the other side.

To remove the wings, grab a wing and tip the chicken on its
side. Use your other hand to feel for the joint where the wing and
breast meat. Cut into and around that joint, releasing the
branch. Repeat on the other side.
To separate the breast from the back, look for a line of fat that goes diagonally along the side body from the
cavity end towards the wing joint. Cut along that line from the cavity opening to the head opening. I like to use
my kitchen shears to do this, but you can also use a knife. Repeat on the other side.

To cut the breast in half, lay it skin side down and find the tip of the breastbone. Cut a slit in the bone.
Turn the breast over and use your hands to break the breastbone, then use your knife to halve the breast.

To separate the legs from the thighs, put a leg quarter skin side down on the cutting board and look for a
line of fat where the leg and thigh meat. Cut down on that line and through the joint. Repeat with the
other leg quarter. Finally, if you prefer your chicken skinless, you can remove it.
Chicken Giblets
How to Remove
The term “giblets” refers to the heart,
liver, and gizzard. The neck of the
chicken may also be included with
the giblets. These parts are typically
placed in a small bag inside the
chicken after processing.
Removing the giblets is the first step in preparing a whole chicken.
1.If the chicken was frozen, be sure it is completely thawed. Remove the fresh or thawed chicken from
its package.

Generally, a whole chicken will contain a giblet package that needs to be removed from its cavity
unless it was previously removed during thawing. If the giblets are to be used, rinse with cold water
and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Check the cavity of the chicken at the tail end to see if the kidneys have been removed. The
kidneys are the dark reddish-coloured objects
located on the backside of the cavity near the tail. If
they have not been released, use your thumbs or
fingers to force them out.

The chicken should then be rinsed thoroughly inside

and out with cold water.

3. Check the neck and tail area for excess fat. Trim the excess away and discard.

4. Pat the chicken dry using a paper towel. It is

now ready to be stuffed, seasoned, or prepared in
some manner for cooking.

When finished, be sure all utensils and work

areas are cleaned and sanitized correctly.
 How to Cut thighs into
a drumstick
Pat the raw chicken thigh dry with paper towels. Drain any of the juices from the chicken’s
packaging into your garbage can or down the sink drain. Cover the thigh with a paper towel and apply
light and even pressure to wick up the excess liquid. Continue drying the chicken until it doesn’t feel
slippery.
 Drying the thigh will help keep it from sliding around while you’re trying to cut it.
 If the raw chicken feels sticky, has a potent odour, or looks a dull grey colour, throw it away
since it has gone wrong.
Cut the joint between the drumstick and thigh with a filet knife if it’s still attached. Use a
filet knife with a long, narrow blade so you can easily cut along the bones without damaging the
meat. Set the chicken on a cutting board with the skin facing up, and bend the drumstick back
from the thigh until you can see a white line of fat in line with the joint. Slice right along the fat
line with your knife to easily separate the thigh and drumstick.

 Chicken thighs that are sold as “quarters” have the drumsticks still attached.
 If you hit bone when you cut
into the meat, move your
knife over and try again
until it glides cleanly through
the joint.
 Be sure to use a sharp
knife  since you’re more
likely to hurt yourself with a
dull blade.

Boneless Chicken Thigh

Slice along the left side of the thigh bone

with your knife. Flip the chicken thigh over so
the skin faces down and locate the knobby end of
the bone poking out from the thickest part of
the meat. Place the tip of your knife against the
left side of the bone and make slow, short cuts
down its length to separate the meat. Try
to keep the blade as close to the bone as you can so you don’t accidentally leave behind meat
scraps.

 Don’t apply too much pressure while you’re cutting, or else the blade may slip off the bone and
cut you.
 You don’t have to remove the bone if you want to bake bone-in chicken thighs.

Push the meat over so you can cut

along the right side of the bone. Set the
knife down and pull apart the cut with your
hands so you can see the right side of the
bone. Pat the meat, so it stays in place before
placing the tip of your knife along the uncut side of the bone. Use short, slow strokes with the
blade angled toward the bone, so you remove the most meat. Slice until you reach the other
end of the bone.

 As you slice through the meat, continue pushing it away from the bone to help pull it tight so you
can make the cleanest cuts.

Pull the bone up and out of the thigh as

you slice it off of the meat. Lift the knobby end of the bone off your cutting board with your
non-dominant hand. Place the blade of your knife at the end of the bone along the uncut side of
the bone. Raise the bone to pull the meat tight, and scrape the blade against the length to finish
cutting off the root. When you reach the end of the bone, cut any places where it’s still attached
to the core to remove it.

 Never cut toward your fingers since you could easily hurt yourself if the blade slips.
 Save the bones if you want to make chicken stock.

Peel off the skin with your fingers if you don’t

want it. Flip the chicken thigh over, so the skin
side faces up. Grab an edge of the skin with your dominant hand and hold the meat against the
cutting board with your other hand. Pull the skin straight up and away from the heart, so it
separates easily. If the skin doesn’t come off, pull it as tight as you can and cut along the meat
with the tip of your knife.

 Chicken skin gets crispy once it’s cooked, so you may leave it on the thigh if you want. Trim off
any excess that hangs off the meat with your knife.
