Breaking down a whole chicken is the best way to save money and also know that you are making the best use of a precious resource. Here we are removing the legs from the body.
The leg meat has more flavour than breast meat and is juicer. That makes it perfect for soups and curries where the breast meat might dry out.
Removing the whole leg
- Place the whole bird legs towards you and breast up.
- Feel with your hands where the thigh bone attaches to the hip.
- Keeping your fingers safe, cut downwards at that point until the leg is mostly free but not fully cut off.
- From below the leg, use your hands to pop the thigh bone up and off the hip.
- Turn the bird over and cut around the thigh bone trying to pick up the meat that is on the body but still considered leg meat.
Separating the thigh and drumstick
Simply cut through the knee joint to further break down the leg into the thigh (above the knee) and drumstick (below the knee). In the pictures below you can see that there is nothing below the ankle. If there is you can also cut this off.
Enjoy,
PK
More Chicken Cuts:
| Ingredient |
|---|
| chicken whole |
| chicken breast |
| chicken butterflied or halved |
| chicken carcass |
| chicken crown |
| chicken leg and thigh |
| chicken wing |
Related Links:
- see all recipes using chicken here
- go to the main page about chickens here
- go to the main ingredients page here
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