How to properly carve a fried chicken. How to cut a chicken How to cut a chicken into portions

After you have dealt with slaughter and plucking on your own, the carcass must be prepared for use for culinary purposes. Information on how to properly butcher a chicken will come in handy even if you don’t have your own farmstead. As a rule, by buying a whole carcass, and not portioned pieces, you can save a lot on cutting it.

Preparing the carcass for cutting - gutting

To gut a chicken, you will need a sharp knife, containers for giblets and waste, and a cutting board. The plucked carcass is placed on it with its paws up and the process begins.

Gutting a chicken can be divided into several successive stages:

Removal of paws. This is done by notching the tendons with a sharp knife, which are pre-tensioned by bending the leg at the knee joint. You need to cut with a gentle movement, without pressing.
Circular incision around the anus. It is very important to cut through the skin without hitting the internal organs.
Dissection of the skin surface along the central line of the abdomen, which runs from the keel of the chicken to the anus. Cut as carefully as possible to the hymen surrounding the intestines. When cutting a chicken, care must be taken not to touch the contents of the abdominal cavity with the tip. If you are not sure of the accuracy of the movements, after dissection, the remaining tissue can be torn with your hands.
Pull out the intestines along with the anus and send them to waste.
After that, take out the liver and stomach, after cutting them at the junction with the chicken carcass. When manipulating the liver, do not crush the spleen. It is separated after being removed from the carcass and sent to waste. The liver and stomach are still useful for culinary masterpieces.
Pull out the goiter. The easiest way is if the chicken was on a starvation diet before slaughter. Then just take out the goiter along with the esophagus. Otherwise, before gutting the chicken, cut the neck. Thoroughly clean the crop. Only then proceed to the next steps. The neck will have to be cut even if the slaughter was carried out internally: otherwise the goiter cannot be obtained.
In roosters, be sure to remove the testicles from the tail. To do this, it is incised and the yellow glands are carefully removed. The chicken needs to pull out the ovaries, which are located inside.
At the last moment, the heart and lungs are removed from the carcass.

The stomach is subjected to additional cleaning: first it is cut, then turned out, then it is cleaned of food debris and the inner rough layer is completely removed. Then the giblets and carcass of the chicken are thoroughly washed. Preferably under running water.

You need to gut the chicken immediately after plucking. So it will be possible to avoid unwanted processes, which, as a rule, begin in the intestines, esophagus or goiter and provoke meat spoilage. After gutting, you can cut the carcass.

Cutting chicken into portions

Of course, the carcass does not have to be cut into pieces. It can also be prepared as a whole. For example, bake with a golden crust. However, if cut into pieces, the scope for creativity will be much wider.

There are many ways to carve a chicken. Everyone chooses the most convenient for himself. No one forbids improving the cutting schemes for their specific needs. It is important to do this immediately after gutting, and then use the fresh bird for cooking or freezing.

It takes experience and a steady hand to carve a chicken properly. Over time, the process will be brought to automatism.

One of the common ways to cut a chicken into portions will require the following recommendations to be followed in sequence:

Place the chicken carcass upside down on a cutting board. Alternately, each of them is pressed against a cutting board, and deep cuts are made at the place of articulation with the body. Then the legs are turned outward with the joint out. If you cut the tendon, you will get large pieces that need to be cut further.
Put the legs on the table and cut into pieces: separately the lower leg, separately the thigh. To do this, you need to unbend, feel for the fold and cut along it to the junction of the bones.
The wings are separated in the same way. They must be bent, find the junction with the shoulder girdle with your hand and cut along it.
After that, cut the chicken carcass into two equal parts: first along the spine, then along the breast.
At the final stage, it is necessary to cut the resulting parts again lengthwise in order to finally separate the breast and back.

After you have managed to cut the chicken into pieces, be sure to rinse all parts under running water.

How to separate meat from bones

The aerobatics of cutting a chicken is to separate the bones from the meat and at the same time preserve the attractive appearance of the carcass or portioned pieces. Even if you can’t cut it beautifully the first time, the resulting parts can be put into minced meat or chopped cutlets.

Cutting a chicken in this way will require a sharp knife, scissors and a board. Step by step, this process can be represented as follows:

Put the carcass on your stomach.
Cut the skin along the spine on both sides. In this case, it is necessary to clean off the muscle tissue as much as possible.
Cut through the connective tissue that holds the bones of the sternum and spine together. In addition, it is necessary to cut the cartilages of the shoulder and femoral girdle. You can use scissors for this. To facilitate the process, the leg or shoulder is gently twisted, exposing the cartilage tissue.
Carefully remove the spine. In this case, it is necessary to carefully cut off the remains of muscle fibers from the surface.
The bones of the legs are taken one by one, starting with the femur. Cut the fabrics at the junction. You can pull them out with a knife, gradually cleaning the bones and helping yourself with your hands.
Cut off the wings from the chicken carcass. There are too few muscles on them, so it makes no sense to separate them from the bones.
Rinse the cut carcass under running water.

Of course, it is much easier to separate the meat from the bones when the chicken carcass is already cut into pieces. However, the kitchen is a place of constant experimentation and the birth of new masterpieces and ideas. Even a banal chicken fillet can be cooked for guests in such a way that they will remember your dish for a lifetime.

For cutting chicken at first, you will have to make a lot of effort. However, armed with the necessary knowledge, you can master this art with minimal loss, showing off the perfect pieces in your culinary masterpieces. Homemade chicken has a special taste, after tasting which you are unlikely to return to store carcasses, having once and for all made a choice for yourself in favor of natural farming.

Raise chickens and constantly face their slaughter, plucking and other not very pleasant things? Do you know that the quality of chicken meat depends on how well you process the carcass? No?! Then all about how to gut and how to cut a chicken correctly, read further in the article and watch thematic photos and videos.

What comes before cutting?

Chicken cutting implies the final division of the bird carcass into portioned pieces. Depending on the size of the pieces you need, two methods can be distinguished. According to the first method, it is necessary to cut it economically into smaller pieces, and in the common people it is called "waste-free". The second method is cutting the chicken into equal parts. Both methods will be discussed step by step in the diagram, photo and video later in the article.

And now let's talk about the stages that precede the chicken cutting, namely, slaughter, plucking and gutting the carcass. The methods of slaughter and plucking will be discussed in other articles. But we still remember the main nuance that will facilitate all further work. So, the most important thing is the correct preparation of the bird for slaughter, namely a strict diet, at least half a day. Then the goiter and cloaca of the chicken will be emptied and there will be no extra fuss with them during gutting.

gutting

So, we have a killed and plucked chicken, which must be butchered, and for this it must first be gutted. All you need is the knowledge of what and how to do, a sharp knife and even hands. If you're not sure you can handle it, don't take it. Since in case of damage to the intestines or something else, you risk spoiling delicious chicken meat. Below is a short video on how to gut a chicken at home.

First you need to cut the anus. To do this, take a knife and cut it in a circle. The main thing is not to pierce anything superfluous.
Now we make a shallow incision from the excised anus to the keel of the bird. Again, the main thing is not to hurt the intestines. If you are afraid to hurt, then the skin can only be cut near the anus towards the keel, after which it will easily tear further with your hands.
Now we are preparing dishes for waste and internal organs.
Carefully listen to the intestines and anus. At the same time, we cut out the stomach and liver. With the liver, you also need to be very careful not to hurt the spleen. We remove it from the already cut liver.
Now you need to draw out the goiter. If you prepared the chicken for slaughter correctly, then the goiter will be empty and pulling it out will not be a problem. Otherwise, before gutting, we cut the skin on the neck and empty the bird's crop. You also need to cut the skin if the crop does not want to be pulled out or when using a slaughter method that does not involve cutting off the head.
Now you can cut out the genitals (ovaries in hens or testes in cockerels) and the heart.
The final stage of gutting will be a thorough washing of the carcass with cold water.

How to disassemble a bird?

If you don't know how to properly butcher a chicken, then, as mentioned above, two methods are great for this. Both the first and the second method, chicken cutting will not pose any difficulties when it is carried out at home. As for which option to choose for you, we cannot advise anything here. Both methods are good and fast to implement, so give preference to yourself, and below are the cutting diagrams for both options.

Option one

This method will allow you to quickly and economically cut a whole chicken carcass into pieces. At the same time, the work is easy to carry out at home with an ordinary kitchen knife. Further, a detailed description of the process with thematic photos and videos.

First, separate the legs of the chicken. To do this, we put the carcass on the back, pull the leg and cut the skin between it and the body. As soon as you reach the joint, you need to stop, take the leg with one hand and turn the joint outward. Next, we separate it with a knife and completely cut off the leg. We do the same with the second leg.
Now we divide each leg into two parts: lower leg and thigh. We put the leg with the skin on the table and separate it along the flexion joint with a sharp pressure of the knife. We do the same with the second leg.
Cut off the wings at the shoulder joint.
Next, you need to cut the carcass into breast and back. To do this, we put the knife inside the carcass and pierce it. Now, slowly, towards ourselves, parallel to the spine, we divide the carcass in half.
Now we completely separate the back from the breast. Then additionally cut the back and breast in half.

Option two

This method will come in handy if you need to cut a whole chicken into pieces that are approximately even in terms of the amount of meat. It is also easy to implement at home with improvised means, and thematic photos and videos will help you with this.

First you need to prepare for cutting the legs. To do this, on the back of the chicken, below the scapular bones, we make incisions. Then on both sides along the ridge towards the tail we make 2 more cuts. This will help us to easily remove the meat from the bone, which is called "oyster".
Bones - "oysters" are located in small depressions along the ridge from the back. Carefully separate them with a knife. When they stick to the skin alone, cut off the legs.
The legs are cut out, as in the first version, but in addition, the “oyster” is captured.
Let's start cutting out the wings. To do this, turn the carcass upside down and make an incision between the spine and one of the shoulder blades. Now the shoulder blade is separated, and then everything is repeated with the second wing. Upon completion, the spine is completely separated.
At this stage, you need to separate the breast and wings from the skeleton. To do this, cut the carcass from the inside along the spine.
Now we cut off the wings from the breast so that we get 3 equal pieces - 2 wings and a piece of breast.

The final step in any cutting method is a thorough washing of the resulting parts. Such chicken disassembly options are basic. But no one forbade you to come up with your own version based on the above and your own needs.

Photo gallery

Video "Cutting the carcass into 8 parts"

It is rare when a hostess thinks about how to cut a chicken carcass.. Many do it either on a whim, or according to a well-established tradition in the family. And, meanwhile, there is a general cutting technology that can not only speed up this process for experienced people, but will also become an indispensable instruction for those who are just trying their hand at culinary skills.

The method described below will show the step-by-step cutting of the carcass into 8 relatively equal-sized pieces. Or even 10 if you separate the wings. And, among other things, chicken back and cartilage will remain as a pleasant addition - it is hardly suitable for stewing, frying or baking, but it will be a great addition to a standard soup set.

The advantage of purchasing a whole carcass is obvious- whatever parts of it are needed, they will come out much cheaper than a separate purchase of chicken breast or drumstick. But if you buy chicken exclusively for cutting and subsequent freezing, then you need to keep in mind one important rule: preference should be given to chilled products. It is almost always fresh, and even if not, it is very easy to recognize by its characteristic smell or appearance.

With frozen carcasses, alas, such a trick will not work. And most often, chicken gets into the freezer, which has already lain for 2 or 3 days in the chilled department - this is how stores and suppliers extend its shelf life. But, you see, such a carcass, and even after repeated defrosting, cutting and freezing, will definitely not be the first freshness.

Useful tricks for the hostess "on a note"

How to butcher a chicken - step by step guide

The first thing to do is to thoroughly rinse the carcass under running water.. After that, it is desirable to dry it slightly, you can use a towel. And boldly proceed to the process of cutting the chicken:

Cut the breast into portions

The main preparations for cutting the chicken carcass are completed, the turn has come to divide the received into “portions”. Let's take a breast:

Cut the legs into portions

We'll get four more pieces so the chicken lasts longer. A whole chicken leg is good, but still large. Therefore, we will divide it into several parts, separating the thighs from the shins. The cutting process is very similar to separating wings from a chicken carcass: in order to correctly determine the location of the cut, it is necessary to feel for the joint connecting the bones. In turn: straighten the leg, find the articular connection - carefully cut the legs into two parts.

This method of cutting allows you to get 8 pieces of chicken due to the breast and legs. And 2 more, if you separate the wings from the carcass. On top of that, the chicken back and breast bones remain. They can also be cooked, but it's much better to put them in a separate bag and freeze them - they will later become a good basis for rich chicken broth.

Today we will learn how to butcher a chicken in two different ways. In addition to the video, I will give some photos, but I immediately warn you - at your own peril and risk. Of course, there is nothing special there, but I know that not everyone perceives cut carcasses normally. I’m not kidding at all, I myself have a couple of acquaintances who cannot see meat on bones, for them this is almost the most disgusting sight.

1) Classical cutting of chicken into 8 parts.

This cutting is very convenient for barbecue, stewing, baking, etc.. To begin with, I give a video of chef Jason Hill (Jason Hill). Very funny, said exactly the right thing:
"DO NOT WORRY, SHE DOESN'T FEEL ANYTHING, HE IS ALREADY DEAD."
So, knife in hand and go. The video is in English, but everything is completely clear and without language - I chose the most visual :)

You will need a whole chicken, a large and of course sharp chef's knife and kitchen scissors.

And now I’ll back everything up with photos :) Usually I cut chicken or fish on a plastic board, but I have a small one, so now, for clarity, I covered the work surface with cling film - don’t be surprised.

1. Lay the chicken on a cutting board, breast side up. To separate the legs, make cuts between the thigh and torso.

2. Pull the leg to the side and bend it outward to break the hip joint.

At this stage, you can also break the joint between the lower leg and thigh, as shown in the video. Or you can do it in another way, I will show below.

3. Cut carefully with a knife through the joint to finally separate the leg from the body.

4. If at stage number 2 you broke the joint, then just carefully separate the lower leg from the thigh with a knife. And you can cut it right away, just along the line of the joint, without a "fracture".

These are the two neat parts we get. Do the same with the other leg.

5. To separate the wing, pull it away from the body and, bending it in the opposite direction, break the joint (similarly, as you did with the legs).

6. Cut between the joint and the breast, thus separating the wing. Remove the tip of the wing and use later for the broth. Do the same with the second wing.

7. Now our task is to separate the breast from the back. Place the carcass breast side up.

8. Use kitchen shears to cut through the side of the chicken end to end on both sides. It will be crunchy, don't worry.

Now we have the breast (left) separated from the back (spine). We also put the back on the broth, to our tips of the wings.

9. Lay the breast skin side down, cut it in half (lengthwise), placing the knife exactly in the middle. Press the knife well to cut through the bone and meat.

If desired, parts of the breasts can be cut in half again, across.

In total, we got 8 parts. Everything is not difficult at all, I'm sure that you will succeed much more accurately than I did :)

2) Butterfly chicken cutting.

We are talking about a chicken cut along the ridge on one side. First a video, and then a couple of photos, but not mine, but Glisslein. Alas, the second chicken was not at hand :)

1. Lay the chicken breast down and, holding the tail, cut with scissors or a knife, first on one side of the spine, then on the other. Remove the spine.

2. Cut the breast bone (keel) and open the breast in different directions. Remove the keel by simply pulling it with force. Trim off excess fat.

3. The chicken can be left whole, pay attention only to how to hide the legs under the skin.

Compliance with the temperature regime, the duration of processing, the order of operations is a guarantee of obtaining a completely ready-to-storage carcass.

bleeding

After slaughter, the bird is immediately hung upside down. This operation allows you to completely bleed the chicken carcass.

The time allotted for this operation is from 1 to 2 minutes. The length of time the hens stay in limbo depends on:

type of bird;
type of bird;
slaughter method.

pen department

There are two ways to separate the feather: dry and wet. The second method is used more often. Hot water makes it easier to separate the feather.

Water temperature for processing young birds - from +51С to + 53С. Dip in water for 1-2 minutes. It is permissible to immerse an adult bird in hot water with a temperature of +55C to +60C for 30s.

First, the largest, toughest feathers are removed from the tail and wings. Next, pluck the abdomen, legs, shoulder area and neck. Small feathers are removed after heat treatment much easier than with the dry method.

Down and feather processing

Feathers are sorted, sorted by size: in one container - large, in another - downy and small feathers.

Feathers and down are valuable raw materials. It is used for filling mattresses, pillows (small feather), for sewing collars, hats (down feather).

Feathers are cleaned in the following way:

washed in warm water with a solution of detergents;
rinse well to remove soap or powder residue;
wring out;
dried for 48 hours. Recommended drying temperature: + 70С…+80С. Final moisture percentage: 12%.

You can dry the pen well at home with the help of large gauze bags. Fill bags with feathers, hang from the ceiling in dry, well-ventilated areas.

Shake the bag several times during the drying process to avoid caking of the contents. To store the pen, you need to choose a room with good ventilation and low humidity.

gutting poultry

Before evisceration, the oral cavity is cleaned of blood residues. The throat of the bird is squeezed and, moving the fingers, the clot is pressed through. After the discharge of the blood plug, the site of the incision is thoroughly cleaned of drops of blood.

The beak is wiped dry. A paper swab is made and inserted into the oral cavity. The beak and legs are well washed, wiped and begin to gut the chicken.

Remove internal organs. Most of them are used in the future. Offal - the heart, liver, stomach without a shell are tasty and healthy. They are used for food. The lungs, esophagus, spleen, trachea, ovaries and testicles are boiled, crushed and used to feed the bird.

After extracting the entrails, the head is cut off along the second cervical vertebra, the legs are cut off to the heel joint, and the wings are cut off to the elbow joint. Processing completed.

The bird is thoroughly washed in cold water, left at room temperature for 2 to 8 hours. During this time, the chicken carcass is completely cooled and the meat ripens. It acquires a pleasant smell, becomes juicy and tender.

Post-mortem rigor mortis occurs fairly quickly in birds. Gutted young birds are enough to withstand from 2 to 4 hours, old chickens - up to 8 hours. The chicken can then be eaten or stored.

Storage of chicken meat

There are different ways to store chicken. Distinguish between short-term and long-term storage.

short-term

3–5 days. Chicken carcasses are stored in the refrigerator. Temperature: from 0C to -4C. If you don't have a refrigerator, remember the old way to save chicken. Soak a clean cloth in vinegar and wrap the meat around. The fabric must remain damp.

Long term

2-3 months or more. For long-term storage, the bird must be prepared in a special way. There are several ways to prepare poultry for long-term storage.

Preparation methods

Freeze

Within 12-18 hours, the carcasses are gradually cooled to a temperature of -2C ... -4C. After freezing is carried out at a temperature of -12C to -18C.

Ice Shell

Rural residents store gutted chickens in an ice crust during the winter. Nothing complicated:

chickens are taken out into the cold, dipped in water;
freeze in the air;
dip again;
freeze again;
the process is repeated up to 4 times until the chicken is completely covered with a crust;
wrap the carcass in parchment. Store at temperatures from -5 to -8C.

A layer of ice protects the carcass from the penetration of microbes. The bird can be stored in an ice shell for up to 2-3 months. Pour the carcasses with straw or sawdust.

Be sure to take out the box with the "ice chickens" in the cold. Defrost poultry before cooking should be gradual. This will preserve the quality of the meat.

salting

The gutted carcass can be salted in a strong saline solution. For 1 kg. birds will need 150 ml. solution.

Step by step:

300 g of table salt is well dissolved in a liter of water;
using a syringe, pour a saline solution through the bird's mouth;
well bandage the neck;
hang the carcass by the legs;
for 20 hours leave at temperatures + 22C ... + 23C;
at the end of the period, the brine is drained;
kept cold.

Tip: the strength of the solution is easy to check. If the boiled chicken egg does not sink, then you put enough salt.

Dry salting

With this method of salting, meat can be stored for more than six months. The prepared chicken is rubbed with salt and put into a barrel. Sprinkle each carcass well with salt.

Stored in a cellar. After 2-3 weeks, the bird is taken out, spices are added to the salt: black pepper, clove buds. Add a bay leaf if desired. Repeat the process of laying the chicken. The barrel is again removed to the cellar.

Smoking

A popular way of long-term storage of chicken carcasses. Procedure:

chickens are salted in a dry way, after cutting along the line of the chest;
salt (1 kg) is mixed with sugar (20 g) and ground black pepper (5-10 g). This amount of salt is for 10 medium chickens. After 2 days, a load is placed on each carcass. Weight: 2-3 kg for every 10 kg of chicken;
small birds salt out up to 4 days, large birds - up to 6 days. Salt is washed off the carcass under cold water and dried at room temperature;
if you want to eat meat after a short time, use hot smoke with a temperature of up to + 80C. Maintain this temperature for the first hour. In the next 2-3 hours, reduce the heat and bring the temperature to + 35C ... + 40C;
for long-term storage of chicken carcasses, smoking with cold smoke with a temperature of + 20C is more suitable. The process is long - up to 3 days;
finished carcasses should be wiped well from soot and soot. Smoked products are stored at a temperature not higher than + 5C. The room must be dry.

canning

Simple, fast, delicious. Cooking process:

cut off all the fat, melt over low heat for 45 minutes - 1 hour;
chicken is boiled until cooked, put in processed, steamed, clean jars;
prepared meat is poured with chicken fat. It covers the meat with an airtight film. If there is not enough fat, goose or duck lard is added;
white paper is moistened in alcohol or vodka, covered with jars and tightly tied with twine. Store homemade canned chicken in the cellar.

If you breed chickens for nutritious and tasty meat, tune in from the very beginning that you will have to slaughter the bird, process it and engage in further processing of the carcasses. The right mental attitude is very important.

After slaughter, gut the bird, butcher it and consider how to store it. It would be wise to prepare part of the meat for use in the near future, and prepare the rest for long-term storage. Then you will be provided with valuable dietary meat for a long time.