Videojug

How To Quarter A Chicken

Print Info
  • Videojug
  • Videojug
  • 2:58
  • Yes
  • 360p
  • 640x360
  • Flash
  • h.264
  • 900kbps

How To Quarter A Chicken
3.987 user ratings
How To Quarter A Chicken. We give you a simple guide to cutting and disjointing a whole chicken, with absolutely no wastage. It's easier than you think! Enlarge How To Quarter A Chicken. We give you a simple guide to cutting and disjointing a whole chicken, with absolutely no wastage. It's easier than you think!
Preparation Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
10 minutes

Step 1: You will need….

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 1 large sharp knife
  • 1 chopping board

Step 2: Remove the legs

Begin by placing the whole chicken on the chopping board. Take one leg, begin to ease it away from the body and cut through the skin, between the body and the thigh. Now pull the leg, quite firmly away from the body, until the ball of the thighbone pops out from the hip socket. Cut between the ball and socket to separate the leg entirely from the bottom of the bird.

Step 3: Divide the legs

Place the chicken leg, skin-side down and cut firmly through the joint between the drumstick and thigh.

TIP! Never place food on anything that raw chicken has touched!

Step 4: Remove the breasts

With the neck-end facing you, make a slit first & then cut along one side of the bird's back bone. Fold back the breast meat with your knife until you reach the wing joint. Cut through it but don't separate the wing from the breast just yet.

TIP! This technique can be used on a cooked chicken as well.

Step 5: Remove the wings

Cut through the whole of the wing joint and completely release the wing from the breast. Before moving to the next step, repeat the entire process once more on the other side of your chicken.

Step 6: Cut the carcass in two

Now with the chicken cut and disjointed, slice the carcass in two between the ribcage and the sternum. This part is a great foundation for making nourishing, homemade soups!
52,073 views
Tips & Comments
  3. Anonymous

    >>> Quartering a chicken means dividing it into 4 parts not 8. very good instruction on how to cut a chicken into serving pieces but my recipe calls for quartering a chicken, not sure what that means. <<< Better late than never: the shown method should work, too. :) If you insist on *quarter*ing the bird, just don't separate the thigh from the drumstick, as well as you leave the wing with the breast.

  4. Anonymous

    She says "bird's back bone". Actually it's the breast bone.

  5. Anonymous

    EXCELLENT VIDEOJUG. i love you : ).

  6. Anonymous

    excellent instructions, thanx for that, I tried it and it was very simple, the breast part was a little hard but i managed. I was pretty good for a first timer :)

  7. Anonymous

    Thanks. Looks simple! I will try it on a cooked chicken.

  8. Anonymous

    Quartering a chicken means dividing it into 4 parts not 8. very good instruction on how to cut a chicken into serving pieces but my recipe calls for quartering a chicken, not sure what that means.

  9. Anonymous

    Thank you!!! when you buy the hole chicken is cheaper than when you buy cut it, I always had this problem how to cut it??? so thank you very much for doing the life easier!!!!

  10. togomaster

    is it necessary?.you can buy them from your super market.saves you on doing the hard work.there! a tip from me.dont say i wasnt constructive