At some point, youll need to know how to carve a chicken.
The good news is, its pretty easy.
Heres how to carve a chicken in a few simple steps.
Aside from the breast, the thighs, legs, and wings are all carved through the joint.
When cooked completely, the connective tissues around the joint shrink and weaken significantly.
There’s a chance it needs more time in the oven.
Turkeys are hulks, comparatively, so youre going to take it apart from pretty much one angle only.
Step 1.
Start with the chicken breast-side up.
Grab the thigh and begin slightly pulling it away from the body.
Feel along the outside to identify where the thigh muscle is connected to the body.
Use your knife to cut through the skin along this line.
Thatll help the thigh to come away easily without tearing the skin.
It may begin to easily separate.
Feel free to rotate or flip your chicken for this.
Cut straight through any remaining muscle or skin to completely remove the thigh and leg.
Repeat this on the other side.
Step 2.
Separate the leg from the thigh
The same idea applies here.
Move the leg away from the thigh to see where the two meet at the joint.
Use the knife to slice through the skin and cut through the joint.
Repeat this with the other leg and thigh.
Arrange the four pieces on the plate.
Step 3.
Carve the breasts
check that your chicken is breast-side up.
Plate the breast and repeat this on the other side, rotating the chicken for the best angle.
Step 4.
Remove the wings
Now you just have a carcass with wings.
Use your knife to cut through the joint that holds the wing to the body.
Now it’s possible for you to either plate it as-is, or clean it up.
Plate the wing pieces alongside the rest of the carved chicken.
Now your pretty plated chicken is ready to serve.
