One of the easiest ways to save in a supermarket is to do the preparation yourself. Take chicken, for example: If you buy it cut up into serving-sized pieces it's going to cost significantly more than a whole chicken because the supermarket will pass on the cost of paying the person to cut up the chicken in the back room. The obvious solution is to do it yourself; you'll need a cutting board, a chicken, and a sharp thick-bladed kitchen knife.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: 5 minutes
Here's How:
- Begin by removing the wing tips (just the final joint), and then the chicken's tail, which contains an oil filled gland that will simply add to the oiliness of stewed or fried chicken.
- Next, put the chicken breast side down, and slice cleanly up the spine, pressing down so the blade scores along the ribs. Turn the chicken upright, with the neck pressed into the cutting board, and cut straight down along the spine to open the chicken; my father-in-law (a retired butcher) holds the blade still and taps the back of the blade repeatedly with his other hand to drive it through the ribs.
- Open the chicken as if it were a book and press it flat against the cutting board; the sternum will begin to split and you'll be able to remove its bony central core by pulling it up. Cut through the center of the breast, lengthwise, and you'll have two chicken halves.
- One will have the neck attached; remove it by cutting through it with the knife, pressing down on the back of the blade with your other hand.
- To quarter the chicken, cut each half on a slight diagonal, to separate the breast from the thigh. If you want eight pieces, cut the breasts in half (again on a diagonal), and separate the drumsticks from the upper thighs by flexing the legs and cutting through the knee joints.
- Done!
Tips:
- The knife is important; it should be quite sharp, with an 8-inch (20 cm) blade, and stiff enough that it won't twist.
- As with all manual tasks practice makes perfect; my father-in-law, who did this for a living, quarters a chicken in about a minute.
- If you're making soup stock, add the trimmings (other than the tail) to the pot.
What You Need:
- A whole chicken
- A sharp knife, see above
- A cutting board
