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Butcher Skills

Whole Chicken Breakdown

More skills. Less waste. Better meals.

Buying a whole chicken is one of the easiest ways to get better value from your meat. Once you can break one down yourself, you get wings, breasts, tenderloins, thighs, drumsticks and a carcass for stock — several meals from one bird.

A whole raw chicken broken down into breasts, thighs, drumsticks, wings and tenderloins on a wooden board
  1. A whole raw chicken on a wooden board
    1

    Whole Chicken

    Start with a whole chicken. Make sure your work area, tools and hands are clean.

  2. A whole chicken marked with the wings, breasts, thighs and drumsticks
    2

    Plan Your Cuts

    Identify the main cuts: wings, breasts, thighs, drumsticks and carcass.

  3. A knife cutting through the skin between the thigh and breast
    3

    Remove the Maryland

    Cut through the skin between the thigh and breast to remove the Maryland.

  4. A separated chicken thigh and drumstick on a board
    4

    Separate Thigh and Drumstick

    Find the natural joint between the thigh and drumstick and cut through.

  5. A knife cutting through the wing joint of a chicken
    5

    Remove the Wings

    Lift the wing away from the body and cut through the joint.

  6. A knife following the breastbone to remove a chicken breast
    6

    Remove the Breast

    Run your knife along the breastbone, following the rib cage to remove the breast.

  7. A chicken breast with the tenderloin being lifted away
    7

    Separate the Tenderloin

    The tenderloin sits underneath the breast. Gently lift and cut to remove.

  8. Wings, breasts, tenderloins, thighs, drumsticks and carcass laid out on a board
    8

    Finished Cuts

    You now have all the usable cuts from your whole chicken.

  9. A chicken carcass on a wooden board
    9

    The Carcass

    The carcass isn't waste. Use it to make stock, broth or soup.

  10. Labelled containers of breasts, thighs, drumsticks, wings, tenderloins and marylands
    10

    Storage

    Store cuts in airtight containers or freezer bags. Label and date. Use within 1–2 days in the fridge or freeze for longer storage.

Don’t throw away the carcass

A pot of simmering chicken stock made from a leftover carcass, with fresh vegetables nearby

The carcass isn’t waste. Cover it with water in a pot with an onion, a carrot and a few peppercorns, simmer gently, then strain. You have stock for soup, gravy, risotto, casseroles and pasta sauces — from a part of the chicken most people throw in the bin.

Cool the stock, then keep it in the fridge for a few days or freeze it in portions. Any meat left on the frame after simmering can be picked off and used in sandwiches, fried rice or a pie filling.

Use more of what you buy. Less waste. More value. That’s Pantrix.

Storing your cuts

Store cuts in airtight containers or freezer bags. Label and date them. Use within 1–2 days in the fridge, or freeze for longer storage.

Read Freezing & Storing Meat