How to Carve a Roasted Chicken

Carving roasted chicken is a simple process requiring only four primary cuts of the knife.

When you remove a steaming hot roasted chicken from the oven, bursting with juices and heady aroma, you capture your family's immediate attention. Carve the chicken into its eight basic parts so everyone can choose their favorite piece. Carving a chicken requires only four primary cuts of the knife. Remove the breast and wing as one section, and the leg and thigh as another. The four primary pieces are then cut into two pieces. Use the same carving technique, on a larger scale, for holiday turkey. Does this Spark an idea?

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Cutting board
Meat fork
Chef's knife

Instructions

- 1
  
  Place the chicken on its back on the cutting board with the neck pointing toward your belt buckle. Let it rest for 15 minutes until the juices flow from the center of the chicken to the extremities.
- 2
  
  Pierce the thigh with a meat fork toward the bottom and straight through into the backbone for a secure grip on the chicken.
- 3
  
  Lay the flat side of a chef's knife between the body of the chicken and the leg. Push the knife against the chicken while pulling the leg away with the fork. Cut through any remaining skin that connects the leg to the body. Cut through the joint where the leg attaches to the thigh, separate them and set aside.
- 4
  
  Scoop out the small muscle of meat at the bottom of the body where the leg joint was attached, and set it aside with the leg.
- 5
  
  Lay the cut side of the chicken flat on the cutting board. Pierce the thigh toward the bottom with a meat fork. Lay the knife between the body of the chicken and the remaining leg. Pull the leg away with the meat fork while pushing against the body with the knife. Remove the small piece of meat from where the leg was attached. Separate the leg and thigh and set aside.
- 6
  
  Remove the breast by laying the chicken on its side and pushing the fork into the meaty part of the breast. Cut along the top of the breastbone where the breast attaches. Use the fork to pull the breast away from the body while simultaneously slicing it free.
- 7
  
  Make a cut approximately 1 inch below the wing and at a 45 degree angle. The idea is to include a small portion of the breast to make the wing portion larger.
- 8
  
  Lay the chicken on the cutting board with the remaining breast facing up. Pierce the breast with a fork and pull it away from the body while laying the knife flat against the ribcage and slicing downward.
- 9
  
  Cut the breast approximately 1 inch below the wing and remove the wing with a small part of the breast. Set it aside.

Tips & Warnings

Place a wet cloth under the cutting board to keep it from sliding on the countertop.
Freeze the carcass and use it to make soup.
Slice off the wishbone, located at the top of the breastbone, wash it, and give it to the kids to make a wish.
Sanitize the work area, utensils and cutting board before and after carving the chicken, with a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water.
Do not allow the chicken to stay out of the refrigerator for more than 30 minutes during carving.