How to Break Down a Chicken, and Turn It Into Three Meals

An easy way to save money is to buy whole chickens and break them down yourself. 

This instructable will guide you through breaking the chicken down, and a few recipes for inspiration on what to do with the various parts - A burger with the upper thigh, stuffed and panko-breaded breasts, and a chicken/pea risotto with various other pieces.

Don't worry if you can't break it down perfectly the first time, you will quickly improve, and nothing is going to get wasted thanks to the stock we will be making for the risotto.

REMEMBER when working with raw chicken avoid cross-contamination, by not letting the chicken touch any other ingredients or tools, and using seperate cutting boards.

Supplies

For breaking down the chicken, all you will need is a large cutting board, placed on a moist cloth to keep it stable - and of course a chicken and a sharp knife.

Step 1: The Thighs

The first thing we will be taking off the chicken are the thighs. Place the chicken on its back, as seen in the first pictures, then cut the skin open where it connects the thigh to the body.

Turn the chicken over and apply pressure as seen in pictures four and five, in order to "pop" the joint. You can now easily cut between the joints, and the thigh will be loose.

Repeat for the other thigh.

Depending on the dish you will be making with it, you can stop here, or continue on for the burger I made.

We need to seperate the lower and upper thigh - simply feel around for the joint, then pop it. Again cut between the two joints to seperate them.

Lastly we need to debone the upper thigh to avoid having a large bone in the middle of our burger.

Open up the meat down to the bone, then carefully scrape or cut it loose from the meat.

Step 2: The Wings

The next step is to remove the wings.

Simply repeat the steps from the thighs - cut the skin, pop the joint, then cut it off.

Since there isn't really a lot of meat on the tip of the wing, I like to remove it and use it for stock instead, but you can definitely leave it on if you want to use whole wings.

To remove it just find the joint and cut through it.

Step 3: The Breasts

To remove the breasts you have to cut as close as possible to the bone(you can tell where it is by the line in the middle).

Work slowly and cut just a little at a time to get as much off as possible. Spread the meat from the bone with your fingers, to better be able to see where to cut.

The breast has a tenderloin on the inside that you need to remove for this recipe, but we will use it for the risotto instead. You can usually remove it simply by pulling, but if not, help it along with the knife. Do the same with the skin.

By now you should have the parts seen in the last picture -

Two wings (tips seperate)

Two lower thighs

Two deboned upper thighs

Two tenderloins

Two breasts

And of course the body, along with leftover skin and bones.

Step 4: Chicken Burger

For the chicken burger you will definitely need;

The deboned upper thighs

Two burger buns

Some salt and oil

Otherwise, add whatever you like to have in a burger - I used a mixed salad, some cucumber, cheddar, mustard, ketchup and aioli.

To cook the chicken, season both sides with salt, then place skin-side down in a pan with some oil. Turn the pan on at medium high. Reduce to medium, when the pan is nice and hot. When the skin starts to crisp up, flip the thighs over. After a few minutes the bottom side should have a bit of caramelization too, and should be done.

You can test it by piercing all the way through with a needle for few seconds, then touching it to your lip - if any part is cold, your chicken isn't done yet. When done, remove it from the pan and set aside to rest skin-side up, so it stays crispy.

Plate your burger.

Step 5: Stuffed, Panko-breaded Breasts

What you'll need:

The two chicken breasts

~2,5 dl(1 cup) Flour (with a little salt and pepper mixed in)

~2,5 dl(1cup) Panko

2-3 eggs

Oil and butter

Your choice of filling (I used 2 tsp pesto, 2 tsp sundried tomatoes and one block of mozzarella)

Whip together the eggs in a bowl that the chicken can fit into.

Butterfly the chicken breast by cutting sideways into it, opening it up as seen in picture number 3. Add your filling, then carefully close it up - make sure not to overfill, as it will be difficult to keep it closed.

Flip the breasts in flour, making sure to completely cover, then shake off any excess. Move to the eggs, and cover completely - then onto the panko. If you want an extra thick crust, go back to the egg, then the panko again.

Heat up some oil in a pan at medium high heat, then add a tablespoon of butter. Let it melt, then carefully place the chicken in the pan. When the first side is nice and browned, flip it over, and baste(moving the hot oil and butter from the pan, to the top of the chicken). When you're happy with it, you can test if it's done as in the recipe above.

Move to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle some salt on top.

Serve with your choice of side - for example some pasta and tomato sauce.

Step 6: Roasted Chicken Stock

What you will need;

The leftovers from your chicken(bones, skin, any pieces you wont be cooking with) - browned in the oven at 220 degrees celcius (428f)

Roughly chopped vegetables(I used 3 carrots, 3 onions, 3 celery stalks)

Aromatics (I used a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary, 3 cloves of garlic, 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, 2 bay leaves and a spoonful of black peppercorns.)

2 dl red wine (a bit less than 1 cup)

A tbsp of oil

Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the vegetables and cook until they start to brown, and bits are sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the rest of your ingredients and mix. Let the red wine reduce down, until it reaches a syrup-like consistency, then add enough water to cover everything. Bring to a boil, then simmer for ~2 hours, while skimming off impurities that rise to the surface - then strain.

Step 7: Chicken and Pea Risotto

200g arborio rice (or other risotto rice)

5-6 dl (2-2,5 cups) stock

200g frozen peas (if using fresh, add with cheese, chicken and butter at the end)

1 onion, thinly slices or chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, chopped or crushed

Chicken lower thighs, wings and tenderloins

2 tbsp of butter

1 block parmesan

1 dl (½ cup) white wine

Salt and pepper

oil

Preheat the oven to 220C (428F). Heat the stock in a pot. Pour some oil on the chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in the warm oven before starting the risotto. Check on it regularly, and remember, that the tenderloins will be done first, so remove and chop when done. My tenderloins took about 10 minutes to cook, the rest ~20 minutes.

Heat some oil in a large pot or saute pan, then melt the butter in it. Add onions and a pinch of salt. Saute at medium heat for a few minutes, then add garlic. Saute for another minute, then stir in the rice. Pour the wine in, and let it simmer until you can no longer smell the alcohol.

Start adding the stock a ladleful at a time, letting the rice almost fully absorb it between ladles. When ~half the stock is incorporated, add your peas, and start tasting the rice. The rice shouldn't be completely soft, so if they're getting there, stop adding stock.

When adding the last ladleful of stock, grate 1/3 of your parmesan into the risotto, and add your chopped tenderloins, some freshly ground black pepper, and a tablespoon of butter. Remove from the heat and cover for 5 minutes, then taste and adjust to your taste with cheese, butter, pepper and salt.

Serve the risotto with your chicken thighs, wings and some more parmesan cheese.