Seasoned Jan - March 2020

Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
/8 /9
Jointing a Bird
4. Use a pair of kitchen or poultry scissors to cut through
the breastbone completely.
5. Put the chicken on its side and from the point of the
breast, using a knife, cut out the ribs, following the fat
line around the wing. At the joint cut out the wing joint
using scissors.
6. Now the 4 pieces need to be divided again. Place the leg/
thigh pieces skin-side down on the board and use your
knife to cut through the joint, using the fat line covering
the joint as a guide. If the knife comes into contact with
the bone, move the knife a little to the left or right and
try again. It should cut cleanly through the joint. Repeat
with the second piece.
1. Place the chicken breast-side down on a chopping board
with the neck end away from you. Make a cut through
the skin, down the middle of the carcass, from the neck
end to just above the parson’s nose. Make a cut on either
side of the parson’s nose.
2. Identify the oysters, which lie on the carcass at the top
of the thigh. Make a cut across the top of the oysters to
release the sinew holding them in place and release the
oysters with your thumb.
3. Now turn the chicken so it is breast-side up with the
neck end away from you. Pull the skin over the breast to
ensure it is fully covered. Cut between the drumstick
and breast, keeping the knife close to the breast, but on
the outside of the carcass bone at the entrance to the
cavity, until the joint holding the thigh to the carcass is
exposed. Do the same on the other side. Place your
fingers under the thigh and your thumb on top of it then
push up with your fingers to ‘pop’ the thigh joint. Repeat
on the other side.
Top Tip:/
Trim off any excess fat
from the carcass and use
to make stock.
7. To divide the breast pieces cut through the meat with
your knife, then through the bone with a pair of scissors
to leave a diamond-shaped tapering piece of breast and a
smaller, but thicker, piece with the wing attached. Trim
off the end wing pinion. The chicken should now have
been jointed into 8 pieces.
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