Cutting up a chicken

Cut Up a Whole Chicken How-To: Compliments of Martha Stewart

1. Place chicken breast side up on work surface.

2. Gently pull the leg away from the body.

3. Slice through the skin between the breast and the thigh.

4. Pull the leg outward until the thighbone pops out of its socket.

5. Cut along the backbone around the ball and socket, pulling the leg away to detach.

6. Repeat with remaining leg.

7. Lay the breast on its side.

8. Pull away the wing until the joint is exposed.

9. Cut between the joint and the breast to remove the wing. If you want to remove the wing tips, pull them away and slice through the joint.10. Lift up the breast.

11. Using a knife (or poultry shears), slice between the rib cage and shoulder joints

.12. Slice through the rib cage on both sides of the bird.

13. Cut down through those bones, to separate the two sections.

14. Slice along either side of the bone in the center -- called the keel bone.

15. Work the knife gently along the rib cage to remove the meat from the rib cage.

16. Once both halves have been separated, trim away the slender fillet from each.

17. To divide the leg: turn the leg skin side down.

18. Cut along the white fat line to separate the thigh from the drumstick.