Jointing a whole chicken at home to save money

We often buy chicken portions for convenience: breast, wings, legs and so on. But jointing a chicken at home is easy and economical. To illustrate, I bought a huge chicken for €10. The previous day, 360 grams of breast slices cost me €5.40. The savings are obvious, and I also made 2 litres of stock from the carcass.

I use a very sharp knife and first cut through the wing joints.

I remove both wings and their tips. Wings are excellent grilled.

I now cut around one leg, following the joints; there is no need to break bones.

Then the other leg.

I bend the carcass in half and detach the legs.

I pull the skin off the breasts; it comes away easily.

I cut beneath the carcass.

I completely separate the breasts from the bone.

I remove the wishbone.

I separate the breasts and trim any fat or cartilage.

I return to the legs and detach one.

Then the other. A piece of bone will be attached, which I remove with the knife.

Here are the 2 legs.

I remove the ends.

Our chicken is perfectly jointed.

I decided to leave one breast whole, to cut into strips or chunks for whichever recipe I choose. I slice the other and flatten with a meat mallet.

Leave the legs whole, or remove the skin for a lighter recipe.

I turn them over, cut along the middle of each leg and carefully remove the bone.

I cut into the flesh to even it out, cover with cling film and flatten with a meat mallet into something like steaks. Flavoured with herbs and oil, they are delicious pan-cooked or oven-baked.

The chicken is jointed and ready to freeze if I am not using it immediately.

For stock, I put the carcass in a pan, removing the skin because it is too fatty. I add a carrot, celery and an onion, cover with cold water, add a little salt and cook. After about an hour, I strain the stock and use it for soups or risottos.