Cutting Chicken Legs: A Quick Guide To The Perfect Cut

Learning how to cut up a whole chicken is a valuable skill for any home cook. It allows you to customize the size and shape of your chicken pieces, whether you prefer whole legs, drumsticks and thighs, or whole or half breasts. You can also trim the fat to your liking and ensure that your chicken pieces are beautifully prepared and ready for cooking. In this article, we will focus on how to cut off the top of chicken legs, or drumsticks, and provide a step-by-step guide to help you achieve perfectly cut chicken pieces.

Characteristics and Values Table for Cutting Off the Top of Chicken Legs:

Use a sharp knife to cut through the skin

To cut off the top of chicken legs, you'll need a sharp knife, such as a boning knife or a chef's knife. Place the chicken on a cutting board with the breast side up. Grab one of the legs and use your knife to cut through the skin, exposing the joint. You can also use a Western-style boning knife, a Japanese-style honesuki, or poultry shears.

When cutting through the skin, make sure to only cut through the skin and not too deep into the meat. This first cut should be the shallowest. You can then grab the leg and twist it downward, away from the body, until the ball joint pops out of the socket. Set your knife down and use your hands for this part.

Now that the joint is exposed, use your knife to cut through the joint to completely remove the leg. Make sure to get the oyster, the nugget of meat closest to the chicken's spine. This is a delicacy, so be sure to claim it for yourself! Repeat this process on the other side to remove both legs.

If you want to separate the drumsticks from the thighs, you can do so by locating the joint where the two parts meet. Use your knife to cut through this joint, being careful not to cut yourself. You can then trim off any excess fat from the drumsticks and thighs to enhance the flavor and even cooking.

Slice off the legs, cutting close to the backbone

To cut off the top of chicken legs, you'll need a good, sharp knife. A sharp boning knife or a sharp chef's knife should do the trick. Place the chicken on a clean cutting board, skin-side down. Using your knife, remove the rib bones with small strokes, scraping against the bone to retain as much meat as possible. Once the meat is mostly separated from the bone, switch to a smaller knife to finish removing the bone.

Now, you'll want to locate where the thigh bone meets the leg bone. Cut between the two bones to separate them. Grasp the bone and pull it away from the meat. If you want to separate the drumstick from the thigh, look for the line of white fat that divides the two. Place your knife here and cut through the cartilage to separate the leg and thigh. Trim any excess fat from the thighs.

Turn the chicken so that the cavity opening is facing away from you. Slice along one side of the breastbone to divide the chicken in half. You can then cut through the back ribs to separate the two split breasts. If you want to remove the wings, cut through the joint where the wing meets the breast. For an "airline" chicken breast, slice through the joint between the first and second sections of the wing.

When slicing off the legs, do your best to cut as close to the backbone as possible. This will ensure you retain as much meat as possible on the legs.

Separate the drumsticks from the thighs

Separating the drumsticks from the thighs is a useful skill to have when preparing chicken. It allows you to customize the way you want your chicken pieces—whether you prefer whole legs or separate drumsticks and thighs. It is not a difficult task, but it does require a good, sharp knife. A sharp boning knife or a sharp chef’s knife will do the job well.

Firstly, you need to slice off the legs on each side of the chicken. To separate the drumsticks from the thighs, look for the line of white fat that divides the two parts. You can then slice along this line, and your knife should easily find the joint, allowing you to separate the drumstick and thigh with ease. Make sure you cut through the cartilage that connects the bones.

Alternatively, you can try holding the thigh in one hand and the drumstick in the other. Bend them until they start to break apart, creating a gap that you can more easily cut through. Slice into the meat where you see it begin to separate, and if you are in the right spot, put your knife between the bones and cut through the cartilage.

Once you have separated the drumsticks and thighs, you can trim away any excess fat, as desired. Repeat the process on the other side of the chicken to separate the other drumstick from the thigh.

Remove the rib bones

To remove the rib bones from a chicken leg, you will need a boning knife or a sharp chef's knife. A plastic cutting board is preferable when preparing raw meat and poultry, as it can be washed in the dishwasher after use.

Place the chicken leg skin-side down on the cutting board. Using a sharp knife, locate the bone at the upper end of the thigh and score along it. Make small incisions around the bone with the tip of the knife. Pull the thigh meat down to expose the joint, then slice underneath it to release. Grab the exposed bones with one hand, then slice around the joint to release the whole bone from the meat.

Use your fingers to feel for any small bones that may be left and remove them. You can also use the tip of the knife to scrape against the bone to get all the meat off. Once most of the meat is separated from the bone, use a petite chef's knife to finish removing the bone.

If you are cutting up a whole chicken, you will need to remove the back ribs to separate the two split breasts. Cut through the back ribs on one side of the breast bone, then repeat on the other side.

Debone the chicken legs and thighs

To debone chicken legs and thighs, you will need a sharp knife, preferably a boning knife or a chef's knife. Using a sharp knife is important as it will help you make more precise cuts and avoid accidentally cutting the skin or wasting meat. You may also want to wear cut-resistant gloves for safety.

Start by locating the hip bone that attaches to the end of the thigh bone. Remove this bone along with the meat attached to it; these can be reserved for stock. Next, hold the end of the drumstick and slice your knife along the bone, cutting off the meat on the inner part of the leg. This will often come off in a single large piece. Then, use the tip of your knife to carefully dissect the remaining meat of the drumstick away from the bone, working around the knee joint. Finally, slice the remaining thigh muscle off the bone.

If you are deboning multiple chicken legs, you will probably encounter the vestigial tibia bone of the drumstick, which may be embedded in the meat. You can remove this bone by cutting the knee joint at the cartilage. You can also cut the bones in half to expose the marrow, which will allow more flavour to be extracted when making stock.

Some people find it easier to debone chicken legs and thighs after cooking, as the meat comes right off after slow cooking or braising. However, if you are deboning raw chicken, it is recommended to do so when the meat is mostly thawed but still partly frozen, as this will make it easier to handle.

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