How to joint a Sutton Hoo Chicken

Sutton Hoo Chicken partnered with Chef Mauli from The Turks Head to show you how to joint a whole chicken. This is such a useful skill to have as it will help you make the most out of your whole chicken and enable you to cook a variety of meals from just one chicken. Watch the video with Chef Mauli to learn how:

A step by step guide:

1)      Remove the string and pull out the legs so that they aren’t tucked in anymore.

2)      Start with the wings: use your knife to take out the first joint of the wing. Don’t throw this away, this can be added to a separate pot for your stock (more to add later). Repeat this with the other wing.

3)      Next, remove the whole wing from the chicken. To do this, find where the cartilage joins the bone and cut to take the wing off.

4)      Remove the legs: find where the leg isn’t attached to the chicken and make a slit. Then hold both legs and bend them backwards using a little bit of force – the bones will break off. The oysters (the section of meat on the underside) are a very delicious part of the chicken, so include them when cutting off the legs. Remove the legs from the chicken by cutting along the back bone. Again, cut the ends of the drumsticks off and add them to your stock pot.

5)      Next you will want to separate the thighs from the drumsticks, feel with your fingers to find the joint and use your knife to separate them. Make a couple of cuts on the drumsticks and thighs to help them cook better and boost that delicious flavour.

6)      Now it’s time to remove the bottom half of the carcass. You may want to watch the video for this step.

7)      You are now left with the crown; you can leave this intact if you are cooking a Sunday roast. If you are want to remove the breasts, go along the bone and make an incision using the back of the knife and cut down using the tip of the knife to remove them. Repeat this for the other breast.

8)      All you are left with now is the carcass, which you can add to your stock pot! Follow our tips below for making the perfect stock. Chicken stock is a freezer staple - it is superbly good for you and can be used in many dishes.

Click here to find out how to make traditional chicken stock.