Place the chicken breastbone-side up on a clean, flat cutting surface.

Use a boning knife if available otherwise a standard, sharp kitchen knife to slice off the drum sticks.

Next remove the wing joints on either side. (The wings can be set aside and reserved for stock.)

Make a shallow incision running along one side of the breastplate.

Deepen the incision by slicing into the chicken toward the rib cage. Pull the meat away from the rib cage as you slice down. As you progress further into the bird, slide the knife off of the rib cage repeatedly to ensure that you are removing any meat attached to the rib cage

Your knife will come to a point, just underneath the wishbone, where the wing joint meets the rib cage. The wing joint cartilage is soft enough to slice through easily. Slice completely through the joint, stopping only when your knife reaches the cutting surface. At this point, the breast is almost completely off the bird.

Slice through the skin that runs from the tail end of the bird to the point where the leg meets the breast.

The breast should come off of the bird with little effort. Pull the breast outwards, away from the bird, being careful not to rip or tear the flesh. You may need to slice through some still-attached skin to remove the breast.

Uses: The wings may be used for stock, lollipop wings, chicken fricassee

The drumsticks may be used for chicken cacciatore, chicken chasseur, chicken curry, fried chicken.

The breasts can be used for Greek style pan roasted chicken, chicken cordon bleu, chicken skewers, chicken picatta