RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Buying whole organic chickens at the supermarket or, even better, local pastured chickens at a farm or farmer's market, is a great way to save money and cut down on the amount of plastic you have to deal with in the meat department. In some stores, an entire frozen organic chicken can cost the same as two individually wrapped chicken breasts, and it doesn't come without that silly "diaper"—the technical term for the foam tray and fiber mat used to soak up chicken juices—wrapped in too much plastic cling wrap.

But what on earth are you supposed to do with an entire chicken?

The most expedient thing to do with a whole chicken is to roast it just the way it is. Any meat you can't finish in a single meal can be pulled off the bone, stored in the fridge for a day or two to use in cooked dishes, salad, or sandwiches, or frozen in single-meal portions for later use.

Delicious as roasted chicken is, it isn't particularly fast to make. And there are so many other delicious ways to cook chicken...once it's cut up. Cutting up a whole chicken may seem difficult if you've never attempted it, but it really is simple. Once you've done it a few times, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. Besides, being able to deconstruct a chicken is a wonderful skill, and I, for one, find it very satisfying to be able to turn a whole bird into parts that look just like the ones in the store!

What You'll Need

You won't need much more than a good chef's knife and a pair of poultry shears (or a meat cleaver), but it also helps to have a tea towel you don't mind getting dirty. Spread it over your cutting board to prevent slips. Also, keep an extra bowl handy so you can save bones, skin, and miscellaneous bits that you can later turn into delicious (and free) homemade chicken stock.

Instructions

Step 1: Turn your chicken into a butterfly.

The easiest way to make a whole chicken into something more manageable is to cut out the backbone and then open out and flatten the rest of the bird into one large slab. This makes it easier to cut into smaller parts, but butterflying also slashes in half the time it takes to roast it in the oven (you can roast a chicken on a weeknight this way) and it allows you to cook it on the grill without fussing with cans, racks, or spits.

Put your fresh (or thawed) chicken breast down on a cutting board. Remove any giblets that may have been packed inside and set them aside. Use your knife and cut right next to and all the way along one side of the backbone. The only tough part is where the thigh bone joins the back: Either snip through it with your shears, give it a good whack with your knife or meat cleaver, or find the joint by flexing it so you can cut through the cartilage where the bones meet. Repeat on the other side of the backbone. Set the backbone aside to use for stock.

Pull the cut edges apart, flip the bird over, and press down on the center over the breastbone to flatten the rest of the bird into a large, roughly rectangular slab. Some people like to cut out the flexible breastbone from the inside without breaking the skin, but I’ve never seen the need.

Step 2: Cut the bird in half.

If you only want to roast or grill half your bird at a time, it is just one more simple step to turn the butterfly into two halves. If you're cutting the bird up for parts, this makes it easier to separate the breasts from the legs and thighs.

Arrange your bird on the cutting board so the intact breast is facing you and the cut side is facing the cutting board. Starting at the front tip of the breasts, use your heavy knife to cut as closely as you can along one side of the breastbone (which is actually cartilage for much of its length). When you get to the bony part, cut just the skin and meat all the way to the back end and then sever the bone with a quick snip of the shears or a whack with the knife. You'll now have two halves, but one will still have the breastbone in it. For that half, cut the skin along the breastbone until it's free and set it aside to use for stock.