This week I cut up a whole chicken for the first time. I had no idea what to do, but figured I would just give it a shot. It can’t be that hard, right? First of all, it’s a great way to save money. The more time your grocery store or market spends on preparing your food, the more $ you’re going to pay. If you buy a whole chicken, it’s easier to justify spending the money on organic/free-range/antibiotic-free/hormone-free meat. Second, I feel like so many people are detached from their food. Ya know what I mean? When you eat something like a chicken nugget, it bares ZERO resemblance to the chicken it came from (or supposedly came from). Cutting up a chicken is a great way to get back to reality.
So, what did I do? I called my Mom. 
She gave me some great tips and shared how she likes to use sharp & sturdy kitchen shears to help make the cuts. I also watched this wonderful video from Cookus Interruptus (one of my favorite sites on cooking with whole foods). They also recommend using very sharp knives, so be careful!
If you’re a chicken cutting novice like me, I hope the video inspires you to get brave! If you’re a chicken cutting expert, please leave me a comment with your tips to share with the other readers.
My first cut up chicken was not perfect, but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome (who needs perfection anyway?). I had 10 pieces (2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 wings, and 4 half-breasts (each chicken breast cut in half to make smaller portions). To prepare dinner, I kept the skin on and rubbed the chicken pieces with fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper. Then I baked the chicken in a big casserole dish at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. When it came out of the oven, I squeezed fresh lemon juice on top.
This is my FAVORITE way to prepare chicken at my crib. Makes the apartment smell divine! I served it with some red quinoa and broccolini. Mmm mmm good.
