When buying a whole chicken, you must cut it into pieces before using it in a recipe. The standard cutting process is actually quite simple. If you want to make the dish more visually appealing, try a French cut of the wings before cooking the chicken.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Standard Cut
Step 1. Locate the two joints on the wing
Whole chicken wings have two joints that connect the three halves. You should be able to visually identify both joints.
- Chicken wings bend in two places and each bend is connected by a single joint.
- The rounded end previously connected to the chicken's body is called the drumette. The middle part between the two joints is called the wingette (also called the flat), and the pointed part is the tip of the wing.
- Once you've visually identified both joints, use your fingers to feel for any areas that feel hollow or loose. This is the joint where you will cut the wing.
Step 2. Break the joint between the wingette and the drumette
Hold the wings at both ends. Bend the joint between the wingette and drumette until it breaks.
- Hold the wingette and drumette with each hand so that the wings form a vertical V. Just ignore the wing tips.
- Pull on both halves until you hear a small snapping sound. Keep pulling until the bone that is connected to the end of the drumette pierces out of the skin.
Step 3. Cut the joints
Place the chicken wings on a cutting board and position a sharp knife just between the exposed joints. Press and cut through the center of the joint to neatly separate the two halves of the wing.
- You'll need to press vertically downwards to separate the joints, but use a sawing motion when cutting the skin connecting them.
- Alternatively, you can also cut open joints with sharp, clean kitchen shears.
Step 4. Separate the joint between the wingette and the wingtip
Hold the wingette and the tips of the wings that are still fused with your hands. Shake or bend the tip of the wing until the joint breaks.
- This section is usually easier than the first because the joints are more fragile.
- Hold the wingette firmly and use your other hand to wiggle the tip of the wing. Do this until you hear or feel the joint snapping, then bend the joint until both bones are visible. The smaller bones are connected to the tips of the wings.
Step 5. Cut the joints
Place the chicken on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut the joint between the wingette and the tip of the wing until the two halves are neatly separated.
The two halves can be easily separated with a knife. But if you want, just cut it using kitchen scissors
Step 6. Cook the separated wings
Use wingettes and drumettes in recipes that call for chicken wing strips. Remove the wing tips.
The wingtips contain very little meat so they are not suitable for use in regular recipes. If you don't want to throw them away, save the wingtips and use them to make chicken stock
Method 2 of 2: Making a French cut
Step 1. Separate the three wings as usual
Before making the French cut, you will need to separate the chicken wings into three parts according to the standard method.
- Remove the wing tips as usual. You can make a French cut using a drumette and wingette.
- A French cut will separate the meat and skin from a portion of the bone. The flesh will be pulled and collected at one end so that the exposed bone will be clean and easy to hold.
Step 2. Cut the skin on the drumette
Use a sharp knife to cut the skin on the thinner end of the drumette. Walk around the base of the bone and stop when the skin is completely removed.
- Firmly grasp the visible bone with one hand and cut the skin with the other.
- Use a gentle sawing motion to cut the skin. Let the knife do the work and don't need to press too hard. The goal is to separate the skin without breaking or scratching the bone.
Step 3. Press the meat into one end
Use the blade of a knife to push the meat from the thin end to the thick one.
- You may be able to do this by hand, but if it's too slippery or dragging, just use a knife.
- Press the blade of the knife so that the sharp edge touches the bone slightly. Push in the meat, turning the drumette if necessary to scrape all the sides.
- You may need to cut some muscle while doing this.
Step 4. Compress the meat
Once the meat forms a ball at the end of the bone, use your fingers to squeeze it inward.
This step is not mandatory, but by compressing, the meat will not fall back to the bone as it cooks
Step 5. Repeat the same steps on the wingette
Grasp the exposed bone at one end of the wingette and push the meat toward the other end. Fold the meat inward at the ends to compress it, if desired.
- Since the wingette is the center of the entire wing, you don't need to cut the skin off the bone like you would with a drumette.
- Push the meat from the small end of the wingette until some of the bone is visible, then make meatballs at the thicker end.
- You can fold the meat inward to secure it, but this step is not mandatory.
