How to cut up a whole chicken, Reg-style

We are once again invited into The Regend's kitchen - this time, to learn one of the oldest culinary skills known to man: How to cut up and prepare a whole chicken, Reg-style.

In this video, Reg prepares two types of meat: 

1. On-the-bone, which is used in many traditional dishes and makes for a Regtabulous curry stock

2. Boneless meat, used for any number of chicken dishes, such as chicken curry, tandoori kebabs etc.

Reg's notable and innate approach to the preparation of a whole chicken is thanks to over 70 years of practise, but praise for his ease and agility in this process must also be given to his other passion: His decades of work as a surgeon.

Useful Reg advice

"The chicken is legless, armless, and also harmless"

"That's how you get a calf leather"

"If you feel the resistance when removing the skin, wrap a cloth around it and pull"

"The neck is also very tasty"

"Be careful!"

Ingredients & Tools (serves 6-8 people)

One whole supermarket chicken
One pair of surgical gloves (optional)

Instructions

Remove the chicken from its packaging as well as any string used to keep the carcass together. First, you must remove the limbs, starting with the legs. Make a small incision at the top of the leg, grab the leg and turn the hip so that it protrudes from the carcass, pull away and cut. Repeat for second leg, and similarly so for both wings after making a small cut below the shoulder. Cut the leg in two parts: the thigh and the lower leg. Likewise for the wings - find the elbow and cut straight through. The very tip of each wing is thrown away.

Find the wishbone of the chicken and partly slice away. The chicken can now be manually torn, separating the breasts and the backbone. Slice off the breast in two large parts, and repeat again for the second breast. 

Where there are any remaining chunks of meat now unattached to the bones, begin to remove the skin carefully, as shown in video. 

Reg continues to cut up the remainder of the chicken carcass, but as it gets rather complex at this point, we recommend you refer to the video (and to see the Regend in his element!).