3 Steps to Cut a Chicken Into 16 Pieces for a Crowd
Feeding a crowd? Learn how to cut a chicken into 16 pieces in 3 steps, from choosing a meat cleaver to removing the backbone and dividing each part.
Most people, perhaps you included, almost never cook a chicken whole. Usually you cut it into several pieces and use them as the base for all kinds of dishes, from ayam goreng (fried chicken) and ayam bakar (grilled chicken) to chicken stir-fries and gulai ayam (chicken in a rich, spiced curry sauce).
Also read A Complete Guide to the Chicken Carcass
A whole dressed chicken is usually cut into 2, 8 or 16 pieces. Chickens cut into 2 or 8 pieces are generally cooked for everyday meals. Chickens cut into 16 pieces are usually used for special occasions such as family celebrations or big extended-family meals. Here are 3 steps for cutting a chicken into 16 pieces that you can put into practice.
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Use a dedicated meat knife
Every type of ingredient, chicken included, is best cut with a dedicated knife. Besides giving you neater cuts, this keeps your knife from dulling quickly. The recommended knife for cutting up a whole chicken is a meat cleaver. It is a fairly large knife with a rectangular blade.
This knife is also made from antibacterial ceramic, so there is no need to worry about hygiene. It is comfortable to use, too, because the handle has an anti-slip rubber grip. Even so, make sure the knife is truly sharp so it can cut through meat and bone in a single stroke.
Cut off the tail first and remove the backbone
The second step in cutting a chicken into 16 pieces is to start at the tail and remove the backbone. Cutting up a chicken is best started at the tail end by slicing off the parson's nose. Then split the chicken vertically, starting from the tail, leaving the backbone separate.
Many people think the backbone is not very useful, so they throw it away. Others, however, see some value in it. In fact, you can use the chicken backbone to make chicken stock. So whether you throw it away depends on your own taste and needs.
Cutting the chicken into 16 pieces
The 16-piece cut is often used when chicken is not the main ingredient of a dish. Cutting a chicken into 16 pieces is also common when cooking for family celebrations and wedding feasts. The goal, of course, is to keep costs down so the budget can stretch to other dishes on the menu.
To cut a chicken into 16 pieces, cut each part in half to make smaller pieces. These parts are the thighs, the drumsticks and the wings. The breast, meanwhile, can be cut into three. Chicken cut into 16 pieces is usually used for soup, semur (sweet soy sauce stew), rica-rica (a spicy chili dish) and gulai.
Also read How to Judge the Quality of a Chicken Carcass
The sixteen pieces above do not include the head, feet and neck. If you are creative, you can use these three parts to add variety to your dishes. Just adjust them to the type of dish, your taste, the recipe and the number of servings you need.
At a glance, cutting a chicken into 16 pieces is clearly more economical. A chicken cut into 16 pieces does produce more servings, which makes it ideal if you are hosting an event or simply cooking for a big family.
