HOW TO JOINT A CHICKEN & MAKE COQ AU VIN
PHOTOGRAPHS: ALEX LUCK. FOOD STYLING: ROSIE RAMSDEN. STYLING: FAYE WEARS
THE CHALLENGE
Jointing the chicken
1 Before you start, remove any string that’s been used to truss the chicken, check the cavity and remove any giblets, then put the bird on a large chopping board, secured underneath with a damp piece of kitchen paper. Snip off the wing tips using kitchen shears (reserve for the stock – see opposite).
2 Turn the bird onto its breast with the parson’s nose (the fatty triangular tail) facing you. Feel for the backbone and make a cut through the thin layer of flesh from neck cavity to tail [A]. Halfway along, feel for the ‘oysters’, the round lumps of meat at the tops of the thighs that connect the legs to the body. Using the point of the knife, carefully cut each one out [B], cutting into the socket so you don’t lose any meat.
3 Turn the chicken over and cut through the skin between leg and body [C], joining up with the cut on the back of the bird. The leg should now be held on only by the joint. Pull the leg away from the body and, using your fingers, feel for the joint and cut through it [D]. The leg should come away easily from the body. Repeat with the other leg.