How to break down a chicken wing

Chicken wings are usually sold in two ways at the grocery store: “party wings” or whole wings. The party wings are already broken down into drumettes (which look like mini drumsticks) and wingettes (also called flats). The whole chicken wings are sold with the drumettes, wingettes/flats, and wing tip still connected.

supplies

To break down a chicken wing, you will need a sharp chef’s knife or sharp kitchen shears and a cutting board. I also like wearing nitrile gloves to keep my hands clean. You can pat them dry with paper towels before cutting them to make them less slippery.

Lay your chicken wing skin side down and locate the 3 parts: drumette, wingette (or flat), and wing tip, and find the joints between them. 

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THE PARTS

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1

 Place your knife cutting through the “V” that the joint makes, and cut through the joint cartilage by pressing the heel end of your knife firmly and straight down. 

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CUT

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2

Repeat for the joint between the flat and the tip. The knife should easily cut through the joint and the bones will stay intact.

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CUT AGAIN

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3

Now you have the wing broken down into flats and drumettes. You can discard the wing tip, or save for stock. Repeat for all the wings

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DONE!

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