How to Break Down a Whole Chicken (and Cook with It All Week)

There are 3 million chicken recipes on the internet. We're here to show you the good ones. Win, win.

Today: One chicken can go a long way -- an entire week of meals, to be exact.

It's not uncommon for my weekly grocery list to feature a smattering of protein odds and ends. With one ribeye here, one pork chop there, it can resemble a catalogue of butcher's cuts -- plus, it makes for an exhausting grocery run. But for the weeks when lazily perusing the meat section isn't an option, there's always chicken.

By using the thighs, wings, breasts, and even the carcass, you can turn one whole chicken into several dinners. This week, break down a chicken into the sum of its parts and help it realize its potential as a variety of satisfying chicken recipes.

Breasts:

Shish Taouk with Toum (Chicken Kebabs with Garlic Sauce) by Oui, Chef

Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup by jessie schupack

Minced Chicken and Cashew with Thai Basil by MummysLittleHelper

Thighs:

Roasted Achiote Chicken with Potatoes, Broccoli, and Tangerine Aioli by savorthis

Extraordinary Marinated and Roasted Chicken, Potatoes, and Chickpeas by divasparkle

Wings:

Ideas in Food's Korean-Style Chicken Wings by Genius Recipes

Michael Ruhlman's Rosemary-Brined, Buttermilk-Fried Chicken by Genius Recipes

Carcass and giblets:

Chicken Broth by Cara Nicoletti

Chicken Giblet Gravy by Cara Nicoletti

Is there an undiscovered Food52 chicken recipe you love? Send us a paragraph or two at submissions@food52.com about why you love it, and it could be next week's Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.

Video shot by Alex Lisowski and edited by Kyle Orosz.