Don’t get bogged down in thinking you have to have the same boring chicken the same way every day. You deserve way more than that. So, here’s my guide to making one whole chicken last an entire week for just yourself without repeating or having leftovers.
Step One: Buy or Roast a Whole Chicken
Depending how much time you have and effort you want to put in, you can either buy a whole cooked rotisserie-style chicken from the grocery store or you can roast/grill your own.
Step Two: Break Down Chicken into 8 Pieces
Alright, I am not going to lie… this is kind of the hard part. BUT, you can totally do it. Your goal is to get eight pieces total here: two breasts, two thighs, two drummies and two wings. You will need a sharp chef’s knife for sure and a kitchen sheers is nice, too. If you’re not perfect at cutting it up the first time – neither was I! Just keep at it and have some fun.
Here is the youtube video I used to learn how to cut up a whole chicken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSvzRyu2h5g. This is not an affiliated link – just super helpful!
Step Three: Separate Pieces into Baggies
Now that you have eight pieces ready to go, it’s time to separate them into single portions and put into plastic baggies or small containers. The thought behind this is to prep the chicken to be super easy to throw into meals later in the week to save time. Also, if you don’t anticipate yourself eating this much chicken in a a few days, you can always freeze these baggies for easy meals in the weeks to come.
The breakdown I normally use for my chicken:
- Breasts
- One left whole
- One sliced or cubed up
- Thighs
- Both shredded up
- Drummies
- One left whole
- One meat taken off and shredded
- Wings
- Honestly, I eat these before they even get into the baggies… girl’s gotta eat.
Step Four: “Plan” Out Your Meals
You’re doing great so far. Now, is the fun part – taking your beautifully portioned chicken and deciding what types of dishes you want to create using them. Here are a few of ideas on what dishes I make with each part of the chicken.
| Breasts | Thighs | Drummies |
| Sandwiches: keep whole and reheat in oven. Serve on a bun with lettuce, tomato, mayo and pickles | Tacos: reheat in skillet with cumin, cayenne, pepper and paprika. | Summer BBQ Style: keep whole, reheat in oven, serve with corn on the cob, cole slaw and your favorite BBQ sauce |
| Chicken Salad: cube it up, keep cold and create a cold chicken salad – like a Waldorf Salad! | Quesadillas: grab a big tortilla, fill it with cheese, chicken shreds and peppers. Fold it and fry it! | Chicken Soup: take the shredded chicken and add it to any soup! (Great for using up chicken you froze) |
| Top of Salads: sliced and cold, use in any salad you’re making | Stir Fry: add it to the tail end of your stir fry to warm up and add protein to your dish |
Step Five: Enjoy Your Life Without Leftovers
You should be proud of yourself! You just cut up a chicken, portioned and processed for easy cooking later and spiced up your meals with a little creative thinking of unique dishes.
Enjoy the freedom, self reliance and ingenuity you’re flexing this week. Cheers!
-Fiercely Freckled