The whole bird

The best way to get your money’s worth out of a bird: gently simmer whole with veg and aromatics until the legs fall off, then use the stock to make soup (famed for its healing properties), or a velouté (like a white sauce but using stock instead of milk) which then forms the binding for a pie.

Stage two is to pick the meat off the bones to make your pie filling, or sarnies, or salads or whatever. Two meals in one. And then there’s roast chicken… but once you’ve feasted on the meat remember you can still make a stock from the bones.

Leg

Leon's chicken superfood salad

The secret's out - the recipe for one of Leon's most popular, healthy dishes

Anjum Anand's Keralan chicken

Delicious recipes from Anjum's New Indian book and latest BBC TV series

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At Leon we use only leg, as it keeps moister for longer and we think it tastes better. It also braises the best, especially when kept on the bone, so legs should be your choice for dishes like coq au vin.

Breast

The other main source of meat on the bird is the leaner cut. Loved by calorie-counters and those with cholesterol issues, breast does have its benefits, but generally it is inferior flavour-wise and is less juicy than the darker meat. Use it for fast cooking like grilling or pan-frying (including stir-fries), but try to give it a marinade first, as that makes a real difference.

Liver

Great source of iron and yummy in warm salads (flash-fry in a really hot pan and deglaze with balsamic) or the ubiquitous pâté/parfait/terrine. Good recipe for this in Larousse, but we leave out the parsley.

Parson's nose

When your bird has been roasted, if you like fattiness, this is a great little cook’s snack - it contains the oil glands that the birds use when preening. Legendary Roman chef Apicius wrote recipes for cooking specifically just the pygostyle (technically it only becomes a parson’s nose once it’s cooked).

Heart

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