Let a whole roast chicken rest before carving, then separate it at the joints: guide the knife through the gap in each joint rather than cutting through bone. Pull the thighs and wings away from the body, remove the breast meat in whole pieces along the bone, and slice it. Carving the chicken properly gives each plate both dark and white meat.
Do not start carving as soon as the chicken comes out of the oven. The juices in hot chicken are still moving among the fibers; if you cut into it right away, they run onto the board and the breast meat dries out. Let the chicken rest under loosely tented foil for 10–15 minutes; during this time, the juices redistribute and the skin firms up a little, making the chicken easier to carve. Check that the chicken is done before carving: measure the thickest part before taking it out of the oven, and make sure it has reached 74°C / 165°F. Carving is not a way to finish cooking it.
You need a large cutting board or a rimmed serving platter, a sharp knife, and a fork. If the board has a groove around the edge, the juices collect there and can be spooned over the meat at the end. Set the chicken breast-side up with its legs facing you. Insert the fork beside the breastbone to keep the chicken from sliding; use the fork to steady it, not to pull off the meat. The knife must be sharp, because a dull knife tears the skin and crushes the meat.
The first piece to remove is a thigh. Cut through the skin between the thigh and breast, then pull the thigh gently outward to expose the joint. Once you can see the hip joint, cut through it. The knife should pass through the joint without force; if it meets resistance, it has hit bone, so shift its angle slightly. Separate the thigh at the knee joint into two pieces: the upper thigh and the drumstick. Remove the wings in the same way, pulling them away at the shoulder joint where they attach to the body. If a wing tip is dried out and tough, cut off that small piece and leave it off the serving platter.
Do not slice the breast meat while it is still on the bone; remove each breast whole first. Lower the knife along one side of the breastbone and slide it over the ribs to separate the meat from the bone. Remove the other side the same way. Place the boneless breast on the board and cut across the grain into thick slices; thin slices dry out quickly and cool faster on the table. Collect the small pieces of meat left on the body in a separate bowl. Keep the skin attached as you remove the breast; if it tears and stays on the bone, the slice will be dry and look bare.
Arrange the pieces on a serving platter, from dark meat to white meat, and spoon the juices collected on the board over them. That way, everyone can choose some thigh and some breast meat; people who prefer either cut can serve themselves from the same platter. Leave the chicken uncovered so the skin stays crisp, and keep the platter in a warm spot near the stove. Safe holding time for chicken left on the table is a food-safety topic covered in a separate tip. Pieces for a second serving can be left attached to the body; a whole chicken cools more slowly than a carved one. Carve any leftover chicken and refrigerate it in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking.