Mia Patel
Chef Martin Yan demonstrated an incredibly fast way to debone a chicken in just 18 seconds. In this article, we will break down the steps to debone a chicken, a fun and challenging project that will help improve your butcher skills over time.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Person | Chef Martin Yan |
| Time taken | 18 seconds |
| Video timestamp | 4:45 |
| Video description | Funny |
| Chicken orientation | Breast down, head side towards yourself |
| Tools | Boning knife |
| Process | Cut off wingtips, locate spine, make incision down spine, slice along ribs, peel back flesh, de-bone left wing, pull out bone structure |
| Post-deboning options | Stuff and roast, or use as part of a Turducken |
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What You'll Learn
Start with the chicken breast-down
To debone a chicken, start with the chicken breast-down and the head side facing towards you. Begin by cutting off the wingtips, as these cannot be de-boned. Wiggle the wingtip to find the joint, then, holding the larger part of the wing, cut through the joint with a boning knife. Set the wingtips aside to use for stock later.
Next, locate the spine by running your finger down the chicken's back. Make an incision along the entire spine, starting from the tail and ending at the neck. Make long, shallow slices down the side of the spine and underneath the left side of the incision. As you continue to make slices, use your fingers to carefully peel back the flesh from the bone, ensuring that you don't cut through the meat and skin.
Keep slicing until you reach the wing joint and the thigh joint on the front and back of the bird. At this point, you can start to de-bone the left wing. Pull out the wing and locate the 'drumette' section's bone with your fingers.
Once you have successfully removed all the bones, except for the wingtips, gently flip the meat over and rearrange it to its original shape. You now have a deboned chicken!
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Cut off the wingtips
Cutting off the wingtips is a simple process that can be done in a few steps. First, place the chicken wing on a cutting board and identify the joints. A whole chicken wing will have two joints connecting three sections: the drumette, the wingette, and the wing tip. The wing should bend in two places, and each bend corresponds to one joint. The rounded end previously connected to the chicken body is the drumette, the middle portion is the wingette, and the pointed end is the tip.
Once you've located the joints, use your fingers to feel for the areas that seem hollow or loose. These are the connecting points where you will cut the wing. Take a sharp knife and position it directly between the exposed joints. Press down and through the joint to cleanly separate the drumette and the wingette from the tip. You may need to use a sawing motion to cut through the connecting skin. Alternatively, you can use sharp, clean kitchen scissors to cut through the joint.
Another method is to first dislocate the joint between the wingette and the tip. Hold the connected wingette and tip in your hands and wiggle or bend back the wing tip until you force the joint apart. This part is usually easier, as the joint is less firm. Once the joint is dislocated, use a sharp knife to cut through it, separating the wingette and the tip.
The wing tips have little to no meat, so they are typically discarded. However, you can choose to save the tips and use them for chicken stock later if desired.
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Locate the spine
To locate the spine of a chicken, start by placing the chicken breast-side down with its legs towards you. You can then run your finger down the back to feel the outline of the backbone. The backbone runs straight down the middle of the chicken. Once you have located the backbone, you can make an incision down the entire length of the spine, from tail to neck.
Alternatively, if you are deboning a chicken thigh, you will need to locate the single bone that runs through the thigh just under the flesh. Your goal should be to remove this bone while keeping the meat intact. To do this, place the thigh rough-side up and use the tip of your knife to score a line through the meat along the length of the bone.
If you are working with a whole chicken leg, you can start by splitting the drumstick from the thigh at their natural seam using a sharp knife. Be careful to only cut through the joint, not the bone.
For chicken breasts, place the breast skin-side down and locate the breastbone, which is another name for the keel bone. This is found at the front of the bird, opposite the backbone. Run the tip of your knife down the bone where the breastbone meets the meat, making several passes from the thickest part of the breast down towards the thin end. When you reach the rib cage, angle your knife along it and pull the breastbone up to release it.
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Make shallow slices along the ribs
To debone a chicken, start with the chicken facing breast down, with the head side towards you. Begin by cutting the wingtips off, as you cannot debone them. Then, make an incision down the entire spine, from tail to neck.
Now, it's time to focus on the ribs. Make shallow slices along the ribs, being careful and precise so as not to slice through the meat and skin. Keep your cuts long and gentle, using your fingers to peel back the flesh from the bone as you work your way along the ribs. This step requires patience and a steady hand to ensure you don't damage the meat or pierce the skin. Take your time and continue slicing and peeling until you reach the wing joint and thigh joint on the front and back of the bird.
At this point, you should be able to see the bone structure more clearly, and the chicken should still largely resemble its original form, just with the spine and rib bones exposed. The shallow slices are crucial to maintaining the integrity of the chicken meat while also allowing you to carefully work your way around the bones.
As you reach the joints, you'll transition to the next steps of pulling out the wings and thighs, working towards fully deboning the chicken.
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Pull out the bone structure
Pulling out the bone structure is the key step in deboning a chicken. Start with the chicken facing breast-down, with the head side towards you. First, cut off the wingtips, as these cannot be deboned. Locate the joint by wiggling the wingtip, then hold the larger part of the wing and cut through the joint with a boning knife. Set the wingtips aside for stock.
Next, locate the spine by running your finger down the chicken's back. Make an incision along the entire spine, from tail to neck. Then, make long, shallow slices down the side of the spine and under the left side of the initial incision. Use your fingers to carefully peel back the flesh from the bone as you continue slicing along the ribs, being mindful not to cut through the meat and skin. Keep slicing until you reach the wing joint and thigh joint on the front and back of the bird.
Now, it's time to remove the bone structure. Start with the left wing, feeling for the 'drumette' section's bone with your fingers. Pull out the bone structure, starting from the wing, and work your way towards the thigh and spine, carefully removing the entire frame in one go.
Finally, rearrange the meat so that it resembles a chicken again. You've successfully deboned a chicken! You can now stuff and roll the chicken or use it as part of a Turducken. Don't forget to save the bones for stock.
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Frequently asked questions
Place the chicken breast-down with the head side facing you. Cut the wingtips off as you cannot de-bone them.
Locate the spine by running your finger down the chicken's back. Make an incision down the spine from tail to neck.
Make long shallow slices down the side of the spine and under the left side of the incision. Peel back the flesh from the bone as you continue to make slices along the ribs, being careful not to slice through the meat and skin.
It's time to de-bone the left wing. Pull out the wing and locate the 'drumette' section's bone with your fingers.
