How to Bone a Chicken

Removing bones from a whole chicken is generally considered to be a messy as well as difficult task. But, sometimes, it may happen that you need boneless chicken, but all you have is a whole one. In such situations, you can debone the whole chicken and prepare the dish.

Tips to Debone a Chicken

You have a whole chicken and you want to remove the bones. In this task, you need a good cutting board, sharpening steels and boning knives.

• First of all, remove the wing tips and keep it aside. It can be used along with the bones for making stock. The drumette can be used after removing the bones.
• The next step is to remove the legs (both thighs and drumsticks) from the body. You have to make a deep cut, where the leg meets the body. Now, pull the legs, so that the thigh bone separates from the socket. Cut off the remaining flesh that binds the leg to the body. Remove the other leg too.
• Now, we can take a look at how to bone a chicken leg. Place the chicken leg on the cutting board, with the meaty part facing downwards. Feel the bone with the knife and make a slit on the chicken leg along the length of the bone. Now, carefully detach the flesh from the bone and keep the bones aside with the wing tips.
• Now, keep the chicken on the cutting board with the breasts facing upwards. Feel the breastbone with the knife and make two cuts along both the sides of the breastbone.
• Guide the knife through the contours of the rib bones and remove the flesh on both sides carefully. Remove the whole chicken breast.
• Turn the chicken, so that its back faces you. You have to carve out the flesh from the bones in a careful manner. Don't forget to cut out the round piece of flesh called the oyster, which is located behind the hollow of the hip socket in the back.

Don't throw away the bones, as you can use it for making chicken stock. In short, removing bones from a chicken is a simple task. You need a basic idea about the bone structure of a chicken and where to cut and how to cut. The only thing to remember is that you have to carefully scrape out the flesh from the bone. Once you get a basic understanding of the technique, it will become easier for you.

This is not a daunting or messy task, if you know the right method of removing bones from chicken. You can also save money, as a whole chicken costs less than the pre-cut ones. If you know how to bone a chicken, it can help you out when you are in urgent need of boneless chicken and all you have is a whole chicken.