This video
demonstrates the steps described in this article. Click on the video to play.
Introduction
Here
are the steps involved in butterflying a whole chicken. By removing the
backbone and the breastbone (also called the keel bone), a whole chicken
lays flat on the grill and cooks more evenly, since all the meat is about
the same thickness. It makes for a nice presentation, too.
Another advantage of
butterflying a chicken is that it makes separating the two halves easy,
either before or after cooking.
Click on any
of the pictures to view a larger image.
Remove
Fat From Cavity Opening
Start with a whole broiler/fryer chicken weighing 3-1/2 to 4 pounds. Two
such birds are shown in Picture 1.
Remove the
neck and giblets from the body cavity, then trim away any excess fat
from around the cavity opening (Picture 2).
Remove The Backbone
Position the chicken
so
the back is facing up and the drumsticks are pointing towards you.
Using a pair of
kitchen shears, cut all the way down one side of the backbone (Picture
1). You're just cutting through the small rib bones, not through the
center of the backbone itself. Cut close to the backbone so you don't
lose too much meat.
Next, cut all the way
down the other side of the backbone (Picture 2), removing it
completely (Picture 3).
Some people like to
cut down only one side of the backbone, leaving it intact. I remove
the backbone completely, since I'm not going to eat it. Reserve the backbone
for making chicken stock, if you're so inclined.
Remove The Breastbone
Now position the
chicken so the drumsticks are pointing away from you.
Use a paring knife to
make a
small cut in the white cartilage that conceals the top of the breastbone (click on
Picture 1 to see this area circled in yellow). Bend
both halves of the carcass backward at the cut to expose the breastbone.
It should pop right up through the cut (Picture 2).
Run your thumbs or
index fingers down both sides of the breastbone to separate it from the
meat (Picture 3), then pull the bone out (Picture 4). The breastbone
may break into two pieces when you pull it out,
especially if you haven't separated it well enough from the breast
meat using your fingers. No big deal, just pull out the two pieces.
Picture 5 shows how the chicken lays
flat after the breastbone is removed. At this point,
if you want to cook the chicken in halves, simply cut between the two
breast sections.
Picture 6 shows the
breastbones and backbones removed from two chickens.
Some people leave
the breastbone intact and simply
push the carcass open to break the breastbone and flatten out the
chicken. I think the few seconds it takes to remove the breastbone
makes for a better presentation and easier cutting into halves after
cooking.
Remove Fat Inside Carcass & Rinse
As a last step,
remove any excess fat found inside the carcass.
Rinsing the chicken thoroughly under cold running water is not necessary
from a food safety standpoint, since proper cooking will kill any
bacteria, but you can do it if you like. Regardless of whether or not
you rinse, make sure to pat the chicken dry with paper towels before
applying rub and barbecuing.
