How to De-Bone Chicken Breast  

Posted by: Julie in

Around our area we get some pretty good deals on "Bone-In, Split Chicken Breast". Quite often we find it on sale for $0.99 per lb. Much cheaper than boneless, skinless chicken breast. Why not buy the split chicken breast and de-bone it yourself?

Here' some great information I found on how to do just that:

"Figuring out how to bone a piece of poultry is easy because the bones are either visible or quite easy to locate by touch, unlike the bones in a large piece of meat. If the breast halves are still attached, cut them apart at the breastbone, ideally with a pair of poultry shears, which is an amazingly powerful tool that cuts through bones like they're potato chips. No shears? No problem -- just use a chef's knife. For taking out the small bones, use a sharp, thin-bladed knife (a boning knife, if you have one, or a paring knife).

Each breast half will be a little different, depending on how the bird was initially butchered, so just feel your way as you go."


(step 1)

1. Start by sliding the blade of your knife along the remnant of the flat, blade-like breastbone, angling the cutting edge ever so slightly into the bone to avoid deep cuts into the flesh. Use short, swiping strokes as you work.


(step 2)


2. Continue working on the ribs by sliding the blade under the set of finger-like rib bones and working toward the outer edge of the breast until the ribs and breastbone are free. With the tip of the knife, cut around the shoulder joint where the wing bone had been attached to the breast.


(step 3)


3. Feel with your fingers along the top edge of the breast meat for a short bone (half of the wishbone). With the tip of your knife, free the tip of that bone. Holding the bone tip in one hand, scrape the bone with the knife to free it from the meat, working back toward the joint where the wishbone connects with the rib structure.



(step 4)


4. Cut through the connective tissue that's holding the bone to the meat and pull off the ribs and wishbone together, cutting any remaining bits of meat that are hanging on. You may be left with a thin flap of rib meat, which you can trim off to make a neater breast that will cook evenly.



(step 5)


5. Flip the breast over, trim any straggly bits, and smooth out the skin. Save the bones for stock or just discard them. Now your chicken is ready for cooking.

You can also remove the skin if you prefer. This is a great time to put the breast in freezer bags and put them in the freezer for future use.

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1 comments

Thank you for this tutorial! You have made my daughter's day! She absolutely hates to debone the split chicken breasts that I have cooked. Now I can have boneless, skinless chicken breasts with hardly any trouble and at a great price! I always buy a ton of split chicken breasts when they are $0.99 pound!

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