How to Cut the Wishbone When Butterflying Chicken

Remove the wishbone from a chicken.

To butterfly a chicken, you must cut out the backbone. After removing the backbone, the chicken lays flat and slightly resembles a butterfly. After butterflying, a chicken cooks evenly and browns deliciously on a grill or beneath a broiler. As you prepare a chicken using this technique, cut the wishbone when butterflying chicken. After cutting the wishbone and removing it, the chicken breasts will lay flat and the chicken will be ready to cook.

Things You'll Need

• Cutting board
• Kitchen shears
• Paring knife

Instructions

1. Place the chicken onto the cutting board with the backbone side facing up. The backbone runs down the center of the chicken. Find the point where the ribs connect with the backbone of the chicken. Cut out the backbone with the kitchen shears by inserting the blades of the shears immediately to the right of the backbone and cutting along the backbone through the ribs. Insert the blades of the shears immediately to the left of the backbone and cut along the backbone through the ribs again. Cut across the top of the backbone and remove it. Set the backbone aside.

2. Flip the chicken over and open the chicken flat after removing the backbone.

3. Pull the skin back between the breasts around the neck cavity. Feel with your fingers to find the wishbone. Push as much flesh away from the wishbone as you can with your fingers.

4. Insert the tip of the paring knife along both sides of the wishbone to cut the wishbone out of the chicken. Continue cutting around the wishbone with the paring knife to separate it from the chicken.

5. Pull out the wishbone after you loosen it sufficiently with the paring knife.

Tips & Warnings

• Save the wishbone for pulling, if you desire. Allow the wishbone to dry completely for one to two weeks before allowing two people to pull the wishbone apart for wishing. After pulling the two halves of the wishbone in opposite directions, it will break with one person holding the larger portion and the other person holding the smaller portion. The person holding the larger portion can make a wish.

References

• "Joy of Cooking: All About Chicken"; Irma von Starkloff Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker; 2000
• Science Project Ideas for Kids; Turkey Wishbone Breaking Tradition; Janice VanCleave; October 2010