Things You’ll Need
- Filet knife
- Cutting board
- Paper towels
Trimming and Slicing the Meat
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1 Cut off any excess fat or cartilage with your knife. Keep the chicken thigh with the skin side face down so you can easily see the meat. Look for any large pieces of white fat or yellow cartilage left on the meat that you don’t want to eat. Pull the fat or cartilage tight with your nondominant hand so you can slice as close to the meat as you can with your knife. Throw away any of the scraps when you’re finished.
- It’s okay to leave some of the fat on the thigh since it will cook down and keep the chicken juicy.
- 2 Peel off the skin with your fingers if you don’t want it. Flip the chicken thigh over so the skin side faces up. Grab an edge of the skin with your dominant hand and hold the meat against the cutting board with your other hand. Pull the skin straight up and away from the meat so it separates easily. If the skin doesn’t come off, pull it as tight as you can and cut along the meat with the tip of your knife.
- Chicken skin gets crispy once it’s cooked, so you may leave it on the thigh if you want. Trim off any excess that hangs off the meat with your knife.
- 3 Butterfly the thickest part of the thigh if it’s thinner on one side. Flip the meat over so the side that had the skin faces down, and flatten it out so you can see how thick it is. If one side of the meat is thicker than the other, cut the thick side at a 45-degree angle so the blade goes halfway through the meat. After making your cut, pull the sides apart and spread the meat out again to see if it has a consistent thickness. Otherwise, slice deeper into the meat until it does.[6]
- You don’t have to butterfly the chicken thighs if you don’t want to, but it will help the meat cook evenly.
Variation: Lay the thigh flat on a piece of plastic wrap and cover it with another piece. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat hammer until it’s the same thickness throughout.[7]
- 4 Portion the thigh into strips or cubes if you want smaller pieces. Keep the meat flat on your cutting board so it’s easier to divide into equal portions. Hold the chicken in place with your nondominant hand as you make slow, smooth cuts through the meat with your knife. If you want to cut them into strips, try to make them about 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide and 4 inches (10 cm) long. If you want to cut the meat into smaller pieces, try making 1 in × 1 in (2.5 cm × 2.5 cm) cubes.[8]
- You can also cook the chicken thigh whole if you don’t want to cut it.
- Be sure to clean or disinfect any surfaces that had raw chicken on them so you don’t spread bacteria.
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De-bone Chicken Thighs & Butterfly
How do you butterfly a chicken?
Butterfly the chicken: Place the bird breast-side down on a large cutting board with the neck cavity facing you. Cut out the backbone with the kitchen shears. Cut down along the sides of the spine through the ribs. Open the chicken’s body and flip it over with the breast side up.
How do you butterfly chicken legs?
Use a sharp knife to butterfly chicken legs. Start by getting a sharp knife (I used a paring knife), and first, find the bone of the chicken drumstick. Make your first cut. Gently make one parallel cut down the leg, in the center, touching the bone. This first cut will help open up the chicken leg meat for the next step. Make two more cuts.
How do you smoke butterfly chicken legs?
Butterfly legs and season them all over. Smoke butterfly chicken legs (cut side down) first at 250’F for 45 min. Then brush on BBQ sauce and smoke for ~30 min more. Flip chicken legs so the skin side is against the grates. Increase the smoker temp to 500’F until done (165 – 175’F).
Can You butterfly chicken legs?
Butterflying chicken legs is a simple process to make it easy to grab and eat food for game day parties. And butterflied drumsticks are always a hit on backyard BBQ menus . See the best game day smoker recipes… Here’s a quick look at the butterfly technique – watch the video if you’re super visual. Use a sharp knife to butterfly chicken legs.