Would you like to surprise your guests by serving a boneless chicken or turkey, but fear it is too complicated a process for your skills as a chef? Although it is a job that creates a bit of confusion in the kitchen, know that it is still quite simple; it only takes a little time. It will be worth it because the result will be poultry that cooks faster.
Steps
Part 1 of 5: Preparation
Step 1. First put on some old clothes
Boning a chicken is certainly not a pretty job, much less a clean one. Dress in a shirt that you don't mind getting dirty, but make sure it's clean because you're going to be handling food anyway. It should also be with short sleeves or you can tuck them up so they don't get in the way.
Also tie your hair. It is not pleasant to find a hair in the filling
Step 2. Prepare the work surface
This operation requires a large space (especially if it is a 10 kg turkey). Make sure you have room for maneuver both to move the poultry and for yourself. You can also use a large, clean garbage bag to protect the countertop that you will rest the cutting board on.
Don't forget the cutting board! You must have a shelf under the animal that raises it a little and allows you to turn it
Step 3. Remove the chicken / turkey from the package
Perform this operation inside the kitchen sink. Remember to also remove any rubber bands or laces that hold the legs together. Check the abdominal cavity and eliminate everything inside. Some companies that sell raw but eviscerated poultry pack the offal inside a paper bag which they then place inside the animal itself.
Throw away anything that is not part of the animal, including laces and ties. You will need to use new kitchen twine to seal the poultry
Step 4. Place the animal on the cutting board with the chest down
You can recognize it from the back because it has a vertical "convex" bone that separates the chest in half. You will be able to feel the spine lying on your back. When the chicken has its breast upwards, the legs point slightly upwards. When, on the other hand, it is placed on the chest, the animal appears to be "kneeling" on the cutting board.
You will probably be able to distinguish front from back simply by the position of the legs. But in case you don't succeed, the best clue is the connected bone
Part 2 of 5: Separating and Cutting the Joints
Step 1. Score the skin along the spine
You can pierce the leather in several places and then by turning the blade cut it from underneath. It may also be easier to limit the cut to the right or left side of the spine. During the later stages, be careful not to cut the skin anymore.
The best tool is a clean and sharp knife. If the blade is blunt, the incisions will mostly be tears, in addition to the fact that a dull knife is difficult to use. That said, be very careful. Sometimes the blade may get stuck and you may be tempted to move it harder and put yourself in a dangerous situation. Be cautious and take your time
Step 2. Begin removing meat from the rib cage
Grab the skin with one hand and, with great care, separate the muscle from the bone. Start near the spine and direct the cut away from your body. Try to cut flush with the bone.
You will have to feel the animal to understand the position of the bones and, already in the early stages, you will find the one done in a "Y" shape. Try to follow the shape as best you can. If it makes your job easier, you can bend the bone until it breaks from the rib cage and then cut it off
Step 3. Continue to detach the meat from the rib cage
Work slowly from the back down, along the hips and finally towards the chest. If you detach pieces of bone, cartilage or tendon together with the meat, there is no problem; are fragments that you can easily delete later. Try to get as much muscle tissue out of the skeleton as possible. At first, move slowly and practice small incisions until you become more experienced.
Be very careful not to pierce the skin from the inside. Keep peeling the meat off the rib cage until you reach the joints of the wings and legs. Still with small cuts, clean up the area around each joint so you can see most of it
Step 4. Break the wing joint
Place the knife and grab the wing with one hand and with the other the area of the body where the limb engages. Bend the joint in the opposite direction to the natural one and twist it until you feel it yield. You must perform this step to be able to cut inside the joint and remove the bone.
Once the joint has broken, you will notice that the wing will hang down because it is no longer connected to the animal's body
Step 5. Cut through the seam
With the tip of the knife he searches and finds the space between the wing bone and the concavity of the "shoulder". You should have created this crack when you broke the joint. If you can't find it, continue your search and move the wing until you spot it, it should be a white area. Cut the tendons through the joint while avoiding the skin.
If you cut the skin by mistake, don't worry. The chicken / turkey will be tied up before cooking and the meat will still be delicious, if not beautiful to look at. We will discuss these operations at the end of the article
Step 6. Break the leg joint
Grab the paw with one hand and the animal's pelvis with the other. Bend the paw back and twist it until the seam breaks. This is the same movement you performed with the wing. You're starting to learn, aren't you?
Again, if you neglect this step, a whole half of the skeleton will stick together making the job more difficult, if not impossible. In practice you have to separate the bones from each other so as to remove them with less problems
Step 7. Cut the paw joint
With the tip of the knife, look for and reach the small gap between the leg bone and its concave housing in the hip. This gap was created when you snapped the seam. If you can't find it, keep looking and moving the paw until you spot it. Cut the joint and tendons, being careful not to cut the skin.
You will see a white sphere of hard material when you find the joint, it is quite difficult to go wrong
Part 3 of 5: Separating the Meat from the Bones
Step 1. Continue cutting the muscle tissue to detach it from the skeleton
Stop when you reach the large cartilage structure of the sternum. At this point the bone and skin are very close, so stop here for the moment.
We will address the chest area shortly. For the moment, continue boning the rest of the bird; once most of the skeleton is removed, it will be easier to take care of the sternum
Step 2. Bone the other side
Rotate the animal and repeat the same procedure for the other part. You can turn the bird or the cutting board with the chicken on it. Start with the spine again and follow the steps outlined above to detach the flesh from the bones.
Break and cut the joints of the wing and leg as you did previously, move them to identify exactly the white part of the joint and the tendons that connect the bones
Step 3. Carefully separate the skin from the breastbone
Lift the rib cage with one hand and carefully cut the breast meat to split it from the breastbone. Separate the last point where the muscle is attached to the bone and remove the rib cage.
Don't throw it away though! You can use it for a great broth and Grandma will be proud of you
Step 4. Find and remove the small pieces of bone
You should now have a large, flat piece of meat. Run your hand across it to locate the bits of bone, cartilage, etc. that you cut along with the muscle tissue.
It is perfectly normal that there are bits of bone left and it happens even to experienced cooks. Cut them away and throw them away
Step 5. Bone the legs
You can now remove the femurs and other lower limb bones, although this is not a mandatory step. Some people prefer to present boneless poultry with the legs still intact. To remove the bone from the thigh, cut the meat around the femur. Break the joint that connects it to the shin and remove the femur.
Also in this case, it is a procedure similar to that followed for the wings. The only difference lies in the structure of the bone and in your ability to grasp it
Part 4 of 5: Stuffing, Sewing and Finishing the Poultry
Step 1. Stuff and sew the animal
You can proceed in two ways: stitch up the animal and then fill it or lay the filling in the meat and then enclose it in it by sewing the chicken. In both cases, fold the ends of the chicken / turkey inwards using strong kitchen twine to sew it. You can make a needle out of a large paper clip and use pliers to pull it through the meat. Remember to sew both the skin and part of the meat, otherwise the former will tear.
- You should "suture" the bird at the point where you made the first cut, at the level of the spine. Start from the neck and pass the string through the flesh and skin of the two flaps, tie a knot to close the cut. Continue sewing down along the incision bringing the two parts of the back closer.
- If you have already stuffed the animal, continue sewing until you have closed the entire cut. If you still have to insert the filling, stop before reaching the abdominal cavity, leaving the string and the needle aside for the moment. Stuff the chicken / turkey and then finish sewing. For this operation it may be more convenient to put it in the sink, but make sure it is clean.
Step 2. Tie the legs together
Once the poultry has been sewn, turn it over so that the breast is facing up. Since he is boneless, his appearance will be quite relaxed with his legs dangling in an almost yogi-like position. You can use other kitchen twine to tie the legs and give the chicken "shape".
It is worth closing the legs together even if you have not completely boned them. The absence of a large part of the skeleton gives them a sagging appearance if they are not tied
Step 3. Sew the accidental cuts
If, turning the animal, you noticed that you have cut the skin on the chest, don't worry. Take the needle and the twine and "mend" the cuts as best you can. The roast will not be less delicious for this!
If you wish, you can also tie the wings with the paws following a cross pattern. In this way the animal will be more "compact" in the pan. There is no right or wrong way to do this, as long as the ligature is sturdy
Part 5 of 5: Roasting, Stuffing the Poultry and Making the Gravy Sauce
Step 1. Plan the cooking taking into account that there are no bones
Boning poultry obviously means removing the rib cage. But the practical implications are at least two. First of all, consider that the bones are the coldest part of the animal when it is removed from the refrigerator and their absence reduces cooking times. Secondly, the process of removing the bones took time, so the meat is at room temperature and not cold; if you intend to cook poultry immediately after boning and stuffing it, remember that it will roast quickly. Don't forget this when planning cooking.
Julia Child claimed that a 7.5kg boneless turkey was perfectly cooked in less than two hours; however, try to be flexible, as times may stretch
Step 2. Prepare the filling
Boneless poultry needs a lot more stuffing than one with bones. Not only because there is the space left by the rib cage, but also because the skin and flesh can be stretched. A boneless bird needs double or triple the amount of topping than when prepared with bones. For example, for a 10 kg turkey you need two loaves of bread to cook the filling. A real banquet!
Would you like some other ideas? wikiHow is packed with articles that tell you how to stuff turkey or make a stuffing with chestnuts too
Step 3. Make gravy with offal and neck bones
You didn't throw away the bones and offal, did you? These are great for giving gravy an unforgettable flavor. Also minimize waste and waste.
It is also an economical solution. All you really need is a little flour, water and giblets. It may be the tastiest and simplest sauce you've ever cooked
Advice
- The animal can be deboned the evening before when you plan to roast it, but remember to put it in the refrigerator.
- If you find that you have pierced the skin on your chest, don't worry. Take some more kitchen twine and tie the legs with the wings according to an "X" pattern; in this way the whole bird is tightly closed and the filling will not come out. You will still get a delicious dish!
