Boning a chicken

There are some basic cooking techniques that, once mastered, you can use on an almost daily basis. Others you’ll employ less frequently, though no less effectively. Boning a chicken falls into the latter category. It’s perhaps not something you’d attempt during the week after a long day at work, but a slow and rainy Sunday afternoon, when you’re craving a roast chicken, might just be the time to practice some knife skills.

As with all butchery, you’ll need a sharp boning knife, a heavy cook’s knife and a good sharpening steel to keep your blades honed during the process. Poultry scissors, available from select kitchenware stores, could also come in handy. Once you have your tools, it’s simply a case of patience, feeling your way and taking things slowly.

There are a couple of hints to bear in mind as you go. First of all, use the tip of your knife to feel out the bones, then follow them, using short sharp strokes to free the flesh from the bone. Use your other hand to hold the separated flesh out of the way so you can see your way clear to the next step. Next, aim to remove the bones with as little flesh on them as possible. This, of course, will become easier to achieve the more you practice. When cutting through joints, dislocate the bone from the socket and cut through the gap between ball and socket. This applies to all joints, be it wing or thigh. Finally, take care when using a sharp knife and for the best end result, use a free-range and/or organic bird.

So why bone a chicken (or any other bird) in the first place? Well, once the bones are removed, the bird can be dressed simply and roasted flat in a much-reduced cooking time. It also means the flesh cooks more evenly, lessening the potential for perfectly cooked breast and still-pink legs, or perfectly cooked legs and dried-out breast.

There’s also the opportunity to impart flavour through the use of stuffing, limited only by the ingredients to hand and your imagination. A tarragon and garlic-scented farce is easy and effective, or scatter the chicken with a mixture of sautéed chicken livers, pancetta and onion. Or channel Spanish influences, and stuff it with smoky chorizo, coarse breadcrumbs and oregano. The flavour of the chorizo permeates the flesh, making for a more-ish feast.

Once stuffed, rolled, tied and roasted, the lack of bones makes for easy-as-pie carving and restaurant-perfect presentation. You’ll also discover that a boned and stuffed chicken will feed more people than the average roast chook.

The bones don’t need to go to waste, either. Make them into a stock and freeze ready for the next time you want to make a soup or risotto (recipe follows).

Once mastered, you can apply this same technique to any bird, such as game birds, duck and guinea fowl.

Boning a chicken

Ingredients;

1	organic chicken (1.8kg)

Method;

	Place chicken, breast-side up, on a cutting board. Use a boning knife to trim neck. Stretch out wings and cut off at joint closest to body, between ball and socket. Discard the wing tips, bbut keep them for the stock.
	At the neck, pull skin back and slide knife along the underside of the wishbone, cut around and under, and pull out with fingers.
	Turn bird over, breast-side down, and cut along either side of spine from tail to neck.
	With short sharp strokes of your knife and keeping knife close to bones, separate flesh from carcass on both sides of spine.
	Use the tip of your knife to find and cut through ball-and-socket joints of wing and thigh bones that connect to carcass. Dislocate them so they’re separated but still remain attached to skin on both sides.
	Gently separate breastbone and carcass from the flesh (be careful as skin tears easily).
	On both sides, cut flesh from curved (saber) bone near wing to remove. Holding wing bone from the flesh side, cut through tendons and scrape meat from bone using knife. Pull out bone, using knife to free it, then reposition so skin-side is facing out.
	On both sides, hold leg bone from inside bird, cut through tendons and scrape meat from bone using knife. Pull out bone with knife, then reposition with skin-side facing out.
	Deboned chicken is now ready for stuffing, roasting, pan-frying or grilling. Season to taste first. Alternatively, refrigerate until required. Chicken stock; Ingredients; 10kg chicken carcasses roasted until golden brown 4 white onions peeled and roughly chopped 4 carrots peeled and roughly chopped 1 head of garlic cut through the centre 10lts water 1tblsp whole black peppercorns 4 bay leaves Method; Place all ingredients into a large stock pot and bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for 1 hour, skimming all the time. It is important to keep the stock clear from scum at all times. After 1 hour remove from the heat and strain through a fine chinois into another pot, place back over the heat and reduce to desired consistency. I recommend reducing by half for soups and risottos ect or if using in sauces and gravies I would reduce the stock by ¾. This will give the stock body and a very rich depth of flavour. This recipe make quite a large quantity of stock. It is best to freeze the un used stock into 1ltr containers ready to defrost and use when required.