How to Butterfly a Chicken

Are you craving barbeque chicken? I found that if you butterfly a chicken before you grill it, the chicken cooks faster and more evenly. Check out how Elizabeth and Gretchen from Girls At The Grill butterfly a chicken with just your kitcher shears. It's actually really fast and easy. Make sure you wash your hands after handling poultry or wear protective gloves when cutting the chicken. Steps to Butterfly a Chicken: 1. Place chicken breast-side down, with the tail away from you. 2. Using kitchen or poultry shears*, cut as close to the keel bone (backbone) as possible. 3. Turn chicken around and using the tail as a guide, cut on the outside of the tail straight down the back of the chicken. 4. Remove the keel bone, it will be about ½-inch wide and as long as the chicken. 5. Turn chicken over and press firmly into the center of the breast. 6. The chicken will flatten out and will open like a book. 7. Twist the wing tips so that the tip is under the upper wing.*The Messermeister Utility Take Apart Shears do this job beautifully.

Butterflied Chicken is Quick and Easy!

Photographs courtesy of Elizabeth and Gretchen, GirlAtTheGrill.com, c. 2005