Big Love Note

HOW TO BUTCHER A LITTLE OWL CRISPY CHICKEN

Did you know that butchering a whole chicken is an empowering and enriching kitchen skill to have? You’ll save money (by weight, a whole chicken costs much less than chicken parts) and you’ll grow by leaps and bounds in kitchen confidence. Learning to butcher one chicken means you’re on your way to being capable of butchering four other birds: turkey, duck, quail, and Cornish game hen—they share a similar anatomy. It will make you feel like the master of your own kitchen universe!

And inherent in my Little Owl butchering technique are a couple more wonderful things: You get to cook the Little Owl Crispy Chicken (page 146) at home and you get a fabulous homemade broth (page 148) out of the deal (using the leftover chicken carcass and wings). Nervous? Here’s a pep talk: A very sharp knife, practice, and fortitude are key when butchering any animal. If you think you’re going to cut yourself, you will. So just don’t think those thoughts. Proceed slowly and feel your way through the process, simply guiding the knife and letting the blade do the work. So, let’s get this bird ready.

MAKES 2 PORTIONS PLUS LEFTOVER MEAT FOR CHICKEN BROTH

1. 1.  Place the chicken breast-side up on a clean work surface with the legs facing you. Grab a wing and use a sharp boning knife to gently score the joint of the wing bone, on either side, right at the point where it connects to the breast (some people may call it the shoulder). Hyperextend the wing bone and pull it off. It should yield a perfectly clean bone (the airline bone). This is left intact for pretty presentation. Repeat this step on the other wing.
2. 2. In order to maintain the skin on the breast, thigh, and drumstick, pull the chicken close to you (so close it almost touches your belly), before proceeding with the butchering.
3. 3. Now, place one hand at the top of the bird, and gently push, applying pressure to one side of the breast. Gently insert your knife until you feel the breastbone and score all the way down the chicken. Use your hands and pull the meat back, reinserting your knife along the rib cage, beginning to cut as far back as the wish bone. Hold your knife at an angle and let the blade do the work as you feel it slice through the rib cage and cartilage. Cut along the bone, slicing right down the center through to the thigh until you reach where the hip meets the back of the chicken. Hyperextend the thigh, pulling back, until you can see it pop out of the hip joint.

It’s smooth sailing from here.

1. 4. Grab the airline wing bone that is sticking out of the breast and, using it as a marker, locate its joint on the cavity side of the bird. Cut through that joint to disconnect it. Next, continue cutting on the cavity side of the hipbone until you can clearly separate the thigh and drumstick from the bird. They will remain connected to the breast by a sheet of skin (that you are going to get beautifully brown and crispy). This is your first portion of half chicken. Repeat the process on the other side. Once you have both portions, let’s debone the thigh and drumstick.
2. 5. Using your knife, follow and cut along the leg and thighbone on either side to expose the femur. Carefully insert the knife where the leg would meet the chicken foot. You can hold on to the leg bone and the thighbone at the same time, holding them upright and letting gravity help you, gently scraping down with your knife, being careful not to break the skin and pull the bones. (By the way, once completely scraped, you’ll see that their juncture is what would be the chicken knee.) Discard the bone and repeat the process with the remaining half of chicken (turn the chicken around, unless you are ambidextrous like my business partner, Chef Mike Price) to yield the second portion.
3. 6. Trim off any excess fat along the edges of the breast and reserve, transferring it, along with the wings and carcass, to an airtight container to use for Homemade Chicken Broth (page 148).