Chicken: Butterflying your chicken breast

 Chicken: Butterflying your chicken breast  Chicken is such a versatile product and can be found in many various forms – chicken breast, thigh and whole. However, when purchasing chicken how do you make sure you are getting the most out of your product?Butterflying chicken has been around for a while and is most popular when it comes to grilling, especially for whole chickens or chicken breasts. Nonetheless this preparation method will make sure that you are using your chicken to its fullest. In order to do this right the first step is to make sure you have a sharp knife – having a sharp knife is a crucial component to having a successful smooth running kitchen. For a chicken breast start by placing the breast on a flat surface followed by placing your hand firmly on top. Then slowly using your knife start to cut the chicken breast vertically. There is no reason to force the knife through – if your knife is sharp it will do all the work for you! Continue to slice the breast in half till you reach the other side. At this point you can open up the chicken, or cut in all the way resulting in two separate pieces. For a whole chicken, place the chicken on a flat surface with the neck facing you. Using sharp kitchen shear cut down one side of the spine through the ribs. Do the same by making an identical cut on the opposite side. Now with some force you should be able to pull the backbone right out. [TIP: do not discard this – use it to make your own chicken stock] Turn the chicken over so its skin side down and flatten using the heels of your hands. This method will allow you to get more out of your product and will also help you to be more efficient when it comes to cooking!