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There are so many delicious dishes that use chicken as their main ingredient, making the dish not just taste good, but stand out in appearance and ease. Deboning a chicken is usually the most tedious part of a recipe but in this How To Debone Chicken Thighs blog, you’ll get tips and tricks on how to make life that little bit easier.
Whether you are a professional or simply experimenting with food, make sure to save this blog for when you next need it, to save you both time and effort.
Keeping It Clean And Easy
When you go to buy your chicken at the supermarket, what you’ll usually find is either bone in and skin on or no bones and without skin. There is actually no option of boneless chicken with the skin on.
And in many recipes, you need boneless thighs, but all you have in your freezer are the more common thigh pieces with bones inside, this is where deboning your chicken thighs comes in very handy.
Not just handy, it’s also cheaper! Asking the butchers to debone your chicken thighs or buying deboned thighs is significantly more expensive, why pay more when you can do it yourself easily?
Why Debone Chicken Thighs?
There are so many recipes that use chicken thighs to fulfill the taste needed, capture the essence of the recipe, and perfect the appearance of the final dish.
For many of us, we often reach for chicken breasts to use instead as they are much easier to handle, with no bones to remove, and they require very little preparation.
Chicken thighs taste better, they are in fact, easier to cook and they are cheaper! They do not dry out when cooked in a sauce or stew-like chicken breasts do, and do not gain a hard texture.
So, why not stick to chicken thighs?! And if you need them boneless, simply debone them using the steps below. It is not as hard as you think and all you need is a sharp knife and you’re good to go.
Deboned Chicken Thighs Are Here
What You Will Need
To debone a chicken thigh, you actually only need one thing… I think you’ve guessed it, a knife!
There are many different knives that you could potentially use, but the ideal knife to use when deboning is a boning knife.
The shape of the knife curves slightly and narrows towards the end, making it much easier to cut around the bones. They are easily recognizable because of the way the knife is designed.
If you do not have a boning knife or you are finding it hard to get your hands on one, you can always use a sharp kitchen knife you have at home. Preferably small in size to help cut around the bones.
There is the option of using a sharp pair of scissors, but that can be quite hardworking around the bones in the chicken.
The Simple Steps to Debone A Chicken Thigh
I’m not sure if you’ve really examined a chicken thigh piece, but they actually only have one bone running through them, quite visible and easy to see.
Start by placing your chicken thigh piece on a cutting board, skin side down, and find the bone that runs along the length of the thigh. Using your knife, run down the side of the bone slicing through the chicken, revealing the bone as you go.
Making the first incision is the main step to reveal the bone, then with your knife keep slicing the chicken around the bone, separating them further from one another. You will need to use your hands to move the meat away from the bone as your slice.
The closer you slice to the bone the better, as this will remove the bone neatly, and avoids leaving any wasted meat on the bone itself. Keep going until you reach a point where you can completely remove the bone from the meat.
Taking The Next Easy Step With Chicken Thighs
Tips And Tricks
The best thing about deboning chicken thighs is, there is no waste! Don’t throw away the bones… you can store them in the freezer and use them the next time you make chicken stock or chicken soup, for added flavor.
Choose a cutting board that is either marble or plastic to debone your chicken to not only make the process smoother but also for easier cleaning.
To keep your hands clean in the process of deboning your chicken thighs, you can choose to wear gloves but this will make feeling for the bone and slicing so close to the bone much more difficult.
One important tip is to keep some paper towels next to you to clean your hands dry of any grease or meat.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why should I debone chicken thighs?
For foods that require deboned chicken thigh, it is much easier to do it yourself. Buying boneless chicken thighs is quite costly.
Ultimately, it is best to use a boning knife, but if you cannot get your hand on one, you can use a small kitchen knife.
No, the bone is easy to spot and can be easily removed by slicing as close to the bone as possible and working around it until completely separated.
Deboning the chicken prior to cooking cuts down the overall cooking time.
Yes! Removing the bone from the chicken thigh pieces keeps your chicken intact with its skin so makes for a delicious dish.
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