Slice horizontally through the breast to the center - stop approximately 1/4" from the opposite side.
I’ve made several recipes this week that call for butterflying your chicken breast as part of the process and I realized that many people aren’t sure how to do this. It’s really easy and it lends itself to so many different ways to cook your chicken and opens up a bevy of recipes to try.
How to Butterfly Cut a Chicken Breast
This is an easy task that many people avoid. Butterflying your chicken can make it go twice as far, cook faster, or allow you to stuff it with some other ingredients.
- Start with a boneless/skinless chicken breast. Remove the tender by laying the breast shiny side down (where the skin used to be). The tender is the part that has the enormous white vein running through it and it’s generally long and thin and is easily separated from the main breast. You can strip out the vein and then set the tender aside for another meal like a stir fry or homemade chicken tenders).
- Turn the breast over and working with the “skin” side up. Hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and slice horizontallytowards where the center bone used to be (generally the straighter of the two sides) from the fleshier outside. Work the blade towards the straight side of the breast being careful NOT to cut completely through (unless you want to thin breasts – to stuff or butterfly, be sure not to cut through).
- Lay the breast out flat, opening up both sides, and gently slice the ends until they lay flat (it makes sort of a heart shape).
- If your recipe calls for it, you may flatten your chicken at this point. I generally use free-range and/or organic chicken and the breasts are small and somewhat even. “Traditional” chicken has been plumped up in most cases so the top part of the breast can be 1-1/2 to 2″ thicker than they end. To ensure even cooking, you may want to pound your chicken with a meat mallet or the DIY version I use – place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap, parchment paper, wax paper, or place it inside a gallon zipper bag. With a heavy object (I use my marble rolling pin), carefully flatten (i.e., don’t beat the heck out of it) the chicken until the two ends are more uniform in thickness.
- You’ve just butterflied your chicken! Now continue on with your recipe!
Slice any additional amounts needed at the top and bottom of the breast to allow it to lay flat - flatten if the recipe calls for it.
Your chicken is now ready for stuffing, marinating or whatever else your recipe calls for!
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