Whether you plan to grill, sauté, or bake poultry, it’s always helpful to learn How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast to ensure quick and even cooking. Scroll on to see step-by-step instructions on how to split and prepare your chicken breasts.
How To Butterfly A Chicken Breast
On busy weeknights we will take any shortcut we can get to speed up cook times and this simple process of butterflying a chicken breast is the perfect shortcut for this cut of meat! If you are working with a whole bird, we also have easy to follow tutorials on how to butterfly (or spatchcock) a whole chicken and a whole turkey. They taste just as delicious but the cook time is significantly reduced, which means we get to eat sooner. Always a good thing!
What You Will Need
- boneless chicken breasts – Since this cut of meat can vary in thickness throughout, this process provides uniformity.
- cutting board and knife – A sharper knife will allow you to cut through the chicken breast with ease.
- meat tenderizer – A helpful tool that comes in handy for many different types of protein.
- plastic wrap – Keep your space tidy while pounding the chicken breast.
Why Butterfly A Chicken Breast
Simply put, this technique allows for even cooking throughout a boneless chicken breast. The act of splitting the chicken breast in half and pounding it out flat, ensures uniformity throughout the cooking process. Try it out using our Easy Baked Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Piccata Pasta or Baked Chicken Cutlet recipes that are sure to be a crowd pleaser.
How Long To Cook A Butterflied Chicken Breast
This greatly depends on the size of chicken breast as well as the specific recipe that you plan to follow. No matter the cooking method, the internal temperature (use a meat thermometer) of your chicken breast should be 165 degrees F to ensure that your chicken is cooked all the way through.
How Long To Grill A Butterflied Chicken Breast
While the size of your chicken breast and temperature of your grill will impact cooking time, plan for about 3-4 minutes on both sides to ensure thorough cooking. Double check by using a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
How To Butterfly A Chicken Breast
Lay your chicken breast flat on a cutting board.
Hold one hand flat on top of the chicken breast, while cutting evenly through the middle lengthwise.
Peel back the top layer of chicken in order to see how far you’ve cut.
Stop cutting about half an inch from the opposite side of the chicken breast and open the top layer of chicken so that both sides flat. Or cut all the way through to create chicken cutlets.
Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound out evenly with a meat tenderizer.
Pound meat until it is approximately the same thickness throughout.
Cook immediately or store in the fridge.
Storage
You can easily store raw chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before you need to cook it.
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Other Chicken Recipes You Might Like
How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 butterflied chicken breast 1x
- Category: How-To
- Method: Counter Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast – learn how to butterfly a chicken, an easy way to split a chicken breast so it cooks faster!
Ingredients
- 1 or more large boneless, skinless chicken breast
- sharp paring knife
- cutting board
Instructions
- Lay chicken breast down flat on a cutting board.
- Place one hand flat on the chicken breast holding a sharp knife in the other hand, use the knife to cut evenly through the middle, lengthwise.
- Stop cutting about half an inch from the opposite side of the chicken breast and open the top layer of chicken so that both sides flat. Or cut all the way through to create chicken cutlets.
- Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound out evenly with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.
- Pound meat until it is approximately the same thickness throughout.
- Cook immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
- Uniformity: the goal is to pound the chicken down until each piece is approximately the same thickness, this way they will all cook evenly and be done at the same time.
- Chicken Cutlets: if you simply cut all the way through the chicken breasts you will have chicken cutlets instead of a butterflied chicken breast.
- Storage: store raw chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Joseph Smith says
Excellent read, Erin! Butterflying is a great way to generate a uniform thickness across a piece of meat, allowing it to cook more quickly and evenly. It is a simple approach to transform the irregular shape of the chicken into something more uniform, ensuring that both portions cook at roughly the same rate.