Instructions

1. Remove the hen from its packaging. If there are giblets in the body cavity, remove them. Rinse the hen under cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the packaging and paper towels.

2. Lay the hen on the cutting board so that the back of the chicken faces up.

3. Feel for the breastbone by pressing down in the center of the hen at the edge of the opening. When you have located it, make a slit along its length to loosen the meat from the bones.

4. Insert the kitchen shears on one side of the breastbone and cut through the bone all the way to the other end. Cut along the other side of the breastbone until it is completely free from the hen. This allows you to open up the halves of the hen like a butterfly. Discard the breastbone.

5. Place the opened hen on the cutting board with the skin side facing up. Just as you did in Step 3, find the backbone. Cut along both sides of the backbone with the shears. Discard the backbone.