Learn how to debone chicken thighs with our step-by-step instructions. Deboning the chicken yourself can save money at the grocery store and allow you to cook boneless chicken thighs with the crispy skin still intact!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Total Time10 minutesmins
Course: Chicken
Servings: 4
Calories: 211kcal
Author: Sarah
Equipment
cutting board
sharp paring knife, boning knife, or chef's knife
Ingredients
1 poundbone-in chicken thighs
Instructions
Start with the chicken thigh on the cutting board skin-side down. Find the bone that runs along the length of the thigh. Run a sharp boning knife, paring knife, or chef's knife along the length of it to reveal the bone underneath the meat.
Use your fingers to move the meat away from the bone. Angle your knife towards the bone, and slice down both sides of it to expose the bone even further. You can also scrape the knife along the bone to remove the meat cleanly and avoid leaving any meat on it.
Next, point your knife so it's perpendicular to the bone. Holding the bone up, make an incision underneath it to separate it from the meat below. Slice both ways so the middle shaft of bone (between the two ends) is separated from the meat. Then, slice around and below one end of the bone to release it completely from the meat.
Now that the bone is only attached at one end, pull the bone up vertically. Make a few final cuts to remove the other end from the meat.
Video
Notes
Do not discard the bones! Freeze them until you have enough bones to make stock, or add them to other stock recipes.