Deboning chicken drumsticks is a handy skill that allows you to enjoy the meat without having to navigate around bones. It takes some practice but with the right technique you’ll be able to debone drumsticks cleanly and easily. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to debone a chicken drumstick.
What You Need
- Sharp boning or fillet knife
- Cutting board
- Chicken drumsticks
- Kitchen shears (optional)
Step 1: Remove the Skin (Optional)
If you want skinless chicken meat, start by removing the skin This isn’t mandatory, but it makes the job easier
To remove the skin:
- Pull the skin away from the meat near the knobby end of the drumstick.
- Slide your fingers under the skin, loosening it from the meat.
- Use your knife or kitchen shears to cut off the loosened skin.
- Discard the skin or save it for another use.
Step 2: Cut Alongside the Bone
- Place the drumstick on the cutting board. Hold it steady with one hand.
- With your knife, make a cut down the length of the bone. Don’t cut too deep, just enough to expose the bone.
- Rotate the drumstick and repeat, making cuts down both sides of the leg bone.
Step 3. Cut Around the Knobby End
- Locate the knobby end of the bone protruding from the meat.
- Make horizontal cuts around this bony end, working to free the meat from the bone.
- Be careful not to cut too deep and risk cutting into the bone itself.
Step 4. Peel Back the Meat
- Now peel the meat back slightly, opening up the area around the bone end.
- Use your finger to free the meat if needed. This exposes more of the bone for the next steps.
Step 5. Cut Along the Bone Toward the Meaty End
- With the bony end exposed, make a cut alongside the bone, working from the knobby end toward the meaty end.
- Again, don’t cut too deep, just enough to free the meat from the bone.
- Turn the drumstick and repeat on the other side, cutting toward the meaty side.
Step 6. Free the Meat From the Bone
- Continue this down the bone, making small cuts to separate the meat from the bone.
- Use your fingers to peel the meat slices away as you go.
- Go slowly and carefully during this process.
Step 7. Cut or Snap Off the Bony End
- Once you’ve freed the entire bone, snip or cut off the knobby end.
- Alternatively, use the knife handle to tap the end and snap the bone.
- Remove the freed bone and set aside.
Step 8. Clean Up the Deboned Meat
- Lay the deboned meat flat and trim off any excess fat, tissue, or remaining bits of bone.
- Run your fingers over the meat to detect any small bones left behind.
- Rinse the meat and pat dry if needed.
Tips for Deboning Chicken Drumsticks
- Use a very sharp thin-bladed knife for best results. A flexible boning knife works best.
- Let the drumsticks sit at room temperature for easier deboning.
- Work slowly and carefully to avoid cutting yourself.
- Save the bones for making chicken stock.
- Freeze leftover deboned chicken drumstick meat for later use.
Deboning chicken drumsticks takes practice, so don’t get discouraged. With the right techniques and tools, you’ll soon be able to debone drumsticks with ease for boneless chicken recipes. Enjoy the convenience of boneless chicken meat without the fuss and mess of dealing with bones.
How to Debone Chicken Legs
If youre starting with a whole chicken leg (thigh with drumstick still attached), you can check out the second half of the video below. This is how most thigh meat is sold in Japan, and its why the leg pieces in my recipes look so much larger than typical thighs in other countries. As a bonus, chicken leg quarters in the US are usually the least expensive cut you can buy, so youll also be saving money. With practice, you can debone a whole leg in under two minutes.
Lay the leg with the meat side of the thigh facing up. Insert the tip of your knife on the side of the legs curve at the tip of the drumstick. Follow the contours of the bone towards the base of the leg.
When you reach the joint, youll need to go around it like a speed bump and then continue tracing the contours of the bone until you reach the end of the thigh bone. Be careful not to cut past the bone and all the way through the meat.
Now, the inside of the joint should be visible. Cut through the joint.
Then fold the leg meat in half to separate the joint.
Use your knife to cut around the large knuckle on the thigh side to detach all of the tendons.
Scrape the meat away from the thigh bone using your fingers. When you reach the knuckle, use the knife to cut around it to release the thigh bone. You can also do this with kitchen shears.
For the drumstick bone, use your knife to scrape the meat off both sides of the bone. Then, insert the tip of your knife blade under the bone with the edge facing toward the tip of the drumstick. Cut through the meat and tendons to release the end of the bone from the meat.
Now scrape the meat away from the drumstick bone towards the joint where it was connected with the thigh bone, and use your knife to cut around the cartilage to free the bone.
Trim off any remaining tendons, stray pieces of meat, connective tissue, or excess fat. Reserve the chicken bones and trimmings to make stock.
Why Debone Chicken Thighs?
While intact thighs or whole legs are great for grilling or stews, they dont work for stir-fried and pan-fried preparations. Itd possible to buy boneless skinless thighs, but without the skin, the meat tends to dry out easily, and finding boneless skin-on chicken thighs in the US can be challenging. Thankfully, you can enjoy crispy chicken skin and the juicy texture of skin-on-thigh meat by deboning thighs or whole legs yourself. Since the average price of bone-in thighs tends to be significantly lower, you can cut food costs as well. It only takes a few minutes, and the instructions and video below will show you how to debone raw chicken thighs easily.
Ideally, you want a sharp boning knife with a narrow blade about 5 to 6 inches long. This length gives you enough reach to maneuver around bones while giving you the control of a shorter blade. The blade should be relatively thin and slightly curved, allowing you to make precise cuts and follow the contours of the bones. A sharp, pointed tip is crucial for piercing and navigating tight spots.
Since its better to use a sharp knife with the wrong shape than a dull knife with the right shape, here are a few alternatives. A sharp paring knife or a fillet knife will work almost as well as a boning knife. Chefs knives tend to have a larger blade, making them difficult to control precisely. Since this is a knife that most people have in their kitchen, Ive demonstrated how to grip it for deboning in the video below. This grip will give you more control over the knifes movements.
How to debone chicken drumsticks/ how to bone out chicken legs
FAQ
Is it easy to debone chicken drumsticks?
Chicken breast is easiest to debone, and legs are harder – I use legs for the long-cooking and leave the bones in, and breasts for the short cooking and debone and cut them up first.