If you are a chicken lover, we are certain that you are fond of spicy, juicy, and crispy chicken wings. They may be small but they pack a big flavor punch and are much juicier than breast strips.
When serving chicken wings, they can prove to be fiddly for guests to manage if the tiny bones are still inside. That’s why deboning chicken wings is such a useful skill for home cooks to master.
We’ve attached a helpful video to demonstrate the technique. Ready? Let’s give it a go!
How to Debone a Chicken Wing
When you first try it, deboning a chicken wing may seem difficult. However, once you have practiced the technique a few times, you’ll soon be doing a bowlful in no time.
Remember to save all the bones as you can use them to make a delicious stock.
First Method – When chicken is already cooked
You are going to debone your cooked chicken wing in two parts. First, twist the elbow joint off which will leave the ends of the two skinny long bones sticking out (the ulna and radius). Hold each one firmly and pull them out.
Cut off the deboned section of meat and set it aside. You will now be left with the meatiest part of the wing – the drumette.
Simply hold it vertically on the chopping board and slide the meat down toward the bottom. The chunk of meat at the bottom will now be easy to remove.
You can perform the same moves with raw chicken wings, except that you will have to use a sharp paring knife to cut between the meat and the bones to separate them.
Second Method – When chicken is still raw
You will need a very sharp, small knife. We find that a paring knife works best. First, cut the wing end away from the drumette. Take the wing first and place it flat-side down on a chopping board.
Cut horizontally along the bone, loosening the meat as you go. When done, turn the wing over and do the other side.
You should now be able to pull the bones out. Now, simply separate the meat from the joint by pulling the skin downwards and twisting the bone until it separates from the joint.
Using your deboned chicken wings
Now that you have deboned the wings, what can you use them for? They make great snacks if breaded or battered and then fried. Also, they can be stuffed. Try out our delicious “pub snacks” recipe below and wow your friends.
Ingredients
- Oil to shallow fry
- 1 cup white cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- About 300g deboned chicken wings (or if your deboning experiment didn’t work, use boneless breast meat cut into strips)
Breading and cooking method
- Using a big bowl, mix the flour, salt, peppers, paprika, and garlic.
- Using a small bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk together.
- Dip chicken wings one at a time into the buttermilk mix then into the flour mix. Do this twice to double-coat them. Chill for about half an hour.
- When you’re ready to cook the wings, heat about a cupful of oil in a frying pan.
- Fry the wings in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. When golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon and put them onto paper towels to drain.
- Serve immediately with a sauce of your choice. Suggestions are an Asian-style sweet and sour sauce/ a blue cheese sauce/ or a hot pepper sauce.