>> time required: 20 minutes
>> course: ingredient
>> serves: 1 chicken

Place @whole chicken{1} breast-side up on a #cutting board{}. Pull back the skin at the neck to expose the wishbone. Run a #boning knife{} down each side of the wishbone, then hook it out with your fingers and discard.

Pull out any loose fat pads from the neck and tail cavities.

Flip the bird breast-side down. With #kitchen shears{}, cut through the rib-to-spine joints on each side of the backbone — your cuts pass through the thigh sockets and wing sockets. Lift out the spine and reserve for stock.

Flip breast-side up and press hard on the breastbone with the heel of your hand to crack the keel and flatten the bird.

Flip breast-side down again. Slide the boning knife flat along the underside of the rib cage on each side and shave the rib bones free of the meat — they come off in a curved sheet. Repeat on both sides.

Trace the tip of the knife along both sides of the keel/breastbone, working from the wide end toward the tip. Lift the bone away from the breast meat in one piece, cutting any remaining cartilage. Reserve bones for stock.

Expose the leg bones: run the knife tip along each side of the drumstick and thigh bones so the meat lies flat and heat can reach the bone — do not remove the bones, they hold the leg's shape during cooking.

Score lightly across the underside of each breast (2-3 shallow cuts, parallel to the grain) so the thick meat braises evenly.

Flip breast-side up. Tuck the wing tips behind the wing joints. Score the skin at 1cm intervals across the breasts and thighs — cut through skin and fat only, not into the meat. The bird is ready to marinate.