Bone Fowl
It is difficult to bone a
dressed fowl due to the way the cavity opening and neck are cut.
To start, if necessary singe any pin feathers, cut off the feet
and the first two joints of the wings.
Cut off the head so that
the neck is as long as possible and tie off the two tubes that
come out of the craw to prevent leakage.
To avoid breaking
the skin, keep the tip of the knife angled towards the skeleton
and close to the bone at all times.
Begin by placing the bird
breast down on a cutting board.
Make an incision the entire
length of the spine through both skin and flesh.
Using a short,
sharp pointed knife follow the frame as closely as you can,
pushing the skin and flesh back as you go.
Work the skin
of the neck down; chop the neck off short being careful not to
sever the craw tubes.
Work towards the ball and socket joint of
the shoulders, cutting them free and boning the shoulder blades.
Pull the wing bones through from the inside bringing the skin
with them.
Bone the meat from the wings and reserve it.
Then cut
to the ball and socket joint of each leg and pull through the
bones.
Reserve the meat.
Continue to work the meat free from
each side of the body until the center front of the breast bone
is reached.
You can now remove the entire skeleton [and its
contents] all out in one piece.
Any tears in the skin can be
sewn up.
From the Joy of Cooking.