Butterflying and Halving Chicken Breasts

Butterflying a boneless chicken breast can be quick and easy – just follow my step by step instructions!

I love to cook chicken because it’s so versatile, and always have a few breasts in the freezer. Now, is it just me, or are chicken breast halves getting larger and larger these days? I find that, most of the time, one breast half is plenty to serve two people. The problem is how to cut the breast half in half and still have the resulting pieces look (1) like a chicken breast, and (2) appetizing – not just a square lump of chicken meat. It’s actually very easy if you start off butterflying the breast. Here are directions on how I do it – first, a nifty video that shows you how in 15 seconds, which is followed by written out step-by-step instructions:

Step by step instructions for butterflying a chicken breast

1. Place one chicken breast half on a cutting board, flat/smooth side down.
2. Put the palm of your non-cutting hand on the top of the breast, and, using a very sharp knife, slowly cut horizontally through the breast, starting with cutting into the long, thick side.
3. You want to cut from one side to the other, leaving the side of the breast opposite of where you started intact.
4. Open it up flat, and you have a butterflied breast.
5. Cut down the middle  – and voila, you have 2 chicken breasts that are the right size.

Now you can easily make our Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Tomato-Olive Sauce. Enjoy!