Turn your kitchen into a 5-star restaurant when you learn how to debone chicken leg quarters and stuff the thigh with tasty filling.
Have you ever heard of a turducken before? It’s where you stuff a chicken in a duck inside a turkey.
Stuffing a chicken thigh is kinda like the same thing. You debone the chicken leg quarter and stuff the thigh with a filling then roll it back up to look like a normal chicken thigh. Your guests will cry out in surprise to learn that there is delicious filling now stuffed inside of their chicken thigh! Almost as if you produced a magic trick or something.
What Is A Chicken Quarter?
A chicken quarter is the entire chicken leg, thigh and drumstick, all together. It makes up about a quarter of the whole chicken, hence, chicken leg quarters. It can be a very affordable cut, but it does still have the bones in and skin on.
If you remove the thigh bone, it gives you an excellent opportunity to add in a delicious filling before cooking the chicken. What a tasty surprise!
Step-by-Step Deboning Guide
Step #1 – Get Set Up
Place your chicken thigh and leg on a clean cutting board with your boning knife.
Step #2 Remove Rib Bones
Remove the rib bones using small strokes with your knife.
Using the tip of the knife you can scrape against the bone to get all the meat.
Once you have most of the meat separated from the bone use a petite chef’s knife to remove the bone.
Now the rib is disconnected from the thigh.
Step #3 Access Thigh Bone
Use a boning knife and cut a slit through the thigh to get to the bone.
Make small strokes with your knife to get to the bone.
Step #4 Remove Meat From Thigh Bone
Once you get to the bone use the blade of the knife to scrape the chicken off the bone.
Step #5 Locate Leg Bone
Next, locate where the thigh bones meets the leg bone.
Step #6 Remove Thigh Bone
Cut in-between the thigh bone and leg bone to remove.
Grasp the bone firmly and pull.
This is what the chicken looks like deboned. Now it’s time to get stuffing!
Stuffing Your Chicken Leg, Step-by-Step
Step #7 Pound Thigh to Even Thickness
Use a meat mallet and gently pound the thigh meat. I used plastic wrap to help with the mess and also to prevent the mallet from tearing the meat.
The chicken thigh should be a uniform thickness.
Step #8 Add Stuffing
Stuff the stuffing into the thigh and leg cavity. This was about 2 tablespoons of stuffing.
Step #9 Wrap Back Up
Fold the meat and skin around the stuffing.
Pull the skin tight to ensure the stuffing stays in the chicken by pulling it towards you.
Then underneath to keep the stuffing in.
Step #10 Secure With Toothpicks
Stick two toothpicks into the chicken skin to ensure the skin stays around the filling.
Step #11 Season and Bake
Season the chicken with olive oil and salt. Bake as directed.
Step #12 Let Rest and Serve
Let your chicken rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
What Can I Stuff Chicken Legs With?
In the photos above, I made a sausage and apple stuffing for my stuffed chicken. For this, I browned half a pound of sausage in a skillet, then mixed that with half an apple, finely chopped, along with a bit of thyme and a couple tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
You could also use a bread stuffing mix like I do for Stuffed Pork Chops or try the amazing combo of cream cheese and spinach like in this Stuffed Chicken Thighs recipe. Can’t wait to hear what you do!
How To Bake Stuffed Chicken Leg Quarters
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Place chicken legs on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
If you’d like to further brown the skin, put under the broiler for a few minutes at the end of the cook time. Keep an eye on it though, because it can go from beautifully crispy to burnt in no time.
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How To Debone a Chicken Quarter Instructions
Turn your kitchen into a 5-star restaurant when you learn how to stuff chicken thighs.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 chicken quarter 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: How-To
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 chicken quarter, bone in
Instructions
- Place your chicken thigh and leg on a clean cutting board with your boning knife.
- Remove the rib bones using small strokes with your knife. Using the tip of the knife you can scrape against the bone to get all the meat. Once you have most of the meat separated from the bone use a petite chef’s knife to remove the bone. The rib is now disconnected from the thigh.
- Use a boning knife and cut a slit through the thigh to get to the bone. Make small strokes with your knife to get to the bone.
- Once you get to the bone use the blade of the knife to scrape the chicken off the bone.
- Next, locate where the thigh bones meets the leg bone.
- Cut in-between the thigh bone and leg bone to remove. Grasp the bone and firmly pull.
- Use a meat mallet and gently pound the thigh meat into a uniform thickness.
- Stuff about 2 tablespoons stuffing into the thigh and leg cavity.
- Fold the meat and skin around the stuffing. Pull the skin tight to ensure the stuffing stays in the chicken by pulling it towards you then underneath to keep the stuffing in.
- Stick two toothpicks into the chicken skin to ensure the skin stays around the filling.
- Season the chicken with olive oil and salt. Bake at 425°F for 45 minutes or until internal temperature is 165°F.
This post originally appeared in October 2016 and was revised and republished in August 2023.