Step 1:
The butterfly technique works best with thick chicken breasts. Slice the breast half horizontally with a very sharp knife to keep from tearing the tender flesh. If you end up tearing a hole or cutting the meat too thin, then it’s really hard to wrap the chicken around the stuffing so that it doesn’t leak during cooking.
Step 2:
I like to put each butterflied chicken breast half in a resealable plastic bag to pound it to about 1⁄4-inch thickness. Otherwise, the juices can squirt around the kitchen when you start to pound it. You won’t have to use as much force to pound chicken as you do red meat, so go easy when you’re hammering away.
Step 3:
Put the filling in the center of the narrow end of the butterflied and pounded chicken breast. Roll up the chicken breast like a jelly roll, and secure it with wooden picks. The wooden picks keep the crispy crust intact. They can be pulled out easily after cooking.
