Airline chicken or airline chicken breast is a cut of chicken composed of the bonelesschicken breast with thedrumette attached. The breast is skin-on, and the first wing joint and tendon are attached while the rest of the breast is boneless.[1][2] The cut is intended to contribute to the presentation of the final dish by providing visual interest.[2][3]
The name of the cut is variously attributed to the shape resembling an airplane wing or that, because the exposed bone could be used as a handle to pick up the entire piece and eat it out of hand, it made it easier to eat in-flight.[2][3][4] It is typically a specialty cut.[2][4]
The cut is also known as aFrenched breast, due to the end of the wing bone being trimmed or Frenched,[5][2] or chicken supreme.[2] It is also known as Statler chicken, a name that originated from theStatler Hotel Boston, built in 1927 byE.M. Statler.[6]
