Just a few minutes, I've got a pretty good pair of poultry shears so removing the backbone was no problem. It's really quite simple and I often do it with chickens. I've never removed a wishbone before and it was a little harder to do than I expected but still only took a minute.
Once the backbone is out you just slather the bird with olive oil then salt and pepper it. I used Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning on the meat side and freshly ground black pepper and pink Himalayan salt on the skin. While I was chopping the veggies to go under the bird I chopped enough for the stock pot and as soon as the backbone was out I tossed it in the stockpot with the giblets, skin and fat trimmings, the neck, and the parson's nose(tail). I let the bird sit for about an hour before I put it in the oven.
After dinner I made another pot of stock from the bones and drippings.
