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How To Carve A Turkey

Here are some steps to carve and serve a turkey.  I recommend cooking a turkey using my Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Turkey Recipe.  This method is derived from Alton Brown’s method of carving a turkey in his Good Eats “Romancing the Bird” episode.

 

Tools Needed

Cutting board

Chef’s knife

Paring knife

Electric knife

Large serving plate or bowl

Serving plate for cut meat

Meat cutting glove or fork

 

Recipe steps:

Ingredients needed

Cooked turkey

 

Place the turkey onto a serving platter or large cutting board. 

I like to fully cut up my turkey ahead of time and serve a plate of turkey meat that is separated into dark and white turkey meat.   This allows me to eat with everyone else, instead of having to carve the turkey at the beginning.

 

Alternately, you can also start carving the turkey at the table and then move into the kitchen to finish cutting the turkey.   

 

If you want to initially carve the turkey at the table, place the turkey onto a large serving plate breast side up.   

 

Cutting off the turkey breast

Slice the turkey breast.

Using an electric knife or chef’s knife, place the knife parallel to the table and make a cut at the bottom of the chicken breast at close to the wing as you can going straight inward towards the ribs and gently curve up the side of the wish bone. 

 

Slicing the turkey breast slices

Now placing your knife perpendicular to the table, slice off thin slices of turkey breast meat and place onto a serving plate.  As you knife reaches the cut that you made when the knife was parallel to the table, the slices will fall off. Use a fork or meat cutting glove to catch the slices as you cut them.  Carve only enough meat at the table for a first serving for everyone.  Then move the turkey to the kitchen to finish the process.

 

Cut off one of the turkey leg drum sticks.

Using one hand gently hold the turkey leg away from the turkey.  Holding a knife in the other hand, cut the skin and meat between the turkey leg and the rest of the turkey until you reach the joint.  Cut into the joint and then using your hand press down on the leg and pop the joint, then continue cutting through the joint and the leg will come off.  You can serve the drumstick or leg whole or I like to use a paring knife to cut the meat off of the drumstick.  Using my hands, I also pull off any part of the meat on the drumstick that cannot be easily cut off.  If carving at the table, leave the drumstick whole for now and just slice the thigh meat parallel to the bone using a chef’s knife or  electric knife.

 

Using an electric knife or chef’s knife, slice the meat off of the thigh part of the turkey.  Place the knife parallel to the bone of the thigh and slice the meat off of the thigh.

 

Back in the Kitchen.

 

Once back into the kitchen or if you just carve the entire turkey ahead of time in the kitchen, you can carve the remainder of the turkey.

 

Remove the other turkey leg drumstick and the other thigh. 

 

Cut the turkey leg drumstick and thigh into pieces using a chef’s knife or electric and paring knife and pull remaining meat off of the turkey leg drumstick and thigh using your hands, and place onto a serving platter.

 

Cut off the other turkey breast.  Using an electric knife or chef’s knife, place the knife parallel to the table and make a cut at the bottom of the chicken breast at close to the wing as you can going straight inward towards the ribs and gently curve up the side of the wish bone.  Now placing your knife perpendicular to the table, and make 1 slice back toward the rib and slice off the entire turkey breast and place it onto a cutting board. 

 

Now using a paring knife and your hands, carefully remove the remaining meat off of the turkey and place onto a serving plate.  It usually takes me about 45 minutes to completely cut up and pull off the turkey meat.  That is why I like to have the turkey completely cut before the meal is served.