How to Carve a Turkey in 6 Easy to Follow Steps
by Stacey Werner
The
way you carve a turkey can make a difference in the flavor and texture.
Plus, it’s a fairly big piece of meat to tackle, especially if you’re
the kind of person who usually buys the boneless skinless breasts at the
store (Guilty!). Need to know how to carve a turkey? Here are 6 steps
to make it as easy as (pumpkin) pie.
Carving a turkey step #1
Start by letting the turkey sit after you take it out of the oven.
If you carve it right away, the juices will run out and you’ll end up
with dry meat. Depending on the size of your turkey, you’ll want to let
it sit for 20-30 minutes. After that, you can transfer it to a cutting
board.
Carving a turkey step #2
Separate the legs and thighs from the breast. Make a cut between the
leg and the body to give yourself a starting point. With one hand on
the body, slowly pull the leg upward and outward until you hear a pop.
At this point, the joint will be exposed, and then you just carve around
that to remove the leg and thigh. Do the exact same thing on the other
side. Note: One side is usually easier than the other for some
reason.
Carving a turkey step #3
If you have drumstick lovers at your table, you’ll want to separate
the drumstick from the thigh for them. Do this by holding the drumstick
on its end and cutting between the drumstick and thigh bone.
Carving a turkey step #4
If you plan to serve thigh meat, gently scrape the meat from the
bone. Many people don’t like the thigh meat because it’s a little
greasy, but it makes a great soup starter, so you may want to do this
anyway to save time later if you plan on making soup with leftovers.
Carving a turkey step #5
Next, separate the wings from the body. You use almost the same
process as you did with the legs, except that the wings are a little
more attached so you may have to make a few extra small cuts here and
there to get them apart all the way. Wings make great meat, and are
also great for soup or casseroles, so be sure to save them.
Carving a turkey step #6
Finally, carve most people’s favorite part of the turkey – the
breast. The easiest way to do this is to carve the entire breast at
once and then slice it afterwards. You find the breastbone of the
turkey (in the middle), and use it as a guide for your knife. Cut
straight down along the bone and pull away the breast as you go. Once
the breast is removed, slice it against the grain for serving. Repeat
on the other side.
That’s all there is to it. Like anything else, carving a turkey gets
easier with practice. It’s not really that hard – just a little bit
intimidating the first time. After you’ve done it once you’ll wonder
why you worried about it in the first place.
