Turkey Carving Instructions
First things first, and we cannot emphasize this enough, make sure that the carving knife you’re using is SHARP. The vast majority of accidents and injuries that occur with knives happen because of a dull knife. If the knife is dull, more force will be needed to actually make the cut, and over exertion of force is what causes one to lose control of the blade. Keep your knife sharp and keep your fingers.
Okay, on to the actual carving. Place your knife at the base of the wing and cut through to remove. Cut off the tip by finding the joint where the end of the edible portion of the wing meets the tip and cut through carefully. Repeat for the other side.
Next up are the legs. Place your knife where the leg meets the body, making sure to keep a firm hold onto the bird to ensure nothing slips, and make a cut. As you cut through, pull the leg back so you can get a better view of what it is you’re cutting. You’ll see a joint that connects the thigh to the body, and this is where you’re going to want to cut through to remove the leg. Repeat for the other side.
Once the leg is removed, you’ll want to separate the thigh from the drumstick on each leg. There is a joint just at the end of the drumstick that connects it to the thigh, and you can usually feel it with your hand. Align you knife along the joint and cut. This will make your cut much, much easier.
The next piece you’re going to want to remove is the breast itself. Place the base of your knife as close to the breastbone as you possibly can to avoid wasting any delicious breast meat, and cut. The best way to do this is to use the entirety of the knife, from base to tip, as you slowly cut down on the turkey. This should allow you to cut through in one clean slice. If you don’t make it all the way through, however, peel away the breast as you cut so you can see where your blade is within the turkey, and reposition your knife accordingly until reaching the other side.
Cut the breast up (against the grain) into serving sized pieces and enjoy!