How to Carve a Turkey

DIRECTIONS

1. Set-up: Place the turkey breast side up on a large cutting board with the legs facing you. Have a sharp knife, clean paper towels, and a serving platter nearby. If the bird is tied up, cut and pull away the butcher’s twine and discard.
2. Remove the leg and thigh pieces: Using a sharp knife, slice through the skin that connects the breast and the leg quarter. Once the skin is cut away, hold the breast with one hand and use the other to bend the leg quarter away from the turkey, to expose and separate the hip joint from the backbone. (You may hear a small pop). Use your knife to cut through the joint and the skin, then along the backbone to remove the leg and thigh piece. (Don’t forget the oyster, the small, circular piece of dark meat tucked into a crevice on each side of the backbone!) Repeat on the other side.
3. Remove the wings: Pull gently on one of the wings to pull it away from the breast. Cut through the skin and the joint closest to the breast to release the wing. You can cut off the wing tip and discard it if you like- the drumette and flat have the most meat. Repeat with the other wing.
4. Remove the breasts: Rotate the turkey so the wishbone side faces you. Feel through the skin for the keel bone, which runs between the two breasts. Starting on one side of the keel bone, cut through the skin and between the bone and the breast meat. Using long strokes with the knife, rather than a sawing motion, stay close to the bone to cut away and release the whole breast. (Keep the tenderloin piece connected to the underside of the breast, if you can.) Repeat on the other side.
5. Separate the drumstick from the thigh: Hold the end of the drumstick in one hand, while holding the thigh on the board. Bend the drumstick away from the thigh to expose the joint that connects the two. Cut through the joint to separate the two pieces. Repeat with the second drumstick and thigh.
6. Carve the meat from the thigh: Using the tip of the knife, or a boning or paring knife, cut along the thigh bone on all sides. The meat may start to fall off the bone and separate on its own. If it stays intact, hold the skin in place on the meat and slice it against the grain, keeping a little bit of skin on each slice of meat.
7. Carve the breast meat: Place one of the breasts on the cutting board lengthwise. Slice the breast crosswise into ½-inch thick slices, keeping some of the skin on each slice.
8. Plate the turkey: Place the thigh meat in the center of the platter. Arrange the sliced breasts around the sides, keeping the shape of the breast intact. Top the thigh meat with the drumsticks and the wings. Garnish the platter and serve.