If you never attained the perfection of carving a turkey, it was probably because you didn’t know there are some stress-free and easy ways to carve it. Well, if you didn’t please your loved ones with the cleanly carved turkey for Thanksgiving, here is another chance to gain some appreciation.
You can beautifully carve your Christmas turkey and have a wonderful Christmas 2016.
Step-By-Step Guide To Carve a Turkey
Before you start carving the turkey, let it stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Place the turkey on a platter or a cutting board with the breast side up and legs away from you. Remove the strings by cutting through the trussing with scissors.
Hold the turkey in place with a carving fork or just with your hand. Be careful if using the carving fork as it doesn’t provide the same grip and may also pierce and tear the flesh. Cut through the skin that connects one leg to the carcass, cutting as close to the leg as possible.
Pull the leg away from the bird until the ball joint that connects the leg to the carcass pops out of the socket. With the help of a knife cut straight through the joint. The leg will now pull easily away from the carcass. Keep the leg on the board with knee towards yourself. Feel for the joint connecting the drumstick bone and the thigh bone.
Cut straight down along the bone to remove the meat in one piece. Remove all the meat from the bone by cutting straight down along the bone while rotating the drumstick. Bias-cut the drumstick meat into serving-size pieces.
Hold the knife blade parallel to the board and slip it underneath the bone. Free the meat from the bone by cutting it along the length of the bone. Pull the bone away from the meat. Bias-cut the thigh into serving-size slices after flipping it with the skin side up. Repeat the above steps with the other thighs.
Place the knife between the ball joint of the wing and the socket. Remove the wing from the carcass by cutting through the join. Rotate the turkey and by following the same procedure remove the other wing too. Make a long, thin cut along the breastbone, in the center of the breast.
Move the knife along the rib cage and straight down to the socket where the wing was attached. Cut along the bottom of the turkey breast to remove that half completely. With the skin side up, put the breast on the cutting board and cut it into serving size slices.
Your turkey is now ready to serve. Merry Christmas!
Sources:
Aiken, K., “How To Carve A Turkey, With Step-By-Step Photos,” Huffington Post web site, November 23, 2016; http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/how-to-carve-a-turkey_us_582c7d3fe4b0aa8910bdebb6.
