This is the 21st post in our series titled “Twenty Two Thanksgiving Turkey Tips”.  Each day between now and Thanksgiving we’ll have a new tip for you.  Today’s tip includes How To Properly Carve Your Turkey:

Ok so the bird is done, it’s out of the fryer, and you are ready to carve it up!  Nothing is better on Thanksgiving (or actually any time of the year) to have a beautifully carved turkey that is presentable and tasty for your entire family to enjoy.  So with your turkey done, carved and ready to eat you will finally be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor! So let’s get started on how to carve that turkey up.

One of the first things that you definitely want to avoid is carving your bird on the table right before you eat.  You could very easily just end up with a mess on your hands and a spoiled tablecloth.  What you want to do is carve at a kitchen counter or any other space before your turkey is on the table.

Removing the Leg and Thigh

This is the first step in carving your turkey.  Grab your sharpest knife and cut the skin between the body and the leg.  Once you get a little separation between these two points, you will eventually see the ball joint on the turkey.  When this is visible, keep pulling the ball joint until you hear a slight “pop.”

Keep carving this joint until you can separate the leg/thigh from the body of the turkey.  Then repeat this step on the other side.

Separate the Leg from the Thigh

For this step you will want to hold the drum stick in one hand and slowly make an incision where the thigh is connected to the leg.  You should meet some resistance, but continue working until the thigh is separate from the leg.  At this point, the legs can simply be laid to the side for presentational purposes.

Next, for the thigh meat, which is some of the best meat on the turkey.  Hold up the thigh bone and start carving away at the meat.  More skilled turkey carvers can get this part off in one sweep, but most people get it off in two parts.  Continue to carve the thigh until all the meat is off.

Removing the Wings

Start by taking one of the wings in your hand and with the other hold the turkey.  Just like we did with the legs/thighs you are going to want to listen for the “pop” by loosening the ball joint.  Once you hear this, go ahead and use your knife to finish cutting off the wing.  Repeat this on the other side of the bird.

The Breast

This is probably the most important part of the whole carving process.  What we are going to try to do here is remove one whole side of the breast and carve it on the carving board.  This is the part that you don’t want to mess up by just cutting right into the breast meat.  How you want to start is by making an incision down the middle of the breastbone, along the side of it.  Then use your knife as a tool to “pry” away the entire breast from the breastbone.  Now you should have a whole turkey breast away from the breastbone.  Place this meat on the carving board and start to carve “shortways” rather than “longways.”  This way you will get nicely shaped turkey pieces for each guest.

Once you are done with this, simply repeat on the other side, unless you want to hold off and enjoy your meal.  One breast could be fine, depending on how many guests you have.

Because carving a turkey translates better by watching a video rather than reading words, watch the video below that shows you exactly how to carve the perfect turkey:

–For more tips and ideas on how to prepare your tastiest turkey ever, make sure you download (from Amazon.com) a copy of our book, titled: Turkey Fryers & Deep Fried Turkey: How To Deep Fry A Turkey- Complete Step By Step Instructions To Cooking Your Tastiest Turkey Ever!  As a special bonus for all book buyers, we’re including a complete step-by-step series of videos showing anyone exactly how to deep fry a turkey.  Get this book today!–