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Saturday, November 23. 2019

The right way to carve a turkey

 Turkey is good meat, especially with the sides and gravy. There is an easy and effective way to cut it up:


Posted by Bird Dog in Food and Drink at 14:16 | Comments (11) | Trackbacks (0)

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I agree. I've done it that way for years, and so did my Dad. However I leave the leg intact as there is always a boy who wants to chew on the "whole" thing. I'm the designated carver wherever we go for Thanksgiving. My Dad taught me how to do it, and I'm surprised by how many young men don't know how. I've had to teach my son-in-law so he can take over the duties.
#1 rocdoctom on 2016-11-22 13:29 (Reply)
Yes, I used to think I was supposed to carve the meat off the carcass.
#1.1 Bird Dog on 2016-11-22 15:29 (Reply)
I've found that a boning knife helps one get all that white meat down to the carcass. Since we put slabs of thick-cut bacon across the top of the turkey to keep it moist, each slice of white meat gets some crispy skin and a piece of crispy bacon, too.
#2 jma on 2016-11-22 18:18 (Reply)
Amen to the boning knife! My late father left me a half dozen boning knifes from his salad* days as a commercial butcher, as well a some tips on how to use them. The video has the strategy right, but that fellow is using way too much knife to get those chunks off the turkey. Save that chef's knife for carving up the breasts into nice flat slices, and maybe for slicing the thighs (I just cut longwise to the bone, and split the thigh into two big juicy chunks).

The real pro tip he missed is MAKE SURE THE KNIVES ARE SHARP. Like Jeffersonian, I get asked to carve the occasional turkey, and it's a bit embarrassing when the only sharp knife in the house is the Kershaw in my pocket.

*never a salad without a steak alongside, his whole life.
#2.1 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2017-11-19 19:08 (Reply)
And no one - not anyone - can carve anything if the knife isn’t sharp. Most don’t bother keeping their knives in tune. And dull knives aren’t safe.
#2.2 Annie on 2019-11-23 16:35 (Reply)
As someone who has spent 35 years as a meat cutter/ butcher off and on (21 years on, the last 14 mostly off), I find myself being asked to carve the turkey at holiday dinners. I don't mind and have over the years developed a technique remarkably similar to that shown in this video.
I do think he is using too much knife as blunt force shouldn't be required for the job. I do like that he set the wings aside and didn't stress getting all the meat off the bone as that meat is best left for soups, sandwiches, and a casserole to be named later.
Having said that I still prefer to slice a nice bacon wrapped prime rib because...Well, you know why.
I haven't tried layering bacon on a turkey and am now ashamed I didn't think of it myself. Thanks for the pro tip jma!
#3 Jeffersonian on 2016-11-22 23:32 (Reply)
Setting the wings aside makes for a sleeker presentation, but I'd catch Holy Hell from my wife, who is a dedicated Wing Eater, no matter what the fowl.
#3.1 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2019-11-23 14:43 (Reply)
how disappointing...

i was hoping for a chainsaw, or at least a sawz-all. ;-)
#4 redc1c4 on 2017-11-19 15:40 (Reply)
Another alternative is to bone out the turkey before cooking.

This lets you fit several birds in one oven/spit and simplifies carving.
#5 Ben David on 2017-11-20 10:59 (Reply)
Amen on the boning knife. I am the proud inheritor of my fathers carbon steel boning knife. Carbon steel is so much better than stainless or the various other options out there now a-days. Yes they get stained and funky looking but they can be made very sharp and they hold their edge.
#6 OneGuy on 2019-11-23 17:42 (Reply)
It's that time of year - Time to haul out the Ken Onion and lay an razor edge on every resident in the knife rack. Those little gizmos are simply, dangerously, amazing. You can even get a leather strop for them.
#7 Aggie on 2019-11-23 19:23 (Reply)

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