How To Carve A Turkey

I recently gave you the opportunity to watch over my shoulders as I cooked a simple yet delicious Thanksgiving turkey.

When it comes to carving, however, you won’t be the first person who finds the task daunting. There is a definite technique to it, and you need to know the order in which to carve different parts of the turkey.

Carve in a haphazard fashion, and chances are you will damage some of the turkey, as well as ruin presentation.

Follow our step by step guide to perfect Thanksgiving turkey carving:

• Place your cooked turkey onto a cutting board or carving board.

We recommend using the Chef Remi Cutting Board, which is made from sustainable, eco-friendly rubber wood.

It naturally kills surface bacteria, and will not harbor microbes inside knife scratches (unlike synthetic boards), so you can carve, slice and chop away, without worrying about germs or food poisoning.

Also, rubber wood is much kinder to your kitchen knives, so they won’t become prematurely dull.

• First, remove the thighs and legs.

Do this by cutting through the skin that connects the drumstick to the breast. Use a carving knife to slice down until you reach the joint.

Now, separate the legs and thighs from the turkey by grabbing each leg with your hand and pushing down. Use paper towels so your hands do not get dirty.  Use your carving knife to slice through the joint.

We recommend you use the Chef Remi Carving Knife. It’s lighter, thinner and more flexible than a standard chef’s knife, so you can carve thinner slices as well as debone meat easily.

It also has a narrower spine than a chef’s knife, to give you uniform, precise meat slices, and a curved tip, which allows you to expertly shape corners.

• Next, remove the drumsticks

Use your Chef Remi Carving Knife to cut through the joint that connects each drumstick to each thigh. This will separate the drumstick from the thigh.

Place the drumsticks on a serving platter. Set aside the thigh meat as you will need to slice it later. 

• Next, remove the wishbone

Locate the wishbone, which should be at the front end of the breast. By removing this, you will make it much easier to carve the breast meat. Use your fingers to pull it out.

• Next, remove the breasts

Find the breastbone, and place your carving knife to one side of it. Now slice downwards, getting as close to the bone as possible.

Use you non-cutting hand to pull the meat away from the breastbone as you slice – the breast should come off in one piece. Repeat on the other side.

Set aside the breast meat as you will need to slice it later.

• Next, remove the wings

Use your Chef Remi Carving Knife to slice through the joint to separate and remove each wing. Place the wings onto your serving platter.

• Now, slice the thigh meat you set aside earlier

Hold each thigh using kitchen tongs and use the edge of your flexible Chef Remi Carving Knife to remove the bone from the meat. Transfer the meat to your serving platter.

We recommend using the Chef Remi 2pc Kitchen Tong Set as these tongs are made from super strong, thick stainless steel, with heavy-duty food-grade silicone tips that are heat resistant up to 600°F.

They won’t damage your turkey, unlike sharp metal tongs, and yet they can withstand the high temperatures of roast meat, without melting or warping.

• Lastly, slice the breast meat you set aside earlier

Use your Chef Remi 2pc Kitchen Tongs to steady the breast, and position it so you will cut against the grain, at its shortest length.

Cutting against the grain helps each slice to stay intact, instead of falling apart. When slicing, take care so as not to detach the skin. Then, transfer the slices to your serving platter.

Follow the above steps exactly in sequence, and you’ll have perfectly carved turkey with minimum wastage. Not so difficult when you know how, is it?