After taking the time to cook a delicious and beautiful turkey, there’s one final — and critical — task to master: carving the bird. Here, we’ll take the mystery out of how to carve a turkey so that your masterpiece will look the part and wow your friends and family from the moment they set eyes on it and so you can snap that perfect picture before everyone digs in.
Before You Carve a Turkey
If you’ve followed the ATBBQ three-step process of brining the turkey, applying a quality seasoning rub, and cooking it to an internal temperature of 160º F, it’s practically assured to come out great. The process is also incredibly easy with the help of an ATBBQ turkey kit that includes everything you need to cook a juicy and perfectly seasoned bird.
But don’t get too eager to cut into the bird immediately after removing it from the smoker, oven, or deep fryer. Instead, let it rest for at least 20 minutes after cooking to let the temperature stabilize, allow the juices to reabsorb throughout the meat and give the muscle fibers time to relax.
Tools Needed for Carving a Turkey
While the turkey rests, gather your tools and set up your carving area. “Really essential to the job are a nice carving set and a good cutting board,” ATBBQ Staff Chef Tom Jackson says in his How To Carve A Turkey video. Here are some of the accessories we keep handy for such occasions.
1. Cangshan Helena Two Piece Carving Set- Precision Cutlery
The Cangshan Helena Two-Piece Carving Knife Set includes a 6-inch straight meat fork and an 8-inch carving knife. These knives are great for any number of tasks, including carving turkey. Both pieces feature high-carbon stainless steel blades that make clean, precise cuts and easily slice through breasts and joints.
2. JK Adams Turnabout Reversible Maple Carving Board - For Big Juicy Birds
A turkey cooked following ATBBQ recipes is bound to be juicy, and this high-quality maple carving board is up to the task of carving such birds. Equipped with generous gravy grooves on both sides that are designed to capture and retain flavorful juices, one side of the cutting board also features a strategically placed indentation specifically designed to securely hold poultry and roasts in place while you carve to ensure stability and precision during the carving process.
3. ATBBQ Nitrile Gloves - Where Safety Meets Convenience
Not only are nitrile gloves great for preventing cross-contamination while protecting guests who may have latex allergies, but they are especially handy when handling turkey fat which is oh so delicious and makes a mean gravy, but greasier and more challenging to clean up than that of some other meats.
How to Carve a Turkey in 4 Easy Step
1. Remove The Wishbone
Cut through the thick skin at the head of the turkey to find the wishbone. Slip your knife behind either side of the bone to separate it from the breast meat, which should allow you to pull it out.
2. Slice Breast Meat
Slice all the way down through the entire breast. Cut down the rib cage toward the wing to release the slices.
3. Remove Legs and Thighs
“It’s super easy, “ says Chef Tom. “You’re going to find that the knife just finds its way through the joints as there are very natural points at which to separate these pieces of meat.” Once the bone and cartilage are removed, the thigh meat can be sliced or pulled. The legs can be served whole, or the meat can be peeled from the bone, as long as care is taken to remove any large tendons.
4. Remove Wings
“Again, look for any kind of joint for the path of least resistance,” Chef Tom says. Remove the wing tips and separate the two remaining segments. Use your hands to remove any breast meat chunks that remain on the ribs.
How to Carve a Spatchcocked Turkey
ATBBQ strongly recommends spatchcocking turkey before cooking. This involves removing the backbone, which allows you to lay the turkey flat as it cooks, provides a more even cook, and reduces cooking time. But it also makes a turkey easier to carve, as a whole turkey is more likely to roll, shift, and slide when making cuts. Since a spatchcocked bird lays flat, it’s easier to access all of the different parts, as flipping the turkey is unnecessary. Fortunately, the same four-step process outlined above works perfectly—and we would argue even better—for a spatchcocked turkey.
Turkey Carving FAQ and Tips
How thick should I slice my turkey?
This is a matter of personal preference, but 1/4 to 1/3-inch thick is a good rule of thumb. In the unfortunate event that your turkey ends up slightly overcooked, carving thinner slices will make it less of a project to chew. Also consider the number of people you’re serving when carving and slice thinner to allow for the turkey to go farther if needed.
How should I present a carved turkey?
Since people tend to have big feelings about light meat and dark meat, it’s best to keep the two clearly sorted. Fanned-out breast slices look fantastic, and when carving the turkey, you’ll want to consider how keeping the legs and wings whole versus pulling the meat off ahead of time will affect your arrangement.
Chef Tom provides tips for arranging slices and chunks of meat in the aforementioned video on how to carve a turkey, but you can use various layouts depending on the size and shape of your serving dishes. Some of our favorite tips for really making a turkey platter pop include:
- Use a large serving platter to make it the centerpiece of your table
- Carve turkey and arrange slices of breast meat alongside leg and thigh pieces
- Lightly brush the turkey with melted butter or a glaze just before serving to give it a glossy appearance
- Arrange fresh herbs and add slices of oranges, lemons, or cranberries for color
Can I carve a turkey with an electric knife?
Carving a turkey with an electric knife is not recommended. They don’t do well with breaking down joints and cartilage, which are two of the most important tasks when cutting a turkey. Electric knives can also shred meat instead of slicing it cleanly, so you’re better off investing in a quality standard knife.
Is there a wrong way to carve a turkey?
Even if you don’t care to neatly carve a turkey for the sake of an attractive arrangement, it’s still good to have a method and plan going in. Once you’ve gone to all of the work to cook a delicious bird, it’s worth making sure you cleanly remove the maximum amount of meat possible. And since turkeys have lots of small bones and gnarly tendons, it’s wise to carve a turkey well enough to keep those annoyances and choking hazards from sneaking onto the serving platter.
More Turkey Tips from ATBBQ
Want more tips on how to perfectly prepare a holiday turkey so that you’ll have something delicious to carve? ATBBQ has plenty of insights and pointers that we’ve learned over the years and continue to use when preparing holiday meals for our families. For tips on how to inject a turkey or why it’s a good idea to spatchcock a turkey before cooking it, subscribe to our email newsletter, where we share every new recipe video, check out some of our all-time favorite turkey recipes, and take a look at our turkey kits and accessories.
