How to Carve a Chicken (or Turkey) Like a Pro!

By EMAE77

Carve a Chicken (or Turkey) Like a Pro! Carve a Chicken (or Turkey) Like a Pro!

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It's Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just that time of year to cook the perfect chicken (or turkey) and you don't want to ruin it. This will show you how to carve an impressive bird, so you're not left with just a big mess of chopped up little pieces in the end!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

  • A cooked chicken (or turkey)
  • Cutting board
  • Sharp, flexible, thin-blade carving knife
  • Two pronged carving fork

Step1
Cut down between the leg and the breast. Pull the thigh away from the bird and cut through the joint and remove the dark meat. Don't cut through the bone.
Step2
Cut through the ball and socket joint in order to separate the thigh from the drumstick (the meat around the leg bone). Then remove the other leg the same way.
Step3
Before carving the big pieces off the breast, be sure to remove the wishbone. To do so, loosen up the skin from the flesh at the neck with your fingers. Fold back the skin to expose the breastbone (the bone that runs along the middle of the front).
Step4
Cut horizontally above the wing joint and along through the breast.
Step5
Carve downward and parallel to the breastbone, going in as close to the bone as possible so you don't waste any meat. Repeat this on the other side of the bone until everything is stripped.
Step6
Now serve it with whatever veggie or side dishes of choice, and enjoy!

Tips & Warnings

  • After you take your bird out of the oven, let it cool, breasted side up for at least 15 minutes. This is allowed the fibers to relax and it'll make carving a lot easier.

Comments

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acole said

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on 5/23/2008 Good article and tips! Thanks!

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on 5/23/2008 Great formula here. Letting it cool does help and you won't get steam burns. Thanks for the helpful ideas.

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on 4/5/2008 Same here! Thanks for the help!

bookmom said

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on 4/3/2008 This is something I've struggled with. Thanks for the article!

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on 4/3/2008 AWESOME!

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eHow Article:  How to Carve a Chicken (or Turkey) Like a Pro!

eHow Member: EMAE77

EMAE77

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