Cutting Apart a Whole Turkey
Place the whole turkey on a cutting board, breast-up, with the cavity facing you. Set your turkey in front of you on a large cutting board so the legs and thighs are closest to you. Cut through any strings holding the legs together with the tip of a sharp knife. A sharp chef’s knife will be most useful for separating the turkey breast from everything else smoothly and easily. If you cooked only a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey, then skip down to the next method!
Remove the legs and thighs with a sharp knife. Cut through the skin between the thighs and the breast. Push down on the legs and thighs to bend them away from the breast and expose the joints. Slice through the joints with a sharp knife and set the legs and thighs aside. You can separate the thigh from the drumstick at this point by cutting through the joint that connects them if you want to carve up the thigh later as well. The knife should be big enough to slice all the way through in 1 slice.
Pull out the wishbone with your fingers. Flip the breast around so the front is facing you (and still still breast-up). Reach into the neck cavity with your fingers, feel for the wishbone, and try to pull it out. Use the tip of your knife to help cut it free from the meat if you can’t pull it out right away. The wishbone is the “Y” shaped collar bone at the front of the breast. Removing the wishbone will make the turkey breast much easier to carve.
Cut the wings off the breast. Bend a wing to the side to expose the joint that connects it to the breast, then cut through it with one clean slice. Repeat this for the other wing to finish preparing the turkey breast for carving. You can leave the wings intact to be eaten whole. They are the crispiest and least meaty part of a whole turkey.
Carving a Turkey Breast Off the Bone
Select a sharp chef’s knife or serrated knife. Both a chef’s knife and serrated knife are viable options for carving a turkey breast. The only difference is the way that you cut with them. Choose a serrated knife if you prefer to saw the meat, and choose a chef’s knife if you want to slice it. If you choose a chef’s knife, then make sure it is very sharp before you begin to carve the breast. If not, it will be very difficult to make clean cuts. The knife should be about 8 in (20 cm) long. This method will work if you separated a breast from a whole turkey, or if you cooked a bone-in breast on its own.
Place the body of the turkey on a serving plate or cutting board. Put the whole turkey breast, breast-up, on a flat serving platter or a cutting board that is big enough to carve it on. Face the neck cavity away from you. It is useful if the serving platter has a rim or the cutting board has a trench to catch the turkey juices as you are carving.
Slice along one side of the breast bone and all the way down. Pick a side and start at the top of the breast right where it meets the top of the breast bone. Slice downward and as close to the breast bone as possible to separate the meat from the bone until you can no longer cut through the meat. If you are using a chef’s knife, use long, even slicing strokes. If you are using a serrated knife, then use an even sawing motion to carve the breast.
Move your knife to the front of the ribs, near the neck, and cut along them. Slice along the ribs, as close to them as possible, and down around the bottom of the breast. Keep slicing until you connect with your first cut and have freed a large chunk of the breast from the bones. You should feel the breast come loose when both of your cuts meet. It might even fall off! If it is still connected, use your knife to cut through any last bits that are holding it in place.
Pull the breast meat off the bone and carve it into slices. Pull the chunk of breast meat away from the carcass and set it on the cutting board or platter. Slice it against the grain into pieces of the size you want for serving. You can use tongs to steady the breast while you carve it into slices. Then, you'll have the tongs handy for serving as well. Against the grain is more or less straight down or at a slight angle away from you. If you aren't sure how thick to slice the turkey, then cut it into 0.5 in (1.3 cm) slices.
Repeat the process for the other side of the breast. Flip the breast around in front of you so you can easily carve the other side. Start the process over from the beginning to carve the other turkey breast. For example, if you carved the right side of the breast first, then flip the breast around so that you can carve the left side off the bone now. The neck cavity will now be facing you instead of away from you. If you did it correctly, the majority of the meat should be off the bone now. You can use your fingers to clean the carcass later, and use the bones and scraps to make turkey stock or soup.
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