Turkey Carving Ritual
When I was a kid, the male head of household carved the turkey at the table. Which was, I suppose, part of the show.
The first time I cooked a turkey, DH asked what he could do to help, and of course I asked him to carve the bird. Um, I guess it wasn't part of his custom, and he was pretty clueless about what to do. He did his best and he even tried preparing for it the next year by reading up on technique. But still, this was his only foray into any sort of food prep, so it still wasn't as good as it could have been.
Now, I just carve the bird in the kitchen and present it arranged on a platter.
So what do you folks do with the turkey when you serve it?
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15 Comments:
Cut it in the kitchen after it's been inspected by any interested guests or family members - who also snitch the crispy skin.
lemons at 10:55PM on 11/10/08
dbcurrie: that's exactly what I do - carve and present on a platter. My husband tried to carve but mangled the poor bird a couple of years in a row, so its much easier for me to just do it. However, that's the only time I've let him get away with it!
yankeesgal at 12:54AM on 11/11/08
Husband carves it with me standing by to make sure it is still pretty. We put it on several platters. One for dark meat and drums and one for white.
JerzeeTomato at 1:56AM on 11/11/08
My dad and stepmother cut and arrange it on the plate. They do it together before the guests come because it involves a lot of screaming and maneuvering to hold the bird.
HeartofGlass at 6:30AM on 11/11/08
I have one of the guys remove the 'bird' from the oven, I take out the stuffing and pass it down the counter to the guys to carve. I'm too busy with the rest of the feast to see what kind of job they do. It ends up on the platter on the table and tastes great : ) And looks pretty too.
NanaJoie at 8:02AM on 11/11/08
From having done so many turkeys for presentation in the various restaurants/hotels I worked in over the years, I tend to use a similar technique to what I used then.
We would peel the skin over to the neck cavity, remove the breasts, slice it and then return it to the bird, then cover it with the skin so it looked whole. Makes a nice presentation at the table and is ready to eat with a few deft flicks of a carving fork.
These days, since I wind up with a table of 25-30 people, I serve 2 of each dish, so breaking down the bird on to serving platters is the easiest thing to do.
Alan
aholsber at 8:20AM on 11/11/08
Same as lemons--and my father is notorious for snatching the crispy skin while I'm carving. My sister has warned him that if she had the knife...
dhorst at 9:16AM on 11/11/08
The surgeon and the architect carve the turkeys while the cousins and I eat the fat and stuffing and crispy skin that is left over on the cutting board.
mmmm...i'm getting so excited!
veggieout at 11:45AM on 11/11/08
I butterfly it before cooking which makes carving a breeze - even after a few glasses of wine.
Cathy at 11:53AM on 11/11/08
As I kid dad or my older brother would do it. Now I just do it myself and present it all on a decorated platter.
pjracz10 at 1:33PM on 11/11/08
alan== that sounds nice. i'm gonna do that this year. that's if the skin lasts that long.
dearrie at 8:47PM on 11/11/08
Dearrie,
Good luck, by yiour 100th turkey, you should have it down pat. :)
Alan
aholsber at 8:38AM on 11/12/08
well i'm pretty good with a knife and many turkeys under my belt. my problem is the bacon i put on the skin, it gets picked at when i'm in another room.
dearrie at 6:35PM on 11/12/08
Dearrie,
Next time, hide the bacon UNDER the skin. :)
Alan
aholsber at 1:53PM on 11/13/08
i must confess, my name is christine, and i pick the bacon off also.
dearrie at 5:32PM on 11/13/08