How To Carve A Whole Roasted Turkey Recipes

Steps:

• Allow Turkey to rest after coming out of the oven or off the grill, at least 15 to 20 minutes. Follow directions on package for Roasting turkey.
• Then using a very sharp knife cut along side the inside of the turkey leg, down to the bottom of the thigh where you can separate and disjoint the leg from the bottom side of the turkey.
• Now look for a small indention between the drumstick(leg) and the thigh portion and cut between the two to separate the two pieces.
• Once the leg and thigh has been separated, place the leg at the top of a large platter. Then proceed to cut the dark meat from the thigh and removing the bone, slice into nice uniform pieces if possible, or you may want to use two separate platters, one for the white meat and one for the dark meat if the platter is not large enough. I had a VERY LARGE platter so a second platter was not needed.
• Next go along the inside of the wing, remove the tip portion, then cut between the larger portion of the wing and the longer more slender part of the wings, and place at the opposite end of the platter. Repeat these steps on the other side of the turkey.
• Once both legs and the wings have been removed from both sides you are free to carve the breast meat. THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO DO IS REMOVE THE WISH BONE IN THE FRONT OF THE TURKEY TO MAKE IT EASIER TO CARVE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE BREAST.
• Once the wishbone has been removed, you can slide the tip of the knife along side the center bone in the turkey cutting along side the curvature of the breast bone carefully pulling the breast meat away as you carve until you reach the base of the turkey near the back, At this point you should have one half of the breast meat in one piece. Repeat for the other side of the turkey.
• Now with each half laying flat on a carving board, cut the breast meat at an angle until you have sliced all of the breast meat. NOTE: AN ELECTRIC KNIFE MAY BE VERY HELPFUL IN SLICING THE BREAST PORTION OF THE TURKEY IF YOU LIKE. Then position each slice back in place as you sliced it, and arrange in same order on platter. Garnish with Parsley and fresh fruits if desired as I have done here.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.
• Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
• Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 4 hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces, quarter the pieces, and refrigerate butter until needed.
• Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the turkey breast and thighs. Cut a hole in the turkey skin between tail and body (to affix legs); cut a hole on each side of the turkey beneath each wing (to affix wings). Rub the entire skin with vegetable oil.
• Toss apple and onion wedges, garlic cloves, and celery in a large bowl until combined; sprinkle poultry seasoning over the apple mixture and toss again to coat. Stuff the body and neck cavities with the apple mixture. Insert each wing tip into the hole under the wing to secure wings; insert both legs into hole near tail to secure legs.
• Place turkey onto a rack and set in a roasting pan. Insert cold butter pieces under the loosened skin, distributing the butter as evenly as possible.
• Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 3 1/2 hours. Check for doneness after 3 hours.
• Remove roasting pan containing turkey from oven and cover with aluminum foil, lightly pressing the foil directly onto the bird. Let the turkey rest for 40 minutes before carving.