How to Carve a Turkey

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By ShowMeStepByStepPublished August 29, 2026

A whole roasted turkey looks like a problem to solve. It is a big, awkward, slippery thing and everyone is watching you hold a knife over it.

It is not hard. The trick is that you do not carve a turkey where it sits. You break it down into three pieces first - leg, wing, breast - take those off the frame, and only then start slicing. Every cut after that is made on a flat board with something that holds still.

This walkthrough follows the test kitchen at Williams Sonoma, who make the case for doing the whole job in the kitchen rather than at the table. You lose the theatre and you gain a lot of meat.

What you need

A long slicing or carving knife, sharpened
A carving fork
A short boning knife for working around joints
Kitchen shears
A big board, ideally one with a groove to catch juices
A warmed platter

Rest the bird first

Give the turkey 30 to 45 minutes out of the oven before a knife touches it. The juices redistribute into the meat during that window. Carve straight out of the oven and most of them end up on your board instead.

That rest is also the most useful half hour of the whole meal. It is when the gravy gets made, the potatoes get mashed and everything else catches up.

Why carve in the kitchen

Carving at the table is a nice picture and a bad method. You end up cutting at a polite angle on a small board without using your hands, and you leave meat behind.

In the kitchen you can grab the leg and pull it open to find the joint, lean into a cut, and stop to wipe your hands. Nobody sees any of it. What comes out is a platter of clean, even slices, which is the part people actually remember.

Working through the rest of the meal? We also cover roasting the turkey and making the gravy that goes over it.

Step-by-Step Guide

11 steps · about 6 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.

Step 1: Get the Right Knives Out

0:16

Two tools do most of the work: a carving fork to hold the bird still and a long slicing knife to cut with. A short boning knife earns its place too, because it lets you feel your way around a joint in a way a big blade never will.

Kitchen shears are worth having within reach for the twine and for any stubborn cartilage. Sharpen the knives the day before. A dull knife tears turkey instead of slicing it, and it is the more dangerous of the two.

Tip

Carve in the kitchen rather than at the table. Nobody is watching, you can use your hands properly, and you get noticeably more meat off the bird.

Used in this step: Turkey carving knife set, Carving fork, Boning knife, Kitchen shears, Carving board with juice groove

Step 2: Take the Twine Off

0:38

Cut or untie the trussing twine around the legs and pull it away.

The twine held the legs tight against the body for even roasting. Now it is in your way. With it gone the legs swing free, which is what lets you open up the hip joint in a moment.

Tip

Let the turkey rest 30 to 45 minutes before you start. Carve it hot and the juices run out onto the board instead of staying in the meat.

Step 3: Steady the Bird and Cut in Long Strokes

1:52

Plant the carving fork in the breast to hold everything still, then run the knife down the crease between the leg and the body.

The one habit to break here is sawing. Short back-and-forth strokes leave a ragged edge on every slice. Use the whole length of the blade in one long pull instead, the way you would cut bread.

Tip

Dry your hands and wipe the handle between cuts. A slick grip on a sharp slicing knife is how people get hurt.

Used in this step: Carving fork

Step 4: Find the Leg Joint and Cut Through It

2:00

Pull the leg down and away from the body with your hand. It will open up and show you exactly where the hip joint sits.

Switch to the boning knife and work the tip around that joint. You are not cutting through bone. You are cutting the connective tissue around a ball and socket, so if you are meeting resistance you are in the wrong spot. Move a few millimetres and try again. The whole leg comes away easily once you find it.

Tip

Do not be shy about using your hands to lever the leg open. Your hands are the best tools in the kitchen and they tell you where the joint is faster than your eyes can.

Used in this step: Boning knife

Step 5: Take the Wing Off the Same Way

2:16

Same technique, smaller joint. Pull the wing away from the body, find the shoulder joint with the tip of the boning knife, and cut around it.

Wings come off fast once the leg has taught you the feel of it.

Tip

Wing tips are all skin and bone. Save them with the carcass rather than putting them on the platter.

Step 6: Remove the Whole Breast in One Piece

2:40

Do not slice the breast while it is still on the bird. Take the entire half-breast off first, then slice it on the board.

Run the boning knife straight down alongside the breastbone, then keep the blade pressed flat against the ribcage and follow the curve of the bone all the way down. Staying in contact with the bone is what leaves nothing behind.

Tip

Slicing on the bird gives you short, uneven pieces. Off the bird you control the thickness of every slice and each one keeps a strip of skin.

Used in this step: Boning knife

Step 7: Get the Side Meat Too

3:00

This is the cut most people skip, and it is a real amount of meat.

With the fork holding the breast steady, take the knife low along the side of the ribcage, lower than feels natural. There is a pocket of meat down at the base of the breast that comes away in one piece if you go far enough round.

Tip

The little nugget of dark meat in the hollow of the back near the thigh is the oyster. Two per bird, and they are the best bite on it.

Step 8: Split the Drumstick From the Thigh

3:14

Lay the leg skin side down on the board. There is a line of fat running across it that marks the knee joint almost exactly.

Cut down through that line with the boning knife and the drumstick separates from the thigh cleanly.

Tip

Put the drumsticks on the platter whole. They look good, they hold heat well, and somebody at the table always wants one.

Step 9: Carve the Thigh Meat Off the Bone

3:38

Stop thinking about pulling the meat off the bone and think about cutting around the bone instead. It is a small change that keeps the thigh meat in one intact slab rather than shredded.

Feel for the bone with the knife tip, then trace along both sides of it, staying tight. The meat lifts away as a single flap.

Tip

Thigh meat is the richest part of the bird. Carve it properly and it goes on the platter looking as good as the breast.

Step 10: Flip the Thigh and Slice It

4:04

Turn the boneless thigh over so the skin side is up. What was an awkward shape is now a flat, even piece you can cut into tidy slices.

Go back to the long slicing knife for this. Angle the blade so a little skin ends up on each slice.

Tip

Slice across the grain, not with it. Cutting across the muscle fibres shortens them and the meat eats far more tender.

Used in this step: Slicing knife

Step 11: Slice the Breast Across

4:54

Set the half-breast skin side up and cut straight down across it in even slices, about a centimetre thick.

Keep the slices consistent and angle the knife so each one carries a piece of the browned skin. Fan them onto a warm platter with the drumsticks and thigh slices, and keep the carcass. There is easily a meal of soup or turkey tetrazzini still on it.

Tip

Warm the platter first. Turkey goes cold fast once it is off the bone, and a cold platter is what makes the difference between hot and lukewarm at the table.

Used in this step: Slicing knife, Warmed serving platter

Products Used

Turkey carving knife setView Carving forkView Boning knifeView Kitchen shearsView Carving board with juice grooveView Slicing knifeView Warmed serving platterView

Tools we recommend

Your Guide

Williams Sonoma

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