You may exhale with relief once you have carefully chosen a turkey, taken days to defrost it, seasoned it well, and cooked it. But first you have to carve the bird before you could pour yourself some warm apple cider or a glass of wine. And for some, cutting down a 10-to 20-pound turkey so that there are plenty, tidy portions for everyone may be just as difficult as cooking it.
For Kelly Bronze Turkeys, a turkey farmer with U.K.-based headquarters, such is not the case. Managing director Kelly simply so happens to be the Guinness World Records holder for World’s Fastest Turkey Carver since he broke down a bird in just three minutes and nineteen seconds. Kelly is not as fast as you should be this Thanksgiving, but he has some easy turkey carving advice.
Do not let yourself be intimidated.
To be honest, home cooks seldom often are cooking a 10- to 20-pound whole animal for dinner. While selecting seasonings causes enough tension, making sure the bird is defrosted in time and ensuring you have enough to feed all of your guests helps to alleviate some of the concerns associated with cutting such a big cut of meat. Kelly advises adopting the correct attitude even before you reach for the knife from the drawer. ” Just consider it as a large chicken,” he advises. “Most people have cooked and dealt with a chicken.” Actually, he advises cooking a chicken or two before Thanksgiving so you have time to hone his technique if you’re not certain about your carving ability. This means that your visitors will view you as a professional by Thanksgiving and you will be cool as cranberry sauce.
Cut using a sharp, precise knife.
Usually measuring ten inches or more, most specialist carving blades are somewhat large. Kelly advises keeping with a smaller knife, as long as it’s sharp, even when their size and sharpness would make cutting through big, bone-in roasts easier. He carves with a roughly 5-inch Japanese Kin blade, but he advises using a sharp go-to chef’s knife as long as that is what you usually use. He says, “You want a shorter blade than the large, long carving knife blade to take the meat off the bone.” Take the time to hone your knife before bringing it to the turkey; a dull knife will also make carving the bird far more difficult and cause shredding.