How to Debone a Turkey
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means you need to prepare delicious roasted turkey once again. Many hosts want to serve the stuffed and boneless type to make them easier to carve, but they don’t know how to debone the turkey themselves. If you want to try this, don’t worry; here are some easy steps for you to follow.
What You’ll Need:
Turkey
7 or 8-inch boning knife
Sharp kitchen shears
Cutting board
Cotton cooking string
Procedure:
Prepare the rest of the stuffing first. If you’re using vegetables, cut them up before you touch the turkey to reduce the risk of spreading salmonella. Wash your hands using antibacterial soap.
deboned turkey
If your turkey is frozen, defrost it first. When it’s thawed enough, rinse it under cold water, then pat dry. Transfer to the cutting board. To keep the turkey from slipping while you debone it, slip a clean towel under it, and over the board.
Cut the giblets and the neck from the turkey using your kitchen shears, and set them aside, if you want. You can use them for stock or soup later, along with the other bones.
Remove the turkey’s backbone using the shears or the boning knife. You can also save this bone for soup later on.
Using the boning knife’s tip, carefully carve the right side of the turkey’s ribcage, going downwards. You should separate the bone from the flesh. Do not slice through the backside breast skin, though.
Carefully snap the wing joint from the turkey’s breastbone, then cut through the cartilage in that area. The bones in the turkey wings should be left, for presentation.
Keep cutting, down the ribcage and around the wishbone, separating the meat from the ribs down to the thigh joint. Make sure you don’t pierce or cut through the skin that connects the two breast halves.
Grasp the turkey leg with one hand. Use the other to find the upper thigh joint, the one that connects the breast with the other hand. Press this forward, your thumb at the joint. At the same time, pull the turkey towards you using the leg’s bottom. Break the joint, then cut through any connecting cartilage, but not through the skin.
Carve the turkey meat at the thigh flat bone’s top side, then remove the bone. Carefully scape the meat there, but leave the skin untouched. Pop the joint, then cut through the cartilage again, and remove the upper thigh bone. The lower leg one should stay, for presentation. (Tips on how to carve a turkey)
Repeat the process on the other side of the turkey. Be careful when working around the breastbone, so the skin will be intact and attached.
When the turkey’s deboned, pile the stuffing. Afterwards, bring the two sides together, and sew using a cotton cooking string or metal skewer. When you bake it, the breast side should be facing up, while the seam should be down.
Wash your hands when you’re done, to prevent spreading bacteria.