How to Carve a Turkey

Carving a turkey is one of those tasks that seems to be easy until it is your job to do it. All eyes are upon you and somehow in a room full of hungry friends and relatives who are anxiously waiting to eat and becoming cranky, it becomes all the more difficult to carve a turkey or chicken. Don't let the heckling rowdy crowd make you nervous - you can cut a turkey like a suave pro with these simple tips and steps:

1. In advance, make sure you have a sharp knife (one that is preferably about a 10 inch blade that is 1 ¼ inch wide, if it is not sharp, you will need to use a sharpening stone, as in step two. If your knife is sharp, skip to step three.

2. To use a sharpening stone, hold the stone in your dominant hand between your thumb and index finger, and the knife in your other hand with the blade away from you. Stroke the stone along the blade; angle it facing away from you. Then stroke the stone along the edge of the blade from base to tip. Hold it at a 15 degree angle to the blade. Take your time with this task, it is simple to do but dangerous to rush or get distracted, especially with a house full of people and some celebratory drinking taking place. Now with your sharp knife, proceed to step three.

3. Allow the turkey to cool as much as possible, even up to 30 minutes to allow the juices to settle to make it easier to carve.

4. Have a plate large enough to hold the carved meat to serve and a serving fork to help you move pieces onto the serving plate.

5. Wash your hands.

6. If you are left-handed, you may be more comfortable following steps 7 - 11 in reverse or following the instructions for carving a chicken.

7. Begin by cutting the leg and thigh by finding the joint on the underside of the bird. You want to cut through the joint, not the bone. Place this on the plate.

8. Cut this piece into a drumstick and thigh by slicing through the joint. Slice some of the dark meat from the drumstick and thigh pieces by slicing parallel to the bone.

9. Cut the wing off by finding the joint and slicing through it.

10. Repeat with the other leg.

11. For the breast meat, use long, even slices cutting parallel to the rib cage. If you go with the grain of the meat it will make for easier cutting. Try to cut even, thick cuts so that the slices underneath that do not break apart.