How to carve a turkey or a chicken or any fowl for that matter is not that complicated. You will need two things; a big sharp knife and a positive attitude that you are in fact up to the task! Be sure to let the bird rest at least 20-30 minutes before you start carving!

We'll use a roasted chicken for our example today.

If you believe the commercials on TV, you should be able to carve the chicken right at the table and serve it up. Not a good idea! If this is your first go at cutting up a chicken, do it on the kitchen counter, just in case the chicken slips off the plate. You will be avoiding a potential disaster at the table, and you will have much greater confidence standing up while carving the chicken, rather than sitting down.

When carving the chicken leave it on a plate unless you have a carving board which has grooves in it to catch all the juices.

Remove the popup thermometer, (if there is one) and throw it away. They are not reusable.

The first cut is around the top of the leg.

Then turn the chicken and circle around the bottom of the leg.

Now press the leg in the opposite direction of its natural position to pop the leg out of the joint. You may have to get the tip of your knife into the joint to nudge it out.

The leg should now be off the chicken.

Do the same thing to the other leg.

The wing will slice off with one swift cut with the knife.

To carve the breast you could do those nice thin long slices that you see them do on the magazine covers but that actually takes a bit of practice to get right. A much easier way is to slice through the top of the chicken separating the two breasts.

Slide your knife against one side of the bone separating the breast from the chicken.

Make another cut on the bottom of the breast and the whole breast should come off. Do the same thing with the other breast.

Place the breast on a cutting board skin side up. (There will be some bits of chicken left on the carcass. Pick all the chicken off with your (clean) fingers and either add it to the serving platter or save it for tomorrow and make chicken salad!)

Slice the breasts into nice big chunks.

Serve the chicken on a big platter garnished with parsley.

Enjoy!

[2006.Dec.20 Updated title and introduction]

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