How To Carve A Turkey

with the holiday close at hand we're all looking forward to the tradition of roast turkey and all its trimmings this is the year of the handy turkey you know much easier to get out of the store and into the car and so forth part of the excitement of the holiday feast is watching the host carve his way through the turkey to help make this a success at your home house we're going to get some firsthand points today on how to car from culinary export Miss Martha Logan she'll be talking to us on the phone direct from the kitchens of Swift and Company in Chicago but first let's look at this short film on that will cover all the key points the turkey should be placed so that the breast will be to the Carver left with the tip of the knife cut the strip of skin holding the legs in place now press the drumstick out Ward with a fork or your left hand place the knife between the thigh and the body and Flash through the skin to the Joint keep that outward pressure constant while you're making this cut and the entire leg will separate from the body the upper thigh joint will come out so that you can cut it free with your knife that was easy wasn't it so is this next cut separating the thigh from the drumstick you make your first cut in the angle between the two just press the edge of your knife in until you feel the joint now for the breast take your fork put it firmly into the wing and press it away from the body with your knife make a long cut just above the wing joint cutting in all the way to the Bone when that cut is made the breast is ready for carving start about halfway up the breast and slice straight down toward that Cut Above the wing joint when your knife reaches the cut the slices will fall free each succeeding slice of white meat is started higher on the breast until the crest of the bone is reached so there you are and it looks very simple doesn't it now let's talk to Miss Martha Logan directly from the kitchens of Swift and Company in Chicago and how are you Martha I'm just fine thank you how are you well it's a pleasure to talk to you in Chicago today how's the weather there oh it's kind of cold and we have a few snow flurries well we don't have the snow Flur but it's a little chilly here now I want to ask a few questions Martha all right is it good practice to start Cur carving the turkey as soon as you take it out of the oven no it's best to let the turkey rest as we say for about 15 to 20 minutes Martha do you think that um the wife should always ask her husband to carb the turkey of course she should carving you know is a skill that's very easily acquired of course a sharp knife and a long tying Fork will help and it also helps if the host is put to the turkey on a large enough platter that gives the host a little room to work in I see now my wife always asked me to do the carving but I generally butcher it up quite well what if we managed to eat it just the same so now let's have these first pictures that you're going to describe the first one is on the screen now all right this one shows the first step in carving a turkey and that's removing the drumstick you place the knife between the thigh and the body of the turkey and cut through the skin right down to the Joint now separate the leg uh from the body by pressing that leg outward with the knife during cutting and by bending the leg back away from the body with the fork or with your left hand now the next picture shows the trick to slicing the white meat on the breast of the bird insert the fork firmly into the upper wing and press the wing away from the body and with the knife make a long cut just above the wing bo uh joint right through to the body frame and in this next uh next picture you make the First Slice you begin halfway up the breast and slice downward with straight even strokes and when the knife reaches the cut that you made above the wing bone the slice of white meat will fall free and now this last picture shows how you continue to slice the white meat you begin the next cut at a higher Point each time and continue to slice the breast meat until uh you reach the crest of the bone and that's how easy it is to carve a turkey in just four simple steps Martha I know it sounds very simple and I don't have too much trouble with the breast but how about slicing the dark meat on the leg well that's a simple matter too you can just uh disjoint the thigh uh from the drumstick and then uh slice the dark meat right uh on a separate plate of course now I have a couple of basic questions Martha and the first one is how do you know what size turkey to buy for your family well there's a very simple guide to follow and that is to allow 1 and 1/2 lbs of the ready to stuffed turkey and 1 and A2 to 2 lbs of the already stuffed turkey per person then if you have a family of four you'd only need about a 10 PB bird do you have to account for the drift or the loss from bone oh there's a c a small uh loss but not too much and uh this guide that I gave you the one and a half pound uh of the ready to stuff turkey per person that allows for plenty of nibbles and good secondary dishes well that's one of my problems Mara and that they just two of us and if I buy a 10 or 12 pound bir I'm going to have turkey for a week oh well uh it's a good idea if you have a freezer to freeze the uh leftovers and then uh wait for a week or two before you have some of those delicious second day dishes now one other thing Martha how do you know when the turkeyy is done just right well there are two tests that you can make one is uh the pinch test we call it you cover your fingers with a paper towel and pinch the thickest portion of the drumstick and the turkey is done if that meat feels very soft now the other test is with the meat thermometer which you insert into the thigh muscle next to the body cavity this is the portion of the turkey that's last to cook done and the temperature should read about 185° for the turkey to be taken from the oven well Martha you've been very very informed and I want to thank you a million for being with me this afternoon and I hope you have a very happy holiday well thank you and the same to you and all your viewers and goodbye now goodbye now if you would like to learn how to carve a turkey correctly call or write for a free copy turkey carving is a gentlemanly art and it's yours free all you do is dial Trinity 21141 or 8 72114 immediate after the broadcast and we will be happy to mail this to you and it shows you the various steps to take in carving a turkey it make you much better Carver I know it did me this is a uh complimentary of Swift and Company to get your copy be sure and dial Trinity 21141 put your name and address on a card and address it to Turkey carving W AI Atlanta Georgia now we will go to the booth this portion of your home show is sent your way with the good wishes of Atlanta flooring company highlighting the Christmas floor show of gifts for the lady of the house men stay tuned for a heart-to-heart talk with Bill Cleveland he has some terrific ideas that will keep the sparkle of Christmas alive in your home all year long