I recently cured and smoked 4 turkeys for Thanksgiving (http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/130754/4-turkey-thanksgiving-smoke), of which 1 of them is for my family (me and Linda).
I just cut up mine and took some Qview of the process and will try to explain them for you.
First, the BIRD:
Removing the wing - pull out from the body and cut just under it to expose the joint:
break the wing at the joints, or just cut through them:. The first section on the left is the Drummette, the middle section is the Wingette, and the last on the right is the Tip. Not much on the tip, usually give them to the dog, she loves them!
Remove the wing on the other side, process the same.
Then, pull the leg out and cut through the seam and push down on it and lift underneath it to expose the hip joint:
cut the leg off.
There is a little meaty chunk of meat coming off the backbone; remove this. This is the "Oyster" and is like the tenderloin; delicious!
Then, remove the other leg the same way. Once they and the oysters are removed, the backbone should look like this:
Now, just break that off, and it would look like this:
what's left? The breast section:
Turn it around and cut down each side of the back bone as close as you can, and remove:
Now, grab both sides and press open and down on the counter, breaking it apart as much as possible:
If you take your knife and outline the keel bone, pressing it more until the keel bone separates so you can grab it with your fingers and pull it out. You may have to cut through the cartilage at the top of the keel bone to loosen it. Remove the keel bone. (shown pulled up but not free):
Now, separate the two halves. Use your big knife as you will have to cut through the wishbone (or you can remove that separately first to keep whole):
Now, take each half and remove the rib section. Stay close to the bone, and you will have to work around the clavicle (and wishbone, if left in)The closer you stay, the more boneless breast meat you will have:
(You can see the clavicle sticking out). There's still meat to knaw off these bones, or save them for soup or stew to boil up, also.
Once finished, you now have 2 boneless breast halves to slice or chunk!
You have two drumsticks:
and two thighs:
And two wings!
The waste is breast ribs, back bone, 2 pc, wing tips, and any further processing you desire (boning out the thighs, removing wing bones, boning out the drumsticks, etc.) I call it "waste" but it is just carcass; you can save all that and use it in stock, boil up, etc. so no part goes to 'waste'! This is a basic way to cut up a turkey or chicken or any bird.
Hope this helps, PM me or write to [email protected] if you have any further questions!
I just cut up mine and took some Qview of the process and will try to explain them for you.
First, the BIRD:
Removing the wing - pull out from the body and cut just under it to expose the joint:
break the wing at the joints, or just cut through them:. The first section on the left is the Drummette, the middle section is the Wingette, and the last on the right is the Tip. Not much on the tip, usually give them to the dog, she loves them!
Remove the wing on the other side, process the same.
Then, pull the leg out and cut through the seam and push down on it and lift underneath it to expose the hip joint:
cut the leg off.
There is a little meaty chunk of meat coming off the backbone; remove this. This is the "Oyster" and is like the tenderloin; delicious!
Then, remove the other leg the same way. Once they and the oysters are removed, the backbone should look like this:
Now, just break that off, and it would look like this:
what's left? The breast section:
Turn it around and cut down each side of the back bone as close as you can, and remove:
Now, grab both sides and press open and down on the counter, breaking it apart as much as possible:
If you take your knife and outline the keel bone, pressing it more until the keel bone separates so you can grab it with your fingers and pull it out. You may have to cut through the cartilage at the top of the keel bone to loosen it. Remove the keel bone. (shown pulled up but not free):
Now, separate the two halves. Use your big knife as you will have to cut through the wishbone (or you can remove that separately first to keep whole):
Now, take each half and remove the rib section. Stay close to the bone, and you will have to work around the clavicle (and wishbone, if left in)The closer you stay, the more boneless breast meat you will have:
(You can see the clavicle sticking out). There's still meat to knaw off these bones, or save them for soup or stew to boil up, also.
Once finished, you now have 2 boneless breast halves to slice or chunk!
You have two drumsticks:
and two thighs:
And two wings!
The waste is breast ribs, back bone, 2 pc, wing tips, and any further processing you desire (boning out the thighs, removing wing bones, boning out the drumsticks, etc.) I call it "waste" but it is just carcass; you can save all that and use it in stock, boil up, etc. so no part goes to 'waste'! This is a basic way to cut up a turkey or chicken or any bird.
Hope this helps, PM me or write to [email protected] if you have any further questions!
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