Cutting a whole fresh turkey is nothing to fret about. It is easy when you take it a step at a time.
Cutting up a whole turkey is much cheaper than buying a ground turkey or an already cut-up turkey.
“In this article, I’ll show you how easy it is to cut up a whole raw turkey following these easy steps.”
Cutting up a whole uncooked turkey is easy to do in 6 steps.
How to Cut Up A Whole Raw Turkey In Pieces
Step 1: Unwrap Turkey:
Doing this part in the kitchen sink is best because there will most likely be leakage, and it will be much easier to clean and rinse off at the sink.
Let’s start the process by unhooking the legs and taking out all the filings inside the turkey.
After this process, it is best to wash your sink with some disinfecting soap.
Step 2: Loosen up the Leg Joints:
Feel for the piece of skin holding the leg and turkey together, and slice through that by running your knife across it until it loosens up.
Pressing the leg down will separate everything else until only the joint holds the leg to the body.
Cut across the joint, and the leg will pop out, making it easy for you to remove the portion altogether. Repeat the same process on both sides.
Step 3: Separate the Thighs from the Drumsticks:
The leg you removed in step 2 consists of both the thigh and the drumsticks. So, to separate both, feel along to find the joint and slice through. This joint is softer, so you would have no issue dividing the joints.
Step 4: Detach The Wings:
Place the turkey on its back and pull each wing away from the body.
Pull the wing and begin cutting with your knife. Cut through the skin and joint till the wing is detached completely. Repeat the process for each wing.
Tip: You may still decide to divide your wings into three sections following these tips:
- To get the drummette cut through the elbow joint
- To get the middle part from the wing tip, separate it at the joint.
P.S: If you divide the wings into three parts, the wingtip won’t have much meat, but you can use it for meat stock.
Step 5: Cut The Breast:
You remove the breast from the remaining part of the turkey by cutting through the rib cage from the tail to the neck on both sides of the turkey.
Tip 1: To split the breast into two halves, cut along the breastbone through the bone and the meat.
Tip 2: To debone the breasts, cut along the edges of both the breastbone and wishbone, and then using swiping strokes, cut away the ribs.
Step 6: Focus On The Back:
At this step, all you are left with is the back. You may decide to keep this for soup or turkey broth.
How to Cut Up A Raw Turkey Video
A video of how to cut up a raw turkey explains things even better.
In Conclusion.
Cutting the turkey into pieces will allow the meat to cook evenly and drastically decrease the cooking time of a whole turkey.
It is also not much harder to do than cutting up a chicken into 8 pieces.
Preparation for the cut-up turkey is the same as a whole turkey – brine, butter, baste, and season as you will.
Go ahead and cook and remember to pack the turkey with foil when it’s removed from the oven. Let the meat chill for 30 minutes before serving.
If you are not using all the fresh cuts at once, you can carefully wrap them and keep them in the freezer.
Robert Chill
Robert Chill loves to cook on BBQs and grills and uses all types of recipes and techniques to cook some awesome food. With his experience, he can share many reviews, tips, and ideas on how to use any grill. You can read more about him here