One of my favorite pastimes during law school in DC was attending the free events at the Library of Congress. One program was called Renaissance Man and featured talks on flower arranging, basic car mechanics knot tying and meat carving. It was there that my passion for turkey carving was ignited. It made me designated carver for many years, including multiple turkey carving at Esalen Thanksgivings.
Here are the basics :
Forget the fancy carving
sets and (shudder) electric knives. A sharp, short
(5-6") blade works best.
Carving
birds is a contact sport - use your hands.
Remove
the entire thigh as a unit ( and wing) before removing the entire breast.
NEVER
carve the breasts the way most magazines show it. This violates the basic rule
of meat carving - ALWAYS cut against the grain.
The
proper way to cook the bird is breast down, though that doesn't make for the
classic "pretty picture".
It
is that simple.
Most of all, enjoy the process, appreciate all the efforts of the farm workers, butchers, truck drivers, grocery folks and cooks who make the meal possible and have a very Happy Thanksgiving !!
Most of all, enjoy the process, appreciate all the efforts of the farm workers, butchers, truck drivers, grocery folks and cooks who make the meal possible and have a very Happy Thanksgiving !!
Here
is the best video I could find on topic. It is pretty much spot-on.
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