How to bone a turkey
Advertiser Staff
Photos by Jeff Widener
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1. Put the turkey, breast side down, on a work surface with the neck end away from you, and with a sharp knife, cut through the skin in a line along the backbone. |
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2. Working with one side of the turkey at a time, keeping the knife as close to the bone as possible, cut and scrape the meat free from the central bone structure. Find the wing joint and cut it and the surrounding white tendons to free it from the central bone structure. |
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3. With your thumb, press down on the thigh joint to dislodge it. With the knife, cut it and the surrounding tendons to free it from the central bone structure. |
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4. Continue to cut and scrape the meat from the bones, being careful no to cut the skin when separating the breast meat from the bone. Bone the other side of the turkey in the same manner until the central bone structure is completely exposed except for a thin seam along the breastbone. |
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5. Holding the central bone structure up, cut the remaining breast section free from the bones, cutting into cartilage slightly to keep from breaking the skin. |
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6. Spread the turkey open. Fill with stuffing and sew shut with cotton thread. |
Source: Gourmet magazine, November 1986
