Carving – the easy way to delicious portions

The thought of carving a bird in front of hungry family and friends can be stressful to say the least.

Follows these simple rules to make carving hassle–free.

Remember, it can be much easier (and nicer for diners) if you carve in advance, then set the meat out on a warmed platter that can be brought directly to the table.

Carving a whole duck

To get the best eat from your duck and the best yield of meat from it, the way to carve a duck is to remove the legs and breasts and then slice separately.  Follow the instructions below for a step by step guide.

You will need

• A sharp carving knife
• A carving fork
• Carving tray

1. The first step is to remove the legs, to do this choose which leg you want to tackle first, hold the duck on the carving tray with a carving fork with the chosen leg facing you and with the carving knife, slice through the skin between the leg and breast.
2. Pull the leg away from the breast with the carving knife to exaggerate the separation
3. Next, holding the leg with the fork, cut through the meat between the leg and breast coming as close to the breast as possible without cutting the breast, until you meet bone.
4. Now you have to disconnect the thigh bone, do this by twisting the leg away using the fork and levering the thigh bone out of the joint with the knife.  This is a bit fiddly but with practice it will come easily.
5. Repeat this process on the other leg and set aside both legs for later
6. Time for the breast fillets.  Find the breast bone protruding slightly down the centre on the breasts and slide the knife all the way around between the fillet and the breast bone, securing the duck with the fork in the opposite fillet.
7. You should now be able to pull back the partially separated fillet from the bone and as you do, loosen and cut any remaining meat away until the whole fillet is removed.
8. Repeat for the opposite fillet.
9. Now you should have all the meat removed from the bones.
10. Slice the breast into segments
11. The legs can be served whole or by cutting out the triangular section between the two leg bones and slicing this, then pulling the rest of the meat off with a fork.

Carving a goose

1. The best way to carve a goose is to follow the instructions above for duck. Remove the legs first, then the breasts.

Carving a turkey

Carve the dark meat first as it doesn't dry out as quickly. Also, if you're not going to eat the entire bird, keep the remaining meat in large pieces so that it stays moist.

1. With the turkey on a cutting board, gently pull the drumsticks away from the body and cut through the thigh at the joint (find the right place by feeling around with the knife for where there is no bone).
2. Hold the leg up by the drumstick end and slice the meat off in a downward motion.

There are two ways of carving breats meat. Carving from the whole bird is traditional, however, you may get better portions by choosing the method preferred by restaurants and removing the breasts whole and then carving them, this method gives a better meat texture as well as being a little easier too!

Either, carve the breast from the whole bird:

1. Towards the bottom of the turkey (just above the wing joint), cut horizontally into the breast until you meet the breastbone in the middle.
2. Starting from the outside edge of the breast, cut vertically from the top until you meet the horizontal cut you just made.
3. Each slice will easily slip off, ready for stacking on a platter or serving directly to your guests.

Or, remove breast, then carve:

1. Cut the meat directly down the breastbone that runs along the centre of the turkey.
2. As you gently work your way to the bottom, the entire breast should slip off as one piece.
3. Lay the breast on a cutting board skin-side up and slice into serving pieces.