Removing the wishbone before roasting makes carving your turkey easier and improves the presentation of the sliced meat While leaving the wishbone in place won’t affect taste, taking it out ahead of time allows you to carve clean, even slices of breast meat
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn why removing the wishbone is recommended, how to locate and remove it, turkey carving tips, and answers to common questions. Let’s get started!
Why Remove the Turkey Wishbone?
Here are the key benefits to removing the wishbone prior to roasting:
- Allows easy removal of the breast meat lobes in one whole piece
- Lets you slice the breast evenly without the bone obstructing
- Creates a nicer presentation with uniform slices
- Makes carving simpler without having to cut around the bone
- Opens space for stuffing the neck cavity if desired
Once roasted the wishbone will lift out easily, but it’s simpler to remove it when raw. Read on to learn the simple process.
Locating the Wishbone
The wishbone is shaped like a V and located inside the turkey’s chest cavity. Here’s how to find it:
- Turn the uncooked turkey breast-side down.
- Pull back the skin covering the neck cavity to expose the meat.
- Feel along the sides of the cavity for the protruding tip of the wishbone on both sides.
- You can also gently scrape away meat to reveal the bone. It sits very close to the surface.
Once you’ve located the wishbone on both sides, it’s ready to be removed.
Removing the Entire Wishbone
With the right technique, the wishbone lifts out easily:
- Using a sharp paring knife, make a 2-inch vertical slit along each side of the wishbone.
- Cut all the way down to the base of the V-shape.
- Then, begin freeing the bone by gently slicing under it and separating it from the meat.
- Work the knife further under the bone, detaching the cartilage at the base of the V.
- Grip the top of the wishbone and twist slightly to release the bottom.
- Lift out the entire wishbone in one piece.
Be careful not to splinter the bone. Use short, gentle strokes with your knife tip to fully remove the wishbone.
Turkey Carving Tips
With the wishbone gone, you can carve the breast cleanly:
- After roasting, let the turkey rest 20 minutes before carving.
- Using a carving knife, slice the entire breast off in one piece on each side.
- Lay the breast pieces on a cutting board and cut crosswise into even slices.
Removing the lobes whole yields the most uniform slices. Now you can present beautifully carved turkey!
Common Turkey Carving Questions
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions:
Should you remove the wishbone before or after cooking the turkey?
It’s easiest to remove it before cooking while the meat is still flexible versus attempting removal on the cooked, stiff turkey.
Does removing the wishbone affect the flavor at all?
Not at all! It simply makes the carving process easier. Flavor comes from seasoning, brining, basting while cooking, etc.
What’s the best technique for cleanly cutting turkey breast slices?
Cutting off the entire breast lobe and then slicing crosswise lets you cut nice even slices across the grain for tenderness.
How long should you let the cooked turkey rest before carving it?
Let it rest at least 15-20 minutes covered with foil. The juices will redistribute and make carving much easier.
What’s the proper carving order for all parts of the turkey?
First remove the legs and wings, then the breast meat, and finally the small oyster meat near the backbone.
Serving Carved Turkey
Once sliced, keep your turkey moist and full of flavor:
- Place carved turkey on a heated platter. Keep it warm in a low oven.
- Pour pan juices into a gravy boat for passing at the table.
- Arrange slices neatly shingled on the platter for the best presentation.
- Serve dark and white meat slices alongside each other.
- Provide a condiment like cranberry sauce or chutney.
Your perfectly carved turkey is ready for an amazing holiday meal! Removing the wishbone makes achieving picture-perfect slices so much easier.
Is Removing the Wishbone Necessary?
Removing the wishbone is highly recommended for the following reasons:
- Allows the breast to be carved into more uniform and elegant slices
- Prevents the unsightly interruption of even slices by the bone
- Removes an obstruction to easily lifting off the breast in one piece
- Speeds up carving time without working around the bone
- Opens space for stuffing the neck cavity if desired
While not strictly necessary, taking out the wishbone makes the entire roasting and carving process smoother. Many experienced cooks remove it as a regular practice.
Common Wishbone Questions
Here are answers to some additional frequently asked questions:
Does the wishbone affect the taste or texture of the cooked turkey?
No, removing it is solely for carving purposes. The wishbone doesn’t impact flavor or moisture.
Can you remove the wishbone after roasting the turkey instead?
Yes, it should lift out easily on the cooked bird but is simpler to remove when raw and flexible.
What do you do with the wishbone once it’s removed?
Some recipes use it to make broth or stock. Otherwise, it can simply be discarded along with other scraps.
Where exactly is the wishbone located inside the raw turkey?
The wishbone sits in the neck cavity, with the V-shape centered right beneath the neck skin on both sides.
What knife should you use to remove the wishbone?
A small paring knife gives the best control when making careful cuts around the bone.
Learning how to remove the wishbone from your holiday turkey ensures perfect, elegant slices of white breast meat. With the bone gone, carving is much simpler. Follow the steps to easily locate, free, and lift out the wishbone in just a few minutes. Your guests will be impressed with the uniform carved turkey you can now achieve. Remove the guesswork and let us know how wishbone-free carving goes for your next turkey dinner!
Fawn Friday’s Kettlebellers, 2011
OKC California Open Championships
Remove the Wishbone from a Turkey
FAQ
Should you remove the wishbone before cooking?
How do you remove the bone from a turkey?
What happens when you pull a wishbone?
How do you remove a wishbone from a Turkey?
Feel down into the meat until you find the wishbone. Once you’ve found it, Nolan says to gently use your knife to cut around the bone on each side and at the top. “You can then gently pull the wishbone out of the turkey, but be careful not to break it as you do so,” he notes.
What does a turkey wishbone look like?
It doesn’t exactly look like any human bone we learned about in biology class—so what the heck is it and what part of the turkey does it come from?! A wishbone is simply the forked chest bone of a bird. It’s formed from the fusion of two collarbones and is found at the base of a turkey’s sternum, or between its neck and chest.
Is it too late to remove a wishbone from a Turkey?
It’s never too late, YOU CAN DO IT! I’ve been removing the wishbone from my turkey, before roasting, since I learned of this simple trick by working with a caterer years ago. The biggest reason why is that it facilitates the easy removal of each whole lobe from the bone following cooking, allowing even and precise slicing for service.
Can you cut a turkey breast without a wishbone?
However, there is a trick to make this easier: Remove the wishbone. This is done when the bird is raw – and once oven roasted, braised in a pot, or smoked, the breast can be sliced cleanly, in even slices. Removing the wishbone allows for even slicing of the breast of a chicken, turkey, or other poultry.