Here are easy directions on how to debone and cook a turkey. I have deboned and cooked a Thanksgiving turkey for the past five years. Additionally, I have prepared deboned and stuffed turkey breast several times throughout the year for special Sunday night dinners. Follow these step-by-step instructions to create a perfect and impressive dish.
If you’re wondering how toor the upcoming holidays, this guide will walk you through each step.
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Helpful tip:
Begin with a sharp boning knife. Some chefs prefer a flexible boning knife, but I used a fairly rigid one. The sharper the blade, the easier it will be to debone the turkey. Additionally, ensure that the entire turkey is clean and dry. Dry the turkey thoroughly with a paper towel after rinsing and flushing out the cavities with room-temperature water. A slippery turkey will be difficult to debone.
Instructions how to debone and cook the turkey:
Step 1 of how to debone and cook a turkey
Begin by placing the whole turkey on a wooden cutting board with the breast side facing upward. First, remove the wings by breaking the wing joint. Firmly grip the largest wing bone and rotate it until the shoulder joint breaks. Then, cut the wing off using kitchen scissors. Set the wings aside when you’re finished.
Step 2 of how to debone and cook a turkey
Now let’s flip the whole bird over and begin the deboning process. We’ll start with the leg and thigh bones. Feel the thigh bone through the thigh meat. Begin at the hip joint and cut along the thigh bone, continuing down to the leg (also known as the drumstick). Cut along all sides of the bone. This should only take one pass if your chef’s knife is sharp enough. As you work, try to keep the skin intact, as we will use it later to wrap your creation. Next lets insert the sharp knife in the thigh joint and twist the end of the leg to remove it from the bottom of the carcass. Repeat this process on the other side.
Step 3 of how to debone and cook a turkey
In this next step, we will remove the breast meat. Let’s start at the center of the backbone, and cut downward along the rib bones. While cutting along the breast area be careful not to cut the skin. Stop cutting just short of the breast bone. keep cutting alongside the turkey to release all the turkey meat. Next, using the tip of the boning knife cut the ridge of the breastbone just short of the skin. Be careful not to cut the skin. Remove the carcass, and set aside. Next, take a few minutes to remove all the tendons in the dark meat. All these long white strips will need to be removed before you stuff the deboned turkey.
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Step 4 of how to debone and cook a turkey
Let’s get ready to stuff and wrap our deboned turkey. At this point, all the dark meat will be at one end, and the white meat will be at the other. Since there is a significant amount of meat at one end, including the two breast halves, cut the breast halves into thinner cross sections and evenly distribute the breast meat. When we stuff and wrap the turkey, we want the boneless bird to have a cylindrical shape.
Step 5 of how to debone and cook a turkey
Let’s stuff and wrap up our deboned turkey! Next, let’s cut 8 generous lengths of kitchen twine. Lay the kitchen twine underneath the skin, and evenly distribute the twine. Next spread the stuffing along the center of the meat. Try to get the deboned turkey covered with as much skin as possible. Getting the deboned turkey covered with the skin will result in more moist turkey meat. Tie up the boneless turkey as tight as possible.
Step 6 of how to debone and cook a turkey
To roast a deboned turkey, preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast the turkey until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, as measured with an instant-read meat thermometer. During the first hour of roasting, wrap the turkey in foil. To ensure an accurate reading, make sure that the instant-read thermometer is fully inserted into the meat. Cooking time should be approximately one hour for every 5 pounds of turkey.
Stuffing Ingredients:
- One baguette of your favorite bread
- two eggs
- 1/2 chopped onion
- 1/2 chopped green onion
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh chopped Rosemary
- 2Tbsp fresh chopped Thyme
- 1/4 cup Peppadew peppers (optional)
Instructions for the stuffing:
- In a large bowl tear the bread into evenly sized pieces
- Add Rosemary, Thyme, and olive oil and mix with your hands until all the oil is soaked into all the pieces of bread. Add more oil if necessary
- Place on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 400 degrees F until crisp and crunchy
- While your breadcrumbs are toasting saute onion, green pepper, and garlic until the onions are carmelized
- When the breadcrumbs are ready return them to the bowl, and add vegetables.
- Beat the eggs and add to your mixture, and completely mix with your hands or a rubber spatula.
- Your homemade stuffing is now ready to be stuffed in your deboned turkey
Variations for your deboned and stuffed turkey:
As previously mentioned you can use a fresh turkey breast to debone and cook. Simply cut the stuffing recipe in half and follow the deboning instructions without the wings and legs. The delicious outcome will be the same but without dark meat.
Celery, sliced water chestnuts, bacon, or sausage can be added to your stuffing. Any of your favorite ingredients can be added or deleted.
Coating your deboned turkey with melted butter after you remove the foil will add a golden hue to your creation and enhance the flavor of the skin. Your choice
Simmering the bones, carcass, and wings in a few quarts of water for a few hours with a sachet of Rosemary, and Thyme will make a delicious soup. Add a cup of chopped carrots, onion and celery 30 minutes before serving.
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Ingredients
Deboned Turkey
- 1 12 to 20 Lb Fresh Turkey
Stuffing for the Boneless Turkey
- 1 baguette of your favorite bread
- 2 Eggs
- ½ Chopped Onion
- ½ Green Pepper
- 3 Cloves Fresh chopped Garlic
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Fresh chopped Rosemary
- 2 tbsp Fresh chopped Thyme
- ¼ cup Peppadew Peppers
Instructions
Boneless Turkey Stuffing
- In a large bowl tear the bread into evenly sized pieces
- Add Rosemary, Thyme, and olive oil and mix with your hands until all the oil is soaked into all the pieces of bread. Add more oil if necessary
- Place on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 400 degrees F until crisp and crunchy
- While your breadcrumbs are toasting saute onion, green pepper, and garlic until the onions are carmelized
- When the breadcrumbs are ready return them to the bowl, and add vegetables.
- Beat the eggs and add to your mixture, and completely mix with your hands or a rubber spatula.
- Your homemade stuffing is now ready to be stuffed in your deboned turkey
To Debone the Turkey
- Begin by placing the whole turkey on a wooden cutting board with the breast side facing upward. First, remove the wings by breaking the wing joint. Firmly grip the largest wing bone and rotate it until the shoulder joint breaks. Then, cut the wing off using kitchen scissors. Set the wings aside when you’re finished.
- Now let’s flip the whole bird over and begin the deboning process. We’ll start with the leg and thigh bones. Feel the thigh bone through the thigh meat. Begin at the hip joint and cut along the thigh bone, continuing down to the leg (also known as the drumstick). Cut along all sides of the bone. This should only take one pass if your chef’s knife is sharp enough. As you work, try to keep the skin intact, as we will use it later to wrap your creation. Next lets insert the sharp knife in the thigh joint and twist the end of the leg to remove it from the bottom of the carcass. Repeat this process on the other side.
- In this next step, we will remove the breast meat. Let’s start at the center of the backbone, and cut downward along the rib bones. While cutting along the breast area be careful not to cut the skin. Stop cutting just short of the breast bone. keep cutting alongside the turkey to release all the turkey meat. Next, using the tip of the boning knife cut the ridge of the breastbone just short of the skin. Be careful not to cut the skin. Remove the carcass, and set aside. Next, take a few minutes to remove all the tendons in the dark meat. All these long white strips will need to be removed before you stuff the deboned turkey.
- Let’s get ready to stuff and wrap our deboned turkey. At this point, all the dark meat will be at one end, and the white meat will be at the other. Since there is a significant amount of meat at one end, including the two breast halves, cut the breast halves into thinner cross sections and evenly distribute the breast meat. When we stuff and wrap the turkey, we want the boneless bird to have a cylindrical shape.
- Let’s stuff and wrap up our deboned turkey! Next, let’s cut 8 generous lengths of kitchen twine. Lay the kitchen twine underneath the skin, and evenly distribute the twine. Next spread the stuffing along the center of the meat. Try to get the deboned turkey covered with as much skin as possible. Getting the deboned turkey covered with the skin will result in more moist turkey meat. Tie up the boneless turkey as tight as possible.
- To roast a deboned turkey, preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast the turkey until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, as measured with an instant-read meat thermometer. During the first hour of roasting, wrap the turkey in foil. To ensure an accurate reading, make sure that the instant-read thermometer is fully inserted into the meat. Cooking time should be approximately one hour for every 5 pounds of turkey.
