How to Butcher a Whole Turkey

Place the thawed turkey on a large cutting board. Start by removing the neck from the turkey's cavity.

Locate the wing joint where it connects to the body. Cut through the skin and meat around the joint, then bend the wing back to pop the joint. Cut through the remaining tendons to fully detach the wing. Repeat for the other wing.

To remove the legs, pull a leg away from the body and slice through the skin between the thigh and the breast. Bend the leg back firmly to dislocate the hip joint, then cut through the joint to separate the entire leg quarter.

To separate the breast from the back, place the turkey cavity-side up. Use a large, sharp knife to cut along one side of the backbone, from the tail to the neck. Repeat on the other side to completely remove the backbone.

Place the breast skin-side down. To fillet the breast meat, make a cut down the center along the breastbone. Carefully run your knife along the rib cage on one side, peeling the breast meat away from the bone. Repeat on the other side to get two boneless breast halves.

Portion the turkey parts into separate bags for freezing and future use.