The Christmas turkey. The Sunday roast. A tender ribeye. The dish worked out perfectly, and then the carving begins. One wrong move and it looks as if there has been a fight. You prevent that with carving.

Carving is cutting cooked meat or poultry neatly into slices or pieces, so every slice looks equally good. It comes down to four things: resting, a sharp knife, the direction of the grain and a calm movement.

What is carving?

When carving you cut a cooked piece of meat, such as a roast, chicken, turkey or duck, into neat portions. You often do it at the table or just before serving.

You need:

a long, sharp knife, preferably a carving knife;
a fork to hold the meat;
a steady cutting board, preferably with a juice groove;
a warm plate or dish for the slices.

Why do you let the meat rest?

During cooking the meat contracts and pushes the juices towards the centre. If you cut straight away, those juices run onto your board. After resting they redistribute and the meat stays juicier.

Count on 5 to 15 minutes for ordinary roasts, and longer, up to about 30 minutes, for a large turkey. Lay a piece of foil loosely over it. Then it doesn’t cool too fast.

First let it rest, only then cut.

How to carve a roast

Step 1 – Let the meat rest

Put the meat on a board and cover it loosely. Use the time to finish the gravy or the side dishes.

Step 2 – Make the board steady

Put a damp cloth under the board so it doesn’t slide.

Step 3 – Find the direction of the grain

Look at which way the fibres run. You cut across the grain. That makes the slices more tender, because the fibres are then short.

Step 4 – Hold the meat

Insert the fork firmly in the meat, well away from the knife, and keep the fingers of your other hand away from the blade.

Step 5 – Cut with long, calm strokes

Use the full length of the blade and don’t saw. Cut slices about 0.5 to 1 cm thick. Let the knife do the work.

Step 6 – Serve straight away

Lay the slices on a warm dish and pour a little gravy or the collected juices over them. Cover if you don’t serve right away.

Carving poultry

With a whole chicken or turkey you work differently from a roast:

Cut through the skin between leg and breast and pull the leg outward until the joint comes free.
Cut off the leg and divide it at the joint into thigh and drumstick.
Cut into the breast from top to bottom in the middle and follow the breastbone down.
Remove the whole breast fillet, or cut it into slices across.
Take off the wings and the remaining meat and arrange everything on the dish.

Preferably cut the breast into slices across the grain. Serve the thighs whole or cut from the bone in pieces.

Which meat, which knife?

Meat	Cutting direction	Tip
Beef roast	across the grain	rest for 10 to 15 minutes
Steak or ribeye	across the grain, at an angle	slice into strips before serving
Chicken	breast across, thighs off the bone	cut the breast only after resting
Turkey	breast in sloping slices	rest for 20 to 30 minutes
Pork tenderloin	across, in slices of 1 cm	use tongs, not a fork

Carving different kinds of meat

Beef: sirloin, ribeye and roast beef

With beef you mainly watch the direction of the grain. Cut a fried sirloin or ribeye at an angle and across the grain into strips of about 1 cm. Slice roast beef into thin, even slices of 3 to 5 mm, preferably when it has cooled a little.

Duck

With a duck breast you score the skin in a diamond pattern beforehand, so the fat can render. Let the breast rest after frying and cut it at an angle into slices of about 0.5 cm.

Ham and cured meat

For thin slices you use a long, flexible knife or a slicing machine. Place the piece steadily and cut in one long stroke, without sawing.

The right knife and the right board

A carving knife is long and narrow, usually 20 to 30 cm, and glides easily through cooked meat. A knife with hollow indentations in the blade (a Granton knife) releases the slices more easily. Sharpen the knife beforehand or run it over a honing steel.

Use a large board with a juice groove, so the moisture doesn’t run across the counter. Wipe the knife clean in between if there is a lot of fat on it.

Serving and keeping warm

Meat cools quickly. So serve it on warm plates and lay the slices overlapping on a preheated dish. Pour the gravy over just before serving. If you want to wait longer, cover it loosely with foil and put it in an oven at about 60 °C for no more than 15 to 20 minutes.

The most common mistakes

You cut straight after cooking

The juices run over the board and the meat turns dry.

Solution: let the meat rest first.

You cut with the grain

The slices become stringy and tough.

Solution: cut across the grain.

Your knife is blunt

A blunt knife tears and squeezes out the juices.

Solution: use a sharp carving knife.

You saw

Sawing gives rough edges.

Solution: use long, calm strokes.

You make the slices too thick

Coarse pieces are harder to chew.

Solution: cut slices of 0.5 to 1 cm.

What do you do with the leftovers and the bones?

Leftover meat is not waste. Use it in a sandwich, salad or oven dish. Simmer the carcass or the bone into a strong stock.

That teaches you two things at once: cutting neatly and making smart use of what you have left.

Practise with a chicken breast

Do you want to learn carving? Start with a roasted chicken breast.

Roast or bake a chicken fillet until cooked and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Put it on the board and find the direction of the grain.
Cut it at an angle into slices of about 1 cm.
Lay the slices side by side and look at the cross-section.

You see straight away whether the slices are even and whether the meat stayed juicy.

Carving a whole turkey: the schedule

Carving a turkey at the table feels like a performance. With a fixed order and good preparation it becomes a matter of calmly doing it.

Take the turkey out of the oven and put it on a board with a juice groove. Cover loosely with foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
Make the gravy and in the meantime warm the plates and vegetables.
Cut off the legs: cut through the skin between leg and breast, bend the leg outward and cut through the joint.
Divide the leg into drumstick and thigh. Cut the meat from the thigh into slices.
Release the breast: cut down along the breastbone and work the fillet loose.
Slice the breast across the grain into slanting slices of about 0.5 to 1 cm.
Lay everything on a warm dish, pour some gravy over and serve straight away.

When it goes wrong

It happens, even to experienced cooks. These are the usual rescues:

The slices fall apart: the meat is too warm or the knife too blunt. Put the pieces in an oven dish with some gravy and serve them as ‘pulled’ meat.
The meat is dry: pour plenty of warm gravy or stock over it and cover briefly.
The slices are uneven: halve the large pieces and arrange them overlapping on the dish. Nobody sees the difference.
The meat is still too raw: lay the slices in a hot oven dish with gravy and slide them into the oven for 5 minutes.

Carving a roast: the cutting plan

With a roast you choose the direction once and stick to it. Look at where the fibres run, turn the piece if necessary and cut at right angles to them. Hold the piece with a fork at the side, not on top.

Start at the thin end, so you can still correct the first slices, and cut the slices towards you or well away from you, never onto your hand.

The right moment

Only carve when everyone is ready to eat. Meat cools quickly, and a plate that waits too long is a plate that no longer needs to be appreciated. Preferably serve calmly in rounds rather than everything at once on one big dish when it is half cold.

Frequently asked questions about carving

How long should meat rest?

A steak about 5 minutes, a roast 10 to 15 minutes and a large turkey up to about 30 minutes.

How do I see the direction of the grain?

Look at the fine lines in the meat. They run in one direction. Cut at right angles to them.

Can I carve meat in advance?

It can be done, but it dries out faster. Preferably carve shortly before serving. If it really has to be earlier, lay the slices in an oven dish with some gravy and cover.

Why does my meat fall apart?

Usually the meat is too hot or the knife too blunt. Let it rest and use a sharp knife.

What do you do with the bone?

Simmer the bone into a stock or use it for a gravy.

Carving at a glance

Let meat rest for 5 to 15 minutes, a large turkey longer.
Use a long, sharp knife.
Cut across the grain.
Make the board steady with a damp cloth underneath.
Cut with long, calm strokes, without sawing.
Serve on a warm dish with the gravy.
Use the carcass and leftovers for stock and sandwiches.

Remember this

Carving doesn’t start with the knife but with the resting of the meat. After that it comes down to control: a sharp knife, the right direction and a steady hand.