How to Carve a Turkey Breast Into Perfect Slices, According to Our Test Kitchen

Plus how to steer clear of the most common turkey breast-slicing mistake.

Whether you’re hosting a small Thanksgiving—and don’t want more leftover turkey than you can polish off within the food-safe timespan of 4 days—or are searching for a centerpiece for a dinner party or Sunday dinner, turkey breast is a brilliant option. It cooks fairly quickly, especially if you opt to pressure-cook the meat. (You can also roast or slow-cook it with stellar results.) And it’s sized right when you’re not welcoming 8 or more adults to your table; a 4-pound turkey breast should generously feed a family of 4, plus offer one round of leftovers per person.

Turkey breast is a savvy solution to reduce the risk of food waste while keeping up with the holiday tradition—or simply serving an easy yet elegant entrée any time of year.

To help make the process less daunting, we’ve already covered how to select, thaw, and cook turkey breast. However, all of that effort can be seriously diminished if you don’t know how to carve a turkey breast. So we’ve tapped Sarah Brekke, M.S., Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen culinary specialist to help guide us through how to carve a bone-in turkey breast and boneless turkey breast so we’ll all be treated to Instagram-worthy, juicy slices. We’re also dishing up ideas for how to use leftover turkey breast, if you’re lucky enough to have some.

What You’ll Need to Carve Turkey Breast

Gather your tools; you’ll want a cutting board, chefs knife or slicing knife, and carving fork.

• A large meat cutting board. Ideally, this would have a “moat” around the outside rim to collect any turkey juices that might drip out, but any cutting board will do.

• A chef’s knife or slicing knife. A large chef’s knife is Brekke’s preferred tool for the task. If the blade seems dull, take a moment to sharpen the knife. If you own and are comfortable with an electric knife, feel free to use that if you like.

• A carving fork or large, sturdy dinner fork. This is helpful to keep the turkey breast steady as you slice.

• A cooked turkey breast. The first step for how to carve a turkey breast is to follow your favorite turkey breast recipe, such as slow cooker Gluten Free Greek Turkey Breast, Pressure Cooker Turkey Breast, or roasted Citrus Marinated Turkey Breast with Cilantro Dipping Sauce. Regardless of the recipe you follow or size of the turkey breast you start with, it’s important to check its temperature. Cook turkey breast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast registers 165° F. Once the meat hits this mark, you’re ready to proceed through our easy how to cook turkey breast instructions.

How to Carve a Turkey Breast

Reserve the drippings to whip up a gravy, if desired, which is a fantastic task to tackle as you do another mandatory one: allow the turkey breast to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Tent the turkey with foil to keep it warm during the process.

Why wait? As meat cooks, the juices rise to the surface. If you slice the meat right away, the juices will seep out onto the cutting board rather than being delivered to your plate inside each juicy slice. This rest time lets the muscle fibers to chill out and allow the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

Before we dive in, Brekke wants to address one very important detail: “The most common mistake I see people make when carving is trying to slice a turkey breast while it’s still on the bone.”

This can lead to ragged slices and more waste. Your best bet for how to carve a bone-in turkey breast is to make it boneless before you really start slicing.

How to Carve a Bone-In Turkey Breast

Place the turkey breast bone-side up on a cutting board. Locate the breastbone, then place the blade of your knife just to the outside of the bone. Using your knife, run the blade from one edge of the turkey breast to the other, tracing as closely along the breast bone as possible. Repeat again on the other side to yield two boneless turkey breasts.

Save the breastbone and any bits of meat still on the bone to make turkey stock for soup, stews, or turkey gravy.

Related: The Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes From Classic to Creative

How to Carve a Boneless Turkey Breast

Now that you have cut two breasts, place the breasts skin-side up on a cutting board. Using a knife, slice across the grain into slices of your desired thickness.

Test Kitchen Tip: Try not to saw back and forth as you work your way down the meat. Aim for long, clean motions as you slice from top to bottom.

Repeat until the entire turkey breast is sliced, then transfer to a platter and enjoy.

Now that you’re a pro at how to slice turkey breast, you can confidently conquer every step of the poultry prep. Using our Test Kitchen’s tips for how to carve a turkey breast, you’ll score clean, juicy slices that are definitely holiday- or dinner party-worthy. If your table is anything like ours, the slices get snapped up quickly. But if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, we suggest putting them on display in delicious fashion in Garden Turkey Melts, Tomatillo Turkey Chili with Spelt, Turkey Bacon Salad, or Turkey Dinner Shepherd's Pie.

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