Who Will Carve the Turkey at Your House?

Thanksgiving Day is such a fun holiday to celebrate with family and friends.   I have fond memories of making the perfect feast while having family and friends gather around the table.   I like to make a large tantalizing turkey, bursting open with cranberry crusted stuffing.  Mashed potatoes are easy in my family, we whip up a giant mound of Hungry Jack potatoes…my favorite.  Vegetables change every year, but the candied marshmallow yams and my Mom’s frozen cranberry salad are a must!

I typically have two main problems to solve every Thanksgiving:

1.  How to get all the food hot to the table all at once.

2.  Who is going to slice the turkey?

With regards to the first question, getting the food hot to the table, I have a solution called Crockpot Hook-Ups, which I will share in another article.

Who Will Carve the Turkey This Year?

As to the question, who will carve the turkey, I have a solution for that too.  In my family, for years, nobody ever likes to carve the turkey.  It’s a lot of work, and after all, who has ever been trained on the proper way to carve a turkey?  I haven’t.  Unless it’s a steak from the grill, the idea of cutting up a turkey…or any bird for that matter,  is less than appealing for my husband.

My Solution

My solution is to use an electric knife.  In my household, we are constantly looking for ways technology can make life easier…or at least more fun.  Introduce an electric knife, and what male wouldn’t jump at the chance to cut up the turkey?   Problem solved.

How Does it Slice?

Beautifully.  You can slice a number of slices right down to the bone, then cut the slices horizontally take the slices off the bone.   If the meat doesn’t slice evenly, it’s the electric knife’s fault, right?  In the meanwhile, you’ve never seen your husband be so precise with his bird cutting.  He’ll likely cut up all the meat to the bone.   Check out this all familiar scene of getting help cutting the bird, and how the electronic knife solves it…

We found the knife worked really well, allowing us to easily cut slices as thin or thick as we wanted. Yes, it’s a bit noisy, but it gets people’s’ attention and signifies that dinner is almost ready!

Now I was expecting to pay at least $20-$30 for an electric knife.  But I found one at my local Walmart for only $11.96…and it was made by Black & Decker, a great brand name.  I was thrilled.

I was impressed with the safety features of the Black & Decker knife.  First, when I unpacked it, there was a safety ring through the plug, which has to be cut first before you can plug it in.  This could deter an over eager child in wanting to try out the knife.

Second, it has a safety latch where you must push a button in before you can begin using it.  Fortunately, Black and Decker listened to previous users and made this lock disengaged after pressing it.  In the past, people needed to hold the button down the whole time.  Once you are done carving, you press the other side of the button and the lock is engaged again.

The knife handle is bigger than it looks like on the package.  It’s a little heavy, but not too heavy.  The handle features a non-slip grip to help you keep the knife steady even after touching a greasy chicken or turkey.  Clean up couldn’t be any easier.  The knife blades slip off easily after pressing both release buttons and you can clean them in sudsy water and dry.  That’s it.

Pros:

• Carves beautifully
• Great safety features – safety locks
• Extra long cord
• Non-slip handle
• Great price
• Easy to clean
• Long 9″ stainless steel blades

Cons:

• Noisy
• A little heavy

A Mom’s Perspective

For $10, you can’t go wrong with this knife.  You’ll have people lined up in your kitchen waiting to carve your turkey, and it brings dignity back to the turkey carver, now an esteemed position.  My husband loved how thin he could slice the meat, just perfect for sandwiches.  If you missed the video in this article, he stars in it giving his own first impressions of using the Black & Decker Electronic knife.  Check it out.

I can’t wait to try the Black & Decker Electric Knife this upcoming Thanksgiving and for my ham at Christmas time…though I might have to stand in line to use it!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, enjoy your family, your friends, your perfectly sliced turkey, and the blessings you’ve been given.  I know I will.