I keep the turkey on a cookie sheet (we smoke, not bake). After I cut off each breast, I will use a cutting board to slice them up. The rest of the bird gets cut while on the cookie sheet.

This carving video may help you.

I'm actually smoking a turkey right now. Today is our 2nd Thanksgiving celebration, as my brother-in-law had to work on the holiday. My mouth is watering just thinking about the juicy, flavorful meat. Oven baked, like we had on Thanksgiving day at my parents, always seems flavorless and dry in comparison, even when basted to heck.

This post was edited by gpraceman on Sat, Nov 30, 13 at 10:46

Mine made a big mess on my calacatta marble. It cleaned right up. No stress. Maybe it had been lemon juice rather than turkey juice I might have felt differently....

jillies-I laid out a plastic garbage bag under layers of newspaper with the cutting board on top. Still in the honeymoon phase with the granite so was afraid to let anything get too sloppy. When I was finished just rolled it all up and threw it away. Had always just put newspaper under cutting board in the past because who wants all that juice running all over the counter.
gp-the smoked turkey sounds awesome-what time is dinner?

Our lovely, juicy 22 lb turkey didn't (and never does) make a huge mess. The mess is pretty much confined to the cutting board. A couple of possibilities:

*Because we cook the turkey an hour away from the designated dining table, and because we need to do mashed potatoes and gravy when we get to our destination, the turkey has been sitting for a couple of hours after we take it out of the oven. It comes out of the roasting pan and onto a platter while the gravy gets prepared and then onto the cutting board. The platter has a puddle on the bottom which gets rinsed before the sliced turkey gets there Despite the time lapse, the turkey is still very hot by the time we carve.

* We don't brine.

Given the black fri and cyber mon discounts, this may be the day to invest in a big carving board -- I mean one that's really big.

The John Booz Rolls Aztec board (photo below) is a Rolls Royce of cutting boards from SLT and there are other less expensive choices. But this one is 24 x 18 and will handle a big turkey plus it has features. The grid holds things in place. And excess liquid will drip down into the pan on the side which can easily be emptied or used to collect scraps.

Some like a plainer board with a well all around (though that can get tricky for a turkey when there's really a lot of juice).

But a board like this will answer the OPs question. I have had a similar size one that's probably older than almost anyone reading this. I would never give it up because it cannot be matched.

Additionally, a set of 4 fleximats helped me keep my sanity when I had marble counters which were fairly porous. Cheap and multi functional. Love them. Slip them around a big carving board and you're ready for anything.

Here is a link that might be useful: Big Board

rococogirl - that cutting board is great! i have a board with a well around it - but it pales in comparison to the booz board! now to convince hubby we need another cutting board :)

Rococogurl-thanks for the info. I too have a rather large board with the well but the Boos board is such a great solution and so much neater looking. The factory is about 35 miles from where I have my weekend place. I have been meaning to visit their factory outlet so now this just gives me a reason too.

If you're carving the turkey too quickly you may be losing juices. We let our turkey rest for 30 min before we carve, and don't lose too much juice. We use an Epicurian board with a cut ring on the edges to catch fluids.

rococogirl - I want that cutting board! I think even my DH would agree that is one to have, especially since he does the meat carving :)

One of the things I love about my soapstone...nothing I've spilled yet has even hinted at showing up, including Strawberries, Raspberries, and red wine...
I haven't experimented with battery acid yet..;)

Another gem! This must be the minivan of cutting boards -- about 24 x 24. For those who cook the 20+ pounders, whole rib roast, hams. Biggest I've seen. Fits over the counter edge and usable on 2 sides. Has a juice groove. SLT has a serious selection which is great to see.

Investment, of course, but they must be giving some discount today/tomorrow.

Here is a link that might be useful: Biggest

Made an accidental discovery with our turkey. Since we have no stove yet, I plopped it on the 'beer can' rack thing on a baking pan and cooked it on the Weber gas grill. We carved it while it sat upright on the beer can rack right on the baking pan. No mess at all. So much easier to carve it that way. I may do all my turkeys on the grill from now on. It was browned beautifully and was really juicy.

This is what the rack looks like. I'm a fan.