There is nothing as classy in dining as having a chef or waiter carve up a joint, fillet a fish or flambé a dessert at your table. It can also be quite the challenge for the home cook to perform this front of guests at a meal. It’s even more daunting if the guest of honour is presented with a long knife and fork by the hosts and asked to dish out the portions of meat or indeed fish. It’s not something you can just have a stab at and not make a dogs dinner of.
I recall a whole two foot turbot served at a house dinner in France and the elderly host expertly filleting it up into perfect portions on the platter to be then passed around for everyone to lift their pieces onto their plates and she even had a wedge of lemon on top of each portion. The first thing with carving is to make sure you have the right instruments to do the job and there is sufficient space on the joint platter for portions to be assembled. Boards are not suitable for passing around the table.
Then there has to be space on the table itself for the cutting to be carried out though it’s ok for the carver’s plate setting to be put to one side so that they can comfortably sit in their carver’s seat to execute the task in hand. It’s not polite to stand up and do it either. Bear in mind also that left handers may have trouble with right handed knives.
Professional carving knives will have no pointed tip either as we carve horizontally using the full length of the blade. For fish you hardly need a knife at all so a palette knife or fish slice should do the job. The easier carving is on boned out and rolled joints of meat where it’s a cylindrical shape and simple to cut but its more tricky on say a leg or shoulder of lamb with the bone still in, then you have some navigating to do as you figure out where the meat finishes and the bone begins. The really skilled carvers will also be able to separate slices of the rare and well done pieces for guests to pick from as the sliced up meat gets passed around the table on the same platter after the cutting.
It is also not correct for plates to be handed up to the carver to be loaded up with food; all the food should be accessible to the guests from the centre of the table after the carving. It’s ok for the platter to be moved though; it only needs to be stationed at both ends in turn for guests to help themselves. It’s vital that you discard string, netting, skewers or other inedible bits from the final platter presentation for guest to serve themselves from. The real test is with the birds and Christmas is now the only time when carving is in the spotlight but in olden days it might be on a weekday or every weekend at most homes.
For poultry it’s important to remove the wish bone and the carving is always against the grain or across the meat cutting through the fibres making them shorter and tenderer to eat. This is not easy as it goes against the natural shape of the whole bird but even a small angle will suffice but never cut fully parallel to the breast bone. The other important aspect is to respect the natural parts of the bird so legs come off first and are cut into drumsticks and thighs and then each leg section will be topped with a few neat slices of the breast so all parts are evenly distributed and portions clearly defined for guests to take.
Ideally remove each breast from the breastbone and carve them fully against the grain. The most prized part of a chicken carcass will be the two so called oysters on the underside of the breast bone which should be reserved for any guest of honour. The French word for these oyster shaped gourmet pockets of meat translates as “only a fool leaves behind”.
For second servings the carver or host should also announce if anyone would like more, one never helps oneself to seconds without asking. All the carving should have been done in the first instance so the carver does not have to renew the cutting operation again. Have a sideboard or small table beside the carver to be able to place any bones or garnishes on a tray as only edible parts should be passed to the guests. If having a go for the first time it is no harm having a practice session with some friends or family who will not mind being your guinea pigs!
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