Page 74 - Turkey Book from Meathead

Don’t hug the spine when you cut, the bones are thicker there and tougher to cut through. Cut at least 1/2-inch from the spine. Scrape out the brown goop from the spine (kidneys), throw it out, and set the spine aside for making the gravy. We also like to snip o the wing tips because they are so thin that they burn easily. We toss them aside for the gravy along with the neck, heart, and gizzard, but not the liver. Freeze the liver and when you get a lot, make a paté.
If you are lazy, you don’t have to remove the backbone, just cut the ribs along one side of the backbone and spread open the carcass.
Spread open the rib cage, lay the bird skin side up on a cutting board, and press down hard with both hands on the neck hole to break the collarbone (wishbone) so the bird lies flatter.