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If you’ve thought about investing in an electric carving knife ahead of Thanksgiving, you may want to reconsider. The vibrating serrated blades make quick work of slicing through juicy turkey breast, but that’s about all they can do—making an electric knife just another tool you need to clean at the end of the night. Here’s why you should ditch the electric knife this year, and what to use instead.

Electric carving knives excel at slicing large, boneless pieces of meat, like turkey breast and hunks of ham. But they lack the finesse necessary to break down joints and cartilage. If you’re cutting up a whole roast turkey on Thanksgiving, you’ll still need to use a traditional carving knife or chef’s knife to navigate around bones and remove the legs and wings. Although taking the time to swap between two knives while carving doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, if a non-electric carving knife works just fine for the breast, why use two tools? A second knife is also yet another thing to clean during dish duty.

Carving the turkey at the table in front of loved ones and friends is a tradition for many families, but you probably won’t want to use a noisy, mess-making electric knife around your nice Thanksgiving linen. Electric carving knives have whirring blades that create splatter while they cut, spraying turkey juice and bits of food as they work. Most electric knives, including the Hamilton Beach knife we recommend, are also fairly loud. Senior staff writer Tim Heffernan compared the sound our pick makes to the drone of a blender. And to make matters more complicated, plenty of electric knives are corded—the Hamilton Beach comes with a short, 6-foot cord, which limits where you can use it. For the best results, we think it’s best to leave the whole electric-knife-at-the-table thing to sitcom families and Christmas specials.

If a whole roasted turkey is the main star of your Thanksgiving dinner, we think you should stick with a traditional carving set. The Messermeister Avanta set, the carving set we recommend, is an affordable option that works well and looks great. The sharp knife can easily cut turkey breast into thin slices, and the blade is thin and flexible enough to act as a decent boning knife, too, easily separating thighs, drumsticks, and wings from the bird. A chef’s knife will also work well in a pinch, though a dedicated set looks nicer—and feels more ceremonious—if you’re carving at the table.

The best knife set is the one you put together yourself. Here are the knives we've come to love after decades in professional and home kitchens.

We carved five turkeys, two beef roasts, a pork roast, and a ham, and the Messermeister 2 Piece Avanta Pakkawood Kullenschliff Carving Set is our pick based on good looks, great performance, and a nice price.

by Michael Sullivan and Kevin Purdy

After testing over 30 boards, we think that the plastic OXO Good Grips and the wood Teakhaus Edge Grain Professional Carving Board with Juice Canal are best.

After hundreds of hours of research and testing, we think these are the kitchen tools and tableware items most people need to host a great Thanksgiving dinner.

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