Just grab the beard and tug, it pulls off fairly easy,
I tried cooking/eating the whole bird a few times, just isn't worth it to me,
pull back the feathers on the breast and follow the breast bone, done.
^^^^^^ This ^^^^^
I cut the beard off, cut the spurs off, cut the breast out, and use the rest of the carcass for coyote bait. On the first turkey I killed, I soaked it in hot water, picked the feathers off, and tried cooking it whole It was tougher than shoe leather, and my wife knows how to cook. Trying to keep anything other than the breast is just not worth it.
