How much Turkey - TIP

B-Line · #1 11-24-2008, 07:27 PM

As many of you know, I take Thanksgiving very serious and am actually going to marinate my birds tonight so they are well seasoned for Thursday.

Every year on Thanksgiving I make notes to myself and email them to me and the following year I look back at my notes to remember what needs changing, etc.

It's always hard to decide how big of a bird to get so last year, I took special notice.

Last year I cooked two birds, approximately 13 lbs. each and we had 15 meat eaters at the dinner. We had NO turkey leftovers. Which meant,
Approximately 1.5-1.75 lbs. of bird per person. Remember, a lot of the bird is carcass, etc.

So this year, I estimate that PER PERSON, you need about two pounds of bird (and you should have a little left over for sandwiches and refrigerator pickings.)

10 people, you need a 20lb. bird. And yes, we also had lots of other dishes.

This year I'm expecting about 20-25 people. So I'm making two birds,
One I'm calling:
Kaify - 19.8lbs.
The other is called:
Soccer Junky - 19.6 lbs.

I'm also making a cuban dish called, Pan Con Lechon in Mojo. Yummy.. And there is also a good chance I'm going to pick up an additional, frozen, TURKEY BREAST (not the whole bird, just a breast) and make that too, so we have plenty of breast meat..

So in case your wondering how big of a bird to make, hope this helps.
2lbs. per person, if you want to have a little left over. 1.5lbs per person if you don't want leftovers.

B

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AzX5 · #2 11-24-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-Line

So I'm making two birds,
One I'm calling:
Kaify - 19.8lbs.
The other is called:
Soccer Junky - 19.6 lbs.

mrkbbd · #3 11-24-2008, 08:04 PM

just FYI the food network says you shouldn't get a bird over 15 lbs and if you need more meet just buy more birds

B-Line · #4 11-24-2008, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrkbbd

just FYI the food network says you shouldn't get a bird over 15 lbs and if you need more meet just buy more birds

Not that the food network is wrong but can you please qualify WHY ??

And while I have an industrial, Viking type kitchen, can you please tell me where I'm supposed to find a 3rd oven and room in the fringe for another bird body...

3 birds is A LOT of birds ! (it's too late anyway, both birds were picked up today and will be marinated sometime in the next 1-2 hrs.)

mrkbbd · #5 11-24-2008, 08:13 PM

They were saying that after 13-15 lbs the turkey is more " bloated" than it should be, which during the cooking process makes the meat drier. As far as the oven goes, will 2 birds not fit in 1 oven?

Michelle · #6 11-24-2008, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-Line

So I'm making two birds,
One I'm calling:
Kaify - 19.8lbs.
The other is called:
Soccer Junky - 19.6 lbs.

mrkbbd · #7 11-24-2008, 08:23 PM

of course you shouldn't be taking cooking advice from me, I did manage to set my kitchen on fire Saturday night...that was an experience

trueX5er · #8 11-24-2008, 09:06 PM

^exactly why I'm not cooking this year.
I'm gonna be in the DC area, I'll keep a lookout for all ya'll. I'll be in a lovely Chevy Monte Carlo or Similar.

mrkbbd · #9 11-24-2008, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trueX5er

^exactly why I'm not cooking this year.
I'm gonna be in the DC area, I'll keep a lookout for all ya'll. I'll be in a lovely Chevy Monte Carlo or Similar.

what day do you get in?

hayaku · #10 11-24-2008, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-Line

Not that the food network is wrong but can you please qualify WHY ??

And while I have an industrial, Viking type kitchen, can you please tell me where I'm supposed to find a 3rd oven and room in the fringe for another bird body...

3 birds is A LOT of birds ! (it's too late anyway, both birds were picked up today and will be marinated sometime in the next 1-2 hrs.)

they are talking about meat yield and as you pointed out, most of it is carcass. multiple smaller birds will yield more meat for the same total poundage.

but the other challenge is getting natural birds these days. they are all frankenturkeys averaging 25+ lbs. it was difficult trying to find a 18 lbs bird that i'm going to deep fry. total guest at my place is immediate family only so about 8 adults and 5 kids.

i'm just doing a simple brine soak for 8-12 hours in a cooler. don't need to take up space in the fridge.

if you are interested, on youtube is alton brown's show about deep frying the turkey. he talks about using a drink cooler as a marinating vessel. i'm pretty much following that recipe to a tee. i did the injections several years in a roll and wanted to try a brine soak this time.

if i ended up using every single oven i have in the house, i could cook up 7 turkeys at the same time. not that they'll be good, but i can toast em up!

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