Americans will throw away 204 million pounds of turkey after this Thanksgiving. All that perfectly good meat and bones in the trash will cost consumers a collective $282 million and will amount to a loss of 105 billion gallons of water (the amount of water used to raise the tossed meat).
These and other amazing facts and figures about Thanksgiving waste are available on Dana Gunders blog at the National Resources Defense Council.
Food waste is awful not only because its wasteful, but because much of it is also preventable. A full third of all food produced is wasted, mostly by consumers – in the U.S. that means 254 pounds of food waste per person, per year.
The USDA sadly does not warn consumers about our propensity to throw out huge amounts of food on their Thanksgiving Holiday Help page. But they, and many others, estimate you should buy one pound of turkey per person. Of course, this cooks down to a far smaller portion (bones are quite heavy) – likely about a third to a half the weight of when you purchased it. (A 21.5 pound turkey yields about 8+ pounds cooked meat.)
Now 1/3 pound makes a good sized burger, and typically we dont also eat 6 side dishes with it and have pie waiting in the wings. You also likely dont drink as much with a burger and fries as you do on Thanksgiving, and alcohol takes up a lot of stomach room.
WeightWatchers says 3 ounces of turkey is about the “size of a computer mouse or a checkbook” – not a whole lot less than the average dinner guest will eat. (4 ounces = 1/4 pound).
To be completely realistic about the situation then, most of your guests will not eat much more than a third of a pound of turkey, max. Kids dont count as full people either, and dont forget you likely invited someone who is a vegetarian, watching his weight or doesnt even like turkey. So the “pound per person” idea is really too much and means you will be left with extras.
Of course, a lot of waste comes from people loading up their plates with turkey and then throwing it out when they are full. One way to handle that is to think like a restaurant and set up your thanksgiving buffet with the less expensive (or more importantly, less energy intensive) dishes first. That way people dont fill up their plates with turkey they then toss in the trash.
But you say you like leftovers, and you are dying to make that Indian-Spiced Turkey-Lentil Soup Mark Bittman wrote about last year. So you are buying a larger turkey than you need. If thats the case, and you say you are going to make the soup, then make the soup.
Most of us actually dont want another big cooking project right after Thanksgiving. And there are realistically only so many sandwiches your family will actually eat, especially since the leftover ratios never quite work out to make that perfect turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwich more than once.
Leftovers are a commitment and like most commitments, many of us have a hard time keeping them.
So why not plan instead how not to have too many leftovers? Lets limit our waste before it happens.
When you buy a whole turkey for your holiday feast, you know you’re getting more than just pure meat. There are also bones, cartilage, skin, fat, organs, and other inedible parts taking up space inside that bird. But exactly what percentage of the total turkey is actually edible meat that your guests can enjoy? Let’s break down the anatomy of a turkey to find out.
Estimating Turkey Meat Yield
As a general rule, experts estimate that between 40-50% of a whole turkey’s total weight will be edible meat The other 50-60% is mostly bone, with a small portion being inedible organs and connective tissue.
So for every 1 pound of whole turkey you buy, plan on getting around 0.4 to 0.5 pounds of cooked meat off it. The exact yield depends on factors like:
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Turkey breed and sex – Hens tend to have a higher meat-to-bone ratio than toms.
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Feed diet – Turkeys fed high-protein diets for fast growth can have less meat density.
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Butchering and deboning skill – Getting as much meat off the bones as possible raises yield.
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Cooking method – Moist-heat cooking shrinks meat less than roasting.
As a real-life data point, when one cook deboned a 21.7 lb turkey, they ended up with 8.1 lbs of cooked meat. That’s a 37% usable meat yield.
Turkey Anatomy Breakdown
To understand why nearly half of a turkey is inedible, let’s take a detailed look at what’s inside when you cut into the whole bird:
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Bone: The turkey skeleton accounts for most of the non-meat mass. This includes the:
- Spine
- Ribs
- Breastbone
- Hip bones
- Wing bones
- Leg and thigh bones
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Skin The skin surrounds the entire turkey exterior, It becomes crispy and browned when roasted,
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Fat: There are fat deposits under the skin and marbled within the meat itself.
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Cartilage and connective tissue: This makes up the joints, tendons, ligaments, and membranes.
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Organs: The internal organs are the heart, lungs, kidneys, intestines, gizzard, and reproductive parts.
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Head, neck, and feet: These boney regions have minimal meat.
When you carve the turkey, the bones, cartilage, skin, and organs all get removed. What remains is the lean turkey meat people eat.
Getting the Most Meat From a Turkey
If you want to maximize the edible meat yield from your holiday bird, here are some tips:
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Buy a hen – Hens are smaller birds but have proportionately more meat than the larger toms.
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Get a breast – Buying just a whole turkey breast eliminates the wings, legs, thighs, and back which are very boney.
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Brine it – Soaking the raw turkey in a saltwater brine helps it retain moisture and prevent shrinkage during cooking.
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Cook at lower temp – Slow roasting or cooking the turkey in liquid at 300°F leads to less moisture loss versus roasting at 350°F or higher.
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Rest before carving – Letting the cooked turkey sit for up to 30 minutes firms up the proteins so less juice is lost when carved.
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Carefully debone – Picking the meat off the bones while still hot before serving maximizes usable meat.
Estimating Leftover Turkey Meat
Planning turkey leftovers starts with knowing how big your crowd is and how much meat that requires. Adults generally eat around 1/3 to 1/2 pound of turkey meat at a holiday meal.
If you have a 12 lb turkey, estimate 4.8 to 6 lbs of edible meat from it. This would feed 12 to 16 people. Have accurate headcounts beforehand so you buy the right whole turkey size.
As a rule of thumb, plan on 3/4 lb of whole turkey per person. To allow for leftovers, multiply this by 1.5. So for 8 guests, get a 12 lb turkey. The excess will become sandwiches, casseroles, turkey tetrazzini, turkey soup, and other inventive leftovers!
Should You Buy a Whole Turkey?
With nearly half of a whole turkey being bones and scraps, is it worth purchasing an entire bird? Here are some pros and cons to help decide:
Pros of a whole turkey:
- Classic holiday presentation
- Better flavor from roasting
- Turkey stock from the bones
- Lower cost per pound
Cons of a whole turkey:
- More waste from discarded parts
- Requires skill to properly roast
- Can dry out if overcooked
- Needs lots of oven space
Many home cooks today opt to just buy a pre-cooked turkey breast or roast a breast themselves. This minimizes waste for smaller gatherings. But roasting a whole bird still rules for grand holiday feasts.
Turkey Meat vs. Other Poultry
Compared to other poultry options, turkeys are not exceptionally meaty as a percentage of their body weight. Chickens, game hens, and other fowl have a similar ratio of edible meat to bones, organs, and skin.
Turkeys do have one advantage over chickens though – they can be considerably larger. A turkey can feed a crowd in one roast, while several chickens would be needed to serve the same number.
So when planning your holiday meal, don’t expect a whole turkey to yield overwhelmingly more meat than its chicken cousins. The turkey’s large size is its biggest advantage for generously feeding gatherings.
When shopping for your holiday feast, be realistic about how many guests you can expect a turkey to serve. After removing approximately half the bird’s weight in bones and trimmings, allow for 3/4 pound of finished meat per person. Supplementing the turkey with roasted vegetables, rich casseroles, and pies will ensure no one leaves your celebration hungry!
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Bodybuilding Nutrition Tip: How to Accurately Weigh Cooked Meat
FAQ
How much meat do you get off a turkey?
How much meat is on a 13 lb turkey?
What percent of a whole turkey is breast meat?
What percentage of a whole turkey is white meat?
How much should a turkey weigh?
Obviously, while the range of weights you’ll find on turkey at the store varies, it’s rarer to find birds less than 10 pounds or over 30 lbs. For large groups of people, consider buying a couple of smaller turkeys to match the pound per person rule. So if you need to feed 60 people, buy two turkeys that are around 20 pounds each.
How much Turkey do you eat per person?
The general rule of thumb is one pound of turkey per adult and a half pound per child. But if leftovers like late-night turkey sandwiches and turkey tetrazzini are as traditional as the feast itself, plan for two to three pounds per person total. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
How much raw turkey per person?
That equals one pound of raw turkey per adult and 2/3 of a pound per child. If you’re concerned that’s not enough or you want to ensure there will be plenty of leftovers to go around, consider purchasing 1 1/2 pounds of raw turkey per person attending.
How much does a turkey breast weigh per person?
Average about ¾-pound per person for bone-in turkey breast, or one turkey leg per person clocking in at around 1½ pounds per leg. If you’re hosting a large gathering, say for more than 10 people, stop calculating right now. You don’t want to get a turkey larger than 15 pounds.