How Much Are Turkeys?
Marilyn Sue McClintock
6 years ago
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How large a turkey for 5 adults with leftovers?
Comments (8)Well, I've got to go with what my dad has always done in the past. I swear two 25-27 lbers served 50 people when we used to rent a hall for the entire family, and there *were* leftovers. But I guess my parents really like their sandwiches. As I said, my dad's a big eater. According to what I read online, smaller birds have more % bone so 2 lbs per person instead of 1.5 lbs is a better estimate, but *still* I'd think that 11.4 lbs would be enough for 5 adults (2 of them women who don't eat much, my mom would eat like 1 slice of breast meat and I eat the equivalent of 2 chicken thighs max and that's pigging out, won't eat again that day even if we have the big dinner at 2pm or so) and 1 very picky 11-yo. For example, my guys will eat 2 chicken thighs each if I make them, and serve them on the bone (I would normally only eat 1) but if I make soup like I did last night (30 minutes in pressure cooker), or a casserole of something with lots of "filler" then 4 thighs is more than enough for the 4 of us. Tonight I browned 1 lb of ground turkey, saved about 1/2 of it, used 2 quarts of beef broth, 2 cans of beans and some leftover spaghetti sauce with ditalini to make soup. We each had 2 bowls (DS and DH might have had 3, I wasn't counting), and I have more than a quart of soup left over (DD just ate some leftover noodles with plain browned meat). On The Washington Post site I found this quote "One of our staple resources in the Food section is the âÂÂChefâÂÂs Book of Formulas, Yields & Sizes,â by Arno Schmidt. The book says one 22-pound turkey will yield 12 pounds of roasted meat, including scraps, which equates to 22 servings �" lining up perfectly with the USDA guidance." which is 1 lb uncooked per person. That's just over 1/2lb of cooked boneless meat per serving. I'm sure the guys *could* eat 1 lb each (though DH and DS maybe less since there will be side dishes) but yeah, good estimate if they each have a sandwich later that night, there's 3 lbs. Mom, DD and I combined will eat 1.5lbs perhaps (that's with me pigging out b/c no way is DD going to eat 1/2lb of meat), there's 4.5 lbs of meat, no bones. If an 18 lb turkey yields 9-9.5 lbs of meat then we'll have about half left over, I would be fine with 2 lbs of leftovers for sandwiches(plus half the bones to make soup), that should last a week (DH and DS go through a lb of turkey lunchmeat each week but carved turkey is thicker, I think you tend to use more, and I'll be eating it too). That leaves 2.5 - 3 lbs or so (plus half the bones) leftover for my parents. So I really think 18 lbs is enough, no reason to buy 20 (4 lbs per adult!)....See MoreHow much turkey in the bianco Romano?
Comments (11)Breezy is dead on- the BR slab we just chose for our bath vanities has pretty much no "Turkey" in it. However, the BR slabs we passed up when choosing our kitchen counters was at least 60% "Turkey". With the latter a sand wall would have been perfect; with the former, it'll still look nice, but may not be the perfectly planned/coordinated color scheme that you're looking for....See MoreHow Much Are Turkeys?
Comments (27)plllog, I misspoke, I raised Black/Gray Slate turkeys, not Black Spanish. That said, the poults still cost me $10.25 each for day old birds. I can't really count food, as 5 of them died within the first three days, so I didn't feed them much. Two more died the next week, and one died after about a month. I did factor the mortality cost into the cost of the final bird. When dressed, the turkeys weighed between 11 and 18 pounds and cost $45 to raise. 15 pounds was the "average" that we reached between one small turkey/one big turkey and all others were in the middle as to weight. So, that's $3.00 a pound just to get the poults and feed them. They require a longer growing period and they are fussy, needing light and heat, watching them so they don't forget to eat and starve to death, or drown by falling asleep next to the water dish. Mine got infectious sinusitis and required antibiotics, so much for organic birds. Even after they are big, you have to watch them. One was so dumb that he stuck his head through the fence and didn't realize how to take one step back and take his head out. He just stood there and screamed until I walked over, pulled him a few inches backward and he realized he was no longer "stuck", not that he ever was. They are, without exception, the dumbest thing I've ever encountered, although they were friendly. So, truthfully, I'd say $10 a pound is a bit of a stretch, even for something as labor intensive as those bird brains were, but I'd have to charge someone $7 a pound, at least, to compensate for the time of plucking and cleaning as well as feeding, cleaning pens, rescuing them from the fence, etc. And, of course, I don't have to make a living. I probably spent at least 6 or 7 hours on each bird, so there's approximately 48 hours of work. At minimum wage that's $8.15 per hour, or $391 in labor. Divide that by the 7 birds and there's $55 a bird, plus the $45 to feed it and buy it in the first place. So, $95 if I'm only making minimum wage, divide that by 15 pounds and you get $6.33 per pound just to raise the things and that is if I'm making $8 an hour! More birds, of course, translates into less cost for feed/etc., so someone who raises more than a dozen could probably do it more cheaply and spend about the same amount of time I did raising my 7. And, of course, you're helping to ensure biological diversity, something that I can't put a price on, plus you are hopefully getting a bird that's been humanely and sustainably raised. As they say, "Eat them to save them", otherwise they become extinct. Annie...See MoreSharon/Chase, how did Thanksgiving Dinner go?
Comments (4)Went very well Annie , thanks for asking! We were at the cottage 16 in all......down a few from previous years. Lots of fun, food and work. Boats and docks had to be dealt with as well as some brush burning. It was a lovely sunny Fall day so everyone was pleased to be able to enjoy the outdoors. Ethan is 20 months old now and a buzy little bee wanting to help Granddad with the boats so keeping an eye on him down at the lake was a full time job. Of course he had his life jacket on but in the lake is not a place anyone wants to be in October ! Dinner was as predictable as ever but if I change it up too much there would be a revolution. Turkey, stuffing and dressing, mashed potatoes , gravy , ham, Katie's Sweet Potato and Carmelized Onions, MJ's Braised Onions mixed with green peas ( big hit thanks MJ ) , cauliflower and cheeses sauce, baked beans, homemade rolls, homemade pickles , Lindac's Cranberry Jezabel, pumpkin pie and David's Heart of Dixie Pecan Pie..........as you can see The Cooking Forum was well represented! Glad to have such a nice gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas......because Christmas dinner is the exact same menu......with maybe an additional side....See MoreMarilyn Sue McClintock
6 years agoartemis_ma
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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