Can we talk turkey?

[Muddled]

I just had a mini meltdown at the store.

How many pounds of meat does one person eat?
Is ok if the skin looks gray on frozen turkey?

It all looks so nasty to me. We have a 4 lb duck in the freezer, but now 2 more people are coming and Brad wants to make sure there are leftovers.

The holidays are so freaking stressful.

[Muddled]

Also, I have to go out tonight and I don't wanna! I am feeling unnecessarily stressed out right now.

[smock]

I am the completely wrong person to ask. I think you want like a pound or two per person? Maybe? Gray sounds like a weird color so maybe that is bad?

Why are YOU shopping for the bird anyway? Make Brad do it!

[Muddled]

He is doing it. I called him from the store and he wasn't helpful, so he is now in charge.

But I still want to know the answers!

[smock]

Birds are just bastards. That's all the answer you need.

[Muddled]

This is not helpful, Smock.

[wrathofkuus]

We usually do 18-20 pounds for six or seven people, so, three pounds per person? Holy hell, we're pigs.

[smock]

Sorry. Our T-day is bird free. Damn those ugly bastards.

[wrathofkuus]

Do you eat steak instead? Mr. Kuus has an uncle who does this.

[Muddled]

THREE POUNDS PER PERSON?!? Is this true? That is counting leftovers, right? You don't actually eat it all at once, do you?

I don't eat meat at all, Kuus. This is for the others. I am nice like that.

[wrathofkuus]

There are some leftovers, but not as much as you'd think.

[smock]

Our T-day is 100% vegetarian. Muddled, you should just come to Casa de Smock!

[Muddled]

Come pick me up, Smock!

[motzie]

Gray is not right. And I think Smock is right with the 1-2 lbs per.

[PinkSquirrel]

Most places say 1-2lbs per person without leftovers, so 3 with leftovers sounds right

[fussbucket]

Remember there are bones in the turkey -- it's not all meat.

We always do a 12-15 pounder for 6-8 people.

[smock]

Also . . . you can't eat ALL of it, right? I mean, I know bird bones are filled with air, but there's got to be a few inedible pounds on that carcass. So maybe 2-3 pounds per person, plus an extra 2-3 pounds of bird trash?

[fussbucket]

Nov 16, 2012 17:06:12 GMT -5 smock said:

Also . . . you can't eat ALL of it, right? I mean, I know bird bones are filled with air, but there's got to be a few inedible pounds on that carcass. So maybe 2-3 pounds per person, plus an extra 2-3 pounds of bird trash?

It's not trash when you put it all in your stock pot and make a delectable turkey stock that you later stir into otherwise vegetarian soups to make them even more gloriously succulent and tasty.

[Muddled]

Oh, Fuss. You will never learn.

Thank you, Motzie, for a very informative and straightforward answer to all of my questions.

[smock]

Fuss, are you saying your soups are full of BIRD BUTT HOLES?!?!

GROSS!!!

[pinkplasticdoll]

Muddled are you the only non-meat eater at thanksgiving? I think you could get away with a 10ish lb turkey if you wanted to. Um turkey should not be gray

[fussbucket]

I'm pretty sure there's a big pile of bird trash that leaves the factory in a different truck that includes the bird buttholes.

That pile of factory bird trash in all likelihood becomes hog feed which then becomes bacon that in some form probably DOES contain bird butt holes.

[smock]

Just one more reason to hate bacon!

[Muddled]

I am, PP. There will be 4 meat-eaters. I already have that duck, so I was just thinking some turkey thighs or something. I will be sending Brad to the market first thing in the AM to get 4 or 5 more pounds of meat.

Is it okay if everything is dark meat? Or should have some light meat too? Maybe we should do a breast instead of thighs?

[fussbucket]

Breast is hard to cook on its own. You'd be better off with thighs/legs IMO.

[Muddled]

Thanks, Fuss. That's good advice. I want it to be able to go in the oven with the duck.

[imoan]

Turkey is gross. Make stuffing and cranberry sauce and call it a day.

[MixedBerryJam]

The official recommendation for poultry with bones and all is 1# per person, but this is not to say that people eat that much at a meal, what with the waste and guts and moisture and whatnot in the uncooked bird. But I do at least that, so that I'm sure to have enough meat left on the carcass to make turkey soup worthwhile and still have leftovers. If you're serving duck, and you want to add turkey to the menu (I don't think you should feel you HAVE to) I'd get a very small turkey breast. The duck is all dark, so the breast would give people who don't like duck or dark meat (ahem ...) a choice. A turkey breast is really easy to cook, esp if it's not the main event. But I think I'd still brine it the day before.

[Deleted]

I did 2 lb per person and had left overs. Grey is not ok.

[aliceinfairyland]

Want my extra turkey?