Buying a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner comes with nearly as many questions (not to mention drama) as preparing and serving the meal itself: How big a turkey should I buy? How do I cook it evenly? Should I cook it in parts? Is Kelly still vegetarian? Wait—how much turkey do I need if I want lots of leftovers?
We hear you. We’ve been there. And we have plenty of Thanksgiving turkey recipes to steer you in the right direction. But to determine once and for all just how big a holiday bird should be, I turned to our incomparable team of test kitchen editors for their best turkey-buying and holiday-hosting tips.
First and foremost, know your approximate number of guests before shopping for your turkey. Planning ahead allows you to buy the right size bird with confidence and allows you to calculate the turkey’s roasting time. With the day’s approximations anchored by the turkey’s oven appointment, you can plan the other side dishes accordingly (better yet, outsource those entirely to your guests). And tell yourself that maybe—just maybe—Thanksgiving will run on schedule this year.
How many pounds of turkey per person do I really need?
As tempting as a 20-pound turkey may look at the store, you really don’t need one that large for a six-person gathering. The general rule is 1 to 1½ pounds of turkey per person. If that seems like a lot, remember that a whole bone-in turkey comes with parts that don’t get eaten. “When you buy a whole turkey, a lot of it is bone,” says recipe developer (and former BA staffer) Jessie YuChen. The smaller the bird, the higher that percentage may be. For smaller gatherings, Jessie recommends scaling your amount of turkey to 2 pounds per person to guarantee extra turkey for leftovers (more on that later). “For four to six people, 11 to 13 pounds is a good range,” Jessie says. (Most of our recipes call for a 12-to-14-pound bird.)
Beyond the bones, the total mass of a whole bird accounts for cartilage and less favorable cuts of meat around the shoulders, neck, and back that are better suited for making stock than presenting on a platter. Buying a pound of turkey per person doesn’t mean it’ll yield an equivalent amount of meat.
So, what’s the best size turkey for my crowd?
If you’re thinking about going up a turkey size to guarantee everyone feels well-fed and plenty doped up on tryptophan, contributing editor Amiel Stanek points out that larger birds are more prone to uneven cooking. “In terms of ensuring the breast meat is moist, and the dark meat is cooked through,” he says, “you’re going to get the best results from a 15-pound turkey, max.” If you’re cooking for a large crowd, consider buying two or more moderately sized birds and roast them side by side—or roast one a day or two early and then reheat on Thanksgiving Day.
If a 15-pound bird sounds teeny compared to your guest list, Amiel and Jessie recommend supplementing with a different meat or protein, no matter your party’s size. “I like to do steak or lamb chops,” says Jessie, “which are very festive and a lot easier to prepare than a whole turkey recipe.” Having a second meat on the table provides a backup if you choose a smaller turkey or your bird is on the scrawny side, but it also makes your turkey stretch further. Aim for 1 to 1½ total pounds of protein per person, including your supplementary main, and you’ll have nothing to worry about.
