What Size Turkey?

[Courtney]

It seems like our turkey gets bigger every year. I bought a 24lb this year, but I think I should have sprung for the 25lber though. What size turkey do you usually cook for Thanksgiving? What size are you going for this year?
:carve:

 

[dvdelf]

don't want it too big
last year we got a 26lb bird & it was fatty
First time I have ever had a fatty turkey

 

[Courtney]

Wow! That is very strange since turkeys rarely have any fat on them.

 

[TamaraQT]

I usually buy between 12 to 14 pound turkey. This year, I went for a 16 pound. Bigger than usual for me considering there are only about 6 of us for dinner.
cheesy

 

[Jeff Westover]

We have 9 of us so we usually shoot for a 20-25lb bird. We like the leftovers too.

 

[MerryBells]

At least 20 pounds. We like turkey soup and turkey sandwiches.

 

[whitney37354]

I've never cooked a turkey! I'll be one of those crazy people calling the Butterball help line on Thanksgiving morning one of these years!!:?

 

[Sabine]

It seems like our turkey gets bigger every year. I bought a 24lb this year, but I think I should have sprung for the 25lber though. What size turkey do you usually cook for Thanksgiving? What size are you going for this year?
:carve:

wow... how long the Bird has to stay in the Stove?

We mostly have a 13lb one and he needs about 7 hours..

 

[Courtney]

I use my electric roaster which holds a 20lber, so it has to cook a little longer since the turkey is larger. It should take 4 to 4.5 hours, but I will probably let it go for closer to 5 to 5.5 hrs.

I like to use the Butterball website for turkey help.

 

[Holiday]

We are doing (2) 12-14 lb turkeys this year instead of 1 big one. My sister who is hosting the party says the bigger birds tend to be dryer?? My Dad & Mom have always made the turkey so they are planning to do the same this year!

 

[frostyman]

anywhere between 10 and 15 pounds

 

[gabulldawg]

I was talking to my mom the other night and she told me she bought a 15 pound bird. There is going to be 10 of us so I think that will be enough especially since we are baking a ham too!

 

[Courtney]

I also don't stuff my bird with anything, so the cooking time isn't as long even though it's a big bird. I know that larger birds can tend to be a tad bit dry, so I smother it in butter and also keep it moist with the drippings.

 

[GingerMel]

I always brine it according to Alton Brown's recipe from Good Eats (just google Good Eats Roast Turkey).

I have brined anywhere from a 15lb one to a 22lb and none have ever turned out dry at all. I use a probe thermometer though so I can tell exactly when it's ready.

It's a good idea to do two smaller ones. I never actually thought of doing that.

I always want a ton of turkey whether there's 3 or 10 people because I want a lot of leftovers. I love eating Thanksgiving food for a week after Thanksgiving. hah hah. It's awesome.

 

[snowytree]

22 lbs! Although when I make a trip to the store, I'm going to buy another smaller one so we will have more leftovers...we are going to have a full house this year.

 

[made582]

We are going to have 14 people this year so we are baking a 23 pound turkey and deep frying a 14 pound one.