Welcome to the Kitchen Shrink, where you write me with your culinary questions and I do my best to answer them.

Nov 19, 2007

How can I figure out how big a turkey I need to buy?
Simple Tips

Terrance e-mailed the Kitchen Shrink that he was cooking Thanksgiving dinner for friends and didn't know how big a turkey to buy.

The standard rule is to figure 1 pound of uncooked, bone-in turkey for every person to be fed. No one minds having turkey leftovers so buying bigger than you need is not usually a problem. Be sure you have a roasting pan big enough to hold the bird and an oven big enough for the roasting pan. Check the suggested roasting time on the package or go to the National Turkey Federation web site well ahead of time so you get the turkey in the oven at the proper time.