How much meat do you take from a turkey

[catman529]

If I feel up to the work I take the entire bird and use it, except maybe the skin. Breast it out, remove legs right where they join with the body, remove and skin the wings, gut the turkey and save giblets for catfish bait, clean out carcass. Make turkey stock with carcass, pull off all remaining good meat from cooked carcass (more meat than you would expect) and mix with BBQ sauce and liquid hickory smoke and heat it up on the stove and make sandwiches. I do the same thing with the legs too - a lot of bony pieces in the legs you don't want to eat, so cook them till the meat falls off the bone and separate the good from the bad with your fingers. Smother in BBQ sauce and put on a sandwich. I also add a little butter when mixing it all together, since it is such lean meat. Usually just throw the leg, thigh, wing and carcass meat together in a big pan with BBQ sauce ingredients and heat it up and mix till it's ready to slap on some buns. Then the breast can be cooked like normal breast would be, since it's not as tough as other parts of the turkey.

I did 2 turkeys all the way as described this year, and the other 2 I did not save the carcass or wing meat because I was pretty much worn out.

One thing I won't ever do again (and yes I have done it) is take only the breast. I know a lot of people do it so I'm not knocking any of you. but if you have the extra time (and it really is not a lot of extra time), at least cut off the legs/thighs and then you can boil them with onions and carrots to make stock and also use the meat, or just cook in crock pot till the meat falls off the bone. If you ever heard that wild turkey legs are "gamey", not sure who came up with that idea, but they taste like good ole turkey legs to me. Just cook them longer because they are tougher, and separate the meat by hand so there is no spindle. BBQ is my favorite way to make them.

OK, enough of how I use my turkeys. Now what cuts of meat do you all use from your turkeys?

[Illini Tom]

i do pretty much what you do, xcept for the gutting part.
i hang up the bird from the legs and skin, after first cutting off the beard, tail and the wing at the joint where the drummy meets the 2-bone part. i dont think its worth the time it takes to remove the feathers from the wingbone to get a couple small pieces of meat.
then remove the drummies and filet off each side of the breast. theres a decent-sized piece of white meat on each side/shoulder area and a couple chunks of dark meat on the back. then i separate the carcass from the leg/thighs at the thigh joint and let the carcass drop into the garbage can. separate the legs and thighs at the joint and hacksaw the feet from the legs and you're done.
(sometimes i will dry pluck a bird to cook whole on the grill on in the roaster)
i agree, i dont want to waste any of the meat, even the legs, which go in the crocker and then used in a variety of recipes (sometimes along with the thighs) like turkey and noodles, turkey salad, bbq, enchiladas, soup, etc.....
lots of ways to cook the breast. my two favorites are to slice one side of the breast against the grain, then marinate in lawreys mesquite/lime marinade and cook on grill. no. 2 is "fried chicken turkey" - again, slice against the grain, then dredge in seasoned flour and fry in a skillet like chicken and dont forget to make the gravy!

[redarrow]

We eat the breast,make wingbone calls with the wings,  primaries wing feathers are used on arrows,and mount the fan,beard and spurs.

[doublebarrel]

After reading this I went out to the trash and pulled the bird carcass I just put in there and got his legs and thighs off. In the crock pot now. Thanks for the tip.!!!

[renegade19]

Definitely legs and thighs in the crockpot.  Wife and daughter really like it prepared that way.  I save as much as I can of the whole bird. 

[R AJ]

Breast for frying- yum. Legs, thighs, back and meat around wings for a delicious hash and or soup,or sometimes ground after cooking for a turkey salad that is hard to beat.

No use of giblets but great idea for catfish bait.

I applaud you for bring attention to this matter as I  get disgusted to see turkeys hung by the legs on a fence or tree limb with only the breasts removed. The same goes for deer hunters who cut out backstraps, tenderloins, and hind quarters and throw away those wonderful neck and shoulder roasts, sausage and deer burger meat.

[DirtNap647]

try to get as much as possible

[Gamblinman]

Filet the breast, cut off the legs...leave the rest for nature to dispose of...they gotta eat too.

Gman

[WV TURKEY THUG]

Heck I don't even waste the feet on mine .

[howl]

None. That's my wife's job! She finds a use for most of it and gives feathers to those that have a use for them.

[PAbigbear]

legs and thighs go in crock pot til they fall off the bone.  then i pick the meat apart and make a kettle of turkey corn soup.   i love it!

[Kent Garvin]

The past couple years my son and I have been taking every piece of meat we can possibly get off our birds.  Grind it using a course grinder, and then for every 4 Lb's of bird, grind a Lb of bacon.  Makes an 80/20 grind.  Mix the grinds all together and add whatever seasonings you want like you're making a sausage(Southwest Blend, Cajun Blend, Mexican Blend, whatever) then do a fine grind just like deer burger.  Fire up the grill and do turkey burgers with some swiss cheese, a big ol' kaiser roll and some lettuce, tomato and mayo, and you got a burger that can't be beat.

[lightsoutcalls]

The past couple years my son and I have been taking every piece of meat we can possibly get off our birds.  Grind it using a course grinder, and then for every 4 Lb's of bird, grind a Lb of bacon.  Makes an 80/20 grind.  Mix the grinds all together and add whatever seasonings you want like you're making a sausage(Southwest Blend, Cajun Blend, Mexican Blend, whatever) then do a fine grind just like deer burger.  Fire up the grill and do turkey burgers with some swiss cheese, a big ol' kaiser roll and some lettuce, tomato and mayo, and you got a burger that can't be beat.

Stop it!  You're making me hungry.     That sounds good!