Natural form

A whole raw turkey, plucked and oven-ready, showing its full body shape and pale skin.

Shows the bird's recognizable silhouette, size, and skin color so readers can identify a whole turkey.

Proteins

Turkey

Lean poultry for roasting, ground dishes, and deli slices

Lean and mild, turkey roasts for a feast, grinds into lighter burgers and meatballs, and slices thin for sandwiches. Keep it cold and cook within a couple of days.

Turkey is large, lean poultry — the centerpiece roast of holiday tables and, ground or sliced, a year-round lean-protein staple. Its breast is very lean white meat that dries easily (the same risk as chicken breast, magnified by the bird's size), while the legs and thighs are richer dark meat. The big-bird challenge is getting moist breast and fully cooked thighs at once, which cooks solve by spatchcocking, brining, or cooking the crown and legs separately. Ground turkey stands in for beef in lighter burgers, meatballs, and chili, and deli turkey is a sandwich mainstay.

Measured in: g
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 2 days

Find it in

Meat Counter

Types & varieties

Whole turkey

The holiday roast; brine or spatchcock to keep the breast moist.

Turkey crown

Breast on the bone, no legs — easier, faster, less waste.

Turkey breast

Boneless lean white meat for roasting and slicing.

Ground turkey

Leaner beef swap for burgers, meatballs, and chili.

Turkey thigh/leg

Dark, rich meat for braising and confit.

How to choose

Choose a plump bird or cut with intact skin and a clean smell, sized to your table (roughly 450g per person on the bone). For ground turkey, a little dark meat (higher fat) makes juicier burgers than all-breast. Fresh or fully-thawed birds roast more evenly.

How to store / food safety

Keep cold at or below 4°C and, crucially, thaw a frozen turkey safely — in the fridge, allowing roughly 24 hours per 2 kg, never on the counter. Don't wash raw turkey (it spreads Salmonella and Campylobacter). Cook to 74°C in the thickest part of the thigh, and cook any stuffing to 74°C too — better cooked separately. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours.

How to cook

To beat dry breast, brine the bird (wet or dry-salt ahead), or spatchcock it so breast and legs finish together, or cook a crown separately from the slower-cooking legs. Roast, tent with foil if browning too fast, and rest a large bird 30–45 minutes before carving. Keep ground turkey moist with a little fat or moisture and don't overcook.

Common uses

Roast holiday centerpieceTurkey crown and breast roastsGround for burgers, meatballs, and chiliDeli slices for sandwichesBraised legs and confitSoups and stock from the carcassSchnitzel and cutletsLeftover hash and pot pie

Tips & pitfalls

Thaw frozen turkey in the fridge — about a day per 2 kg — never at room temperature.
Brine or dry-salt ahead to keep the lean breast juicy.
Spatchcock so breast and thighs finish at the same time.
Rest a roast turkey 30–45 minutes before carving.
Choose ground turkey with some dark meat for juicier burgers.