>(Nancy Dooley) writes:
>
>>penmart01 wrote:
>>
>>Smaller turkeys also contain a larger ratio of meat to bone, and have
>>proportionately larger breasts... a 34D >is more pleasantly proportioned than
a 40DD.
>
>
>Actually, your other points may be correct, but this is not. A larger
>turkey is a better buy because the bones are not very much different
>in weight, but there is more meat on them. The proportion of meat to
>bone is better in a larger turkey.

Taken out of context the premise of my statement is muddied, that a hen
(smaller) has a higher ration of meat to bone than a tom (larger)... all my
points are correct, no maybes.

Turkey producers don't like to impart that smaller birds contain more meat, or
they'd get stuck with the larger birds... but the non turkey producer websites
<edu> will remark about this basic fact. None of the turkey producer websites
impart information about how to choose a turkey other than how to choose an
appropriate weight per person.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/turkey/faqs.html

"Is a tom turkey tougher than a hen?"

"No. Most experts agree that a hen turkey is better than a tom, but it is
probably a matter of personal preference. Hens are generally smaller than tom
turkeys of the same age. Hens weigh less than sixteen pounds while toms always
weigh over sixteen pounds. *Tom turkeys have _larger_ bones and _less_ edible
portions*, which may be reason for hens as preference. However, age not gender
is the determining factor for tenderness and all commercial turkeys are young
and tender."
---

Two 12lb hens will yield significantly more meat than one 24lb tom. Also, a
larger hen will typically be older, therefore a smaller hen will contain a
greater ratio of meat to bone... same is true for toms, the smaller toms are
typically younger, therefore contain a lower ratio of bone to meat and are a
better buy. But between the two the hens yield more meat, they have smaller
bones (a sex thingie), and I think yield better quality meat, primarily due to
smaller birds requiring less cooking time... by the time a large bird cooks
through the outer portion is far more likely to become dry, especially so with
stuffed birds.... not only do stuffed birds require longer cooking times the
stuffing also sucks moisture from the bird. I think stuffing poultry is all
around not a very good choice. The stuffing doesn't even impart flavor to the
meat, by robbing the meat of moisture it actually steals flavor. For a
flavorful bird it's more important to season the cavity than the skin.... place
lots of aromatic veggies inside, but no bread. Don't forget to also season and
add aromatics to the neck cavity Along with the typical poultry seasoning, bay
leaves, celery, onion, garlic, carrot, and parsley, etc. I like to place a
halved lemon and orange halves studed with a couple-six cloves into the cavity.


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