Turkey yield: how much is usable after prep (AP to EP %)
Turkey: about 71% usable going oven-ready bird to raw meat and skin, with a published range of 67–75%. That is a cost factor of 1.41: for every kilo you need ready to use, buy 1.41 kg as purchased.
Yield by preparation stage
| Stage | Average | Range | What is lost | USDA item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oven-ready whole → raw meat and skin | 71% | 67–75% | Bone (about 28%) and trimmings | 2592 |
| Oven-ready whole → raw meat only | 63% | 59–65% | Bone, skin and fat | 2592 |
| Breast quarter → raw meat and skin | 87% | 85–89% | Bone | 2593 |
| Leg quarter → raw meat and skin | 75% | 70–79% | Bone and tendons | 2596 |
| Oven-ready whole → roasted to 85 °C | 72% | 68–75% | Cooking loss (water and fat) | 2604 |
| Oven-ready whole → braised | 73% | 72–74% | Cooking loss | 2603 |
These are US samples of small fryer-roaster birds, so treat them as a guide for a large Christmas turkey and weigh your own. A breast crown wastes far less than a whole bird because most of the bone has gone already.
What the yield does to the cost
| Usable turkey needed | Buy (as purchased) at 71% |
|---|---|
| 1 kg | 1.41 kg |
| 5 kg | 7.04 kg |
| 10 kg | 14.08 kg |
Use 71% in the yield calculator →
Yield source: USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 102, Food Yields Summarized by Different Stages of Preparation (Matthews and Garrison, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 1975), Table 1, items 2592, 2593, 2596, 2604, 2603 (US samples of ready-to-cook fryer-roaster turkeys). Your own case is the real number: weigh it in the yield calculator.
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