Turkey meat, sometimes known as just turkey, is the flesh of turkeys, both domesticated and wild. It’s a popular fowl dish, particularly in North America, where it’s served during culturally significant holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as in everyday cooking.

Turkeys are offered whole, sliced, and ground, as well as “whole” with the head, feet, and feathers removed, similar to chicken. Whole frozen turkeys are still popular. Sliced turkey is commonly used as sandwich meat or served as cold cuts; it may also be used as a substitute for chicken in some recipes. Ground turkey is sold as a healthier substitute to ground beef and is usually advertised as such. Cooked turkey is typically regarded to be less moist than other bird meats such as chicken or duck when not properly prepared.

While wild turkeys are legally the same species as domesticated turkeys, they have a distinct flavor from those grown on farms. Almost all of the flesh (including the breast) is “black” and has a stronger taste. Due to the higher quantity of insects in its diet during the preceding months, the flavor of wild turkey meat can alter seasonally with variations in available forage, giving it a gamier flavor in late summer. The flavor of wild turkey that has been fed mostly on grass and grain is milder. The taste of older heritage breeds varies as well.

Turkey’s meat is processed in enormous quantities. It may be smoked, and as a result, turkey ham or turkey bacon is occasionally offered, which is regarded considerably healthier than pork bacon. Chef Jamie Oliver fought to get “turkey Twizzlers,” twisted helices of deep-fried turkey flesh known as “turkey Twizzlers,” banned from school meals in the UK in 2004.

Because of the strong demand for whole turkeys and lesser egg production compared to other birds, turkey eggs are not widely offered as food (not only chickens but even ducks or quail). On the open market, a single turkey egg is worth around $3.50, which is much more than a carton of one dozen chicken eggs.

Thanksgiving dinner feasts in the United States and Canada, as well as Christmas dinner feasts in most of the rest of the globe, usually feature turkeys as the main meal (often as stuffed turkey).

Indigenous peoples from Mexico, Central America, and the southern United States have consumed turkey flesh since antiquity. Spanish conquistadors brought Aztec turkeys back to Europe in the 15th century.

Turkey was first consumed in England in the 16th century. Pork ribs were the most popular holiday dish in North America before the twentieth century, as the animals were generally slaughtered around November. Turkeys were formerly so plentiful in the wild that they were eaten all year, a cuisine that was considered normal, but pig ribs were only accessible during the Thanksgiving”New Year period.

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