Cooking Turkey for 200
Andrea
andreas@plattformad.com
08/17/05 		We are cooking turkey for 200 people (we are frying them). How many lbs should we purchase?
ellen

08/18/05 		Deep frying turkeys is DANGEROUS, you need an experiences fryer. It is also expensive, as it takes a very large amount of oil which is best not saved for long. Peanut oil may be used three or four times to fry turkeys before signs of deterioration begin if it is filtered and cleaned before storing.
Get a larger fire extinguisher, the whole pot of oil can catch fire. Place the fryer on level dirt or a grassy area. Never fry a turkey indoors, in a garage or in any other structure attached to a building. Avoid frying on wood decks, which could catch fire, and concrete, which can be stained by the oil.
That said, allow 1 pound whole raw turkey for each person. Smaller turkeys, 8 to 10 pounds and turkey parts such as breast, wings, drumsticks and thighs, are best for frying. Anything over 12 pounds is too big to safely fry whole.
Check these links:
http://www.eatturkey.com/consumer/cookinfo/fryturk.html
http://www.gumbopages.com/food/poultry/fried-turk.html
Ken Prescher
kprescher@bellsouth.net
10/08/05 		Ellen,
The mens group at my church wants to smoke turkeys for Thanksgiving. We may do 50 or more but do not know how to go about smoking that many turkeys. can you give us some advise?
ellen

10/08/05 		You need to check some of the smokiung pages. I do not do smoking- smoked turkey is one thing I never look forward to. Do watch the timing if you are planning to serve them all.
chew
hchew_88@hotmail.com
10/25/05 		I had long long ago ate a good baked turkey with stuffings and yummy gravies in it. forgotten who was the cook.
I am hopeless with baking turkey. Can someone share a good bake turkey recipe please? Every christmas I just stared at the frozen turkey in the supermarkets but I can't buy becos I do not know how to bake a turkey. Thank you.
ellen

10/26/05 		Hi, Chew,

the recipe for honorable turkey in the recipebox on this site is a pretty good one, and you can learn LOTS about cooking turkeys at butterball.com. Butterball is a brand of turkey.

Linda
mapaangel@bresnan.net
11/13/05 		How many Turkeys should we cook for 200 people??Thank You
ellen

11/13/05 		Plan for 1 pound whole raw turkey per person for a generous holiday size serving/buffet. If you get the smaller turkeys, under 15-16 pounds, the meat is better. Cut them into front and back, cook separately, fronts to 150 degrees plus 1/2 hour rest, backs to 160-165, 1/2 hour rest. Then everything will be both done and not overcooked.
Mary
mspencer63@sbcglobal.net
11/15/05 		How much boneless turkey breast for 130 people
We are having a dinner with Turkey, dressing, all the fixings for 130. Instead of cooking the traditional whole bird we are thinking about having a boneless breast smoked. How many pounds of the breast should be cooked? We are also having ham as another meat to be served.
ellen

11/15/05 		When serving 2 meats, you need a little more than when serving one, as most folks have some of both. Usual is 8 onces dooked weight total. With boneless lean meats like this, you want 1 pound of turkey breast for each 3 persons (about 42 pounds) plus 1 pound of boneless ham for each 5 persons about about 26 pounds. However, not everyone likes their yurkey smoked, so you might consider making 10-12 pounds regular, unsmoked torkey.

The meat goes further if someone carves and serves it. If it is self serve, put it last on the buffet, and you might add 10% to the numbers.

Connie
08/07/06 		I need to cook three turkey for september 2, 2006, can i cook them early and wrap them. I know you are down right now but maybe someone can help me to get started early. Thank you and I hope you get better soon.
ellen
08/07/06 		Connie, go to the Big Pots index page and you will find everything you need to know about cooking and about reheating turkey. There are a lot of points to consider, including food safety issues with storing and reheating- read and learn.
Yvonne
09/13/06 		How many turkeys do I need to feed approximately 139 people?
ellen
09/14/06 		As above, plan for 1 pound whole raw turkey per person for a generous holiday size serving/buffet. If you get the smaller turkeys, under 15-16 pounds, the meat is better. Cut them into front and back, cook separately, fronts to 130 degrees plus 1/2 hour rest, backs to 150-160, 1/2 hour rest. Then everything will be both done and not overcooked.

There is exhaustive info on large turkey dinners- cooking, shopping, etc- listed on the Big Pots index page.

Rhonda Ryan
10/24/06 		Cooking Thanksgiving Meal for 200
Our church is having a Thanksgiving meal for 200. How much of the following should we prepare?
Turkey
Ham
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Gravy
Green Beans
Corn
Cranberry Sauce
Rolls
ellen
10/25/06 		Rhonda, all these questions are answered in the holiday cooking section in Big Pots mentioned above.