96 Fun Facts About Thanksgiving Turkey

Which Wampanoag dish of boiled cornmeal with vegetables and meat had the Pilgrims adopted by 1621?

Nasaump is a Wampanoag porridge of boiled cornmeal with berries, nuts, vegetables or meat; the Plymouth colonists learned it from their Wampanoag neighbours, and the related word 'samp' survived in New England cooking.

The domesticated turkey, a staple of many holiday meals, has its origins on which continent?

North America: today's domestic varieties descend from birds domesticated in central Mexico at least 2,000 years ago and carried to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th century.

By maximum recorded mass, the domestic turkey ranks where among living bird species?

Eighth: the heaviest domestic turkeys reach about 39 kg (86 lb), behind only the two ostriches, two cassowaries, the emu, the emperor penguin and the greater rhea; such birds are completely flightless.

To kill bacteria, what minimum internal temperature must every part of a cooked turkey, and any reheated leftovers, reach?

165°F (74°C) is the USDA bar for all poultry, measured with a thermometer, and reheated leftovers must hit the same mark.

Which part of a cooked turkey is traditionally broken by two people to make a wish?

Anatomically the furcula, it was called the 'merrythought' when the pulling custom arose in the early 17th century; the name wishbone is only recorded from 1860.

What is the common name for an adult male turkey?

Tom is the usual American name for an adult male turkey; a mature wild tom, at around 8 to 11 kg, weighs roughly twice as much as a hen.

Which US president made the presidential turkey pardon an official annual tradition?

George H.W. Bush made it official in his first year, 1989, announcing that the bird had been granted a 'presidential pardon'; before him presidents had spared their birds only occasionally.

What do cooks call the packet of offal tucked inside a supermarket turkey?

Giblets are the edible organs packed inside the cavity, usually with the neck; they go into stock or gravy, though the liver is often left out because its strong flavour dominates.

Which state raises more farm turkeys than any other, and leads in sugar beets too?

Minnesota raises roughly 40 million turkeys a year, more than any other state, and also leads the country in sugar beets, sweet corn and peas grown for processing.

What is the scientific name of the North American wild turkey, ancestor of domestic turkeys?

The scientific name for the wild turkey, native to North America, is Meleagris gallopavo. This species is the ancestor of all domestic turkeys.

Which amino acid in turkey is wrongly blamed for post-Thanksgiving drowsiness?

Tryptophan levels in turkey are comparable with other meats; the sheer size of the meal is a likelier culprit for the post-dinner slump.

What is the fleshy flap over a male turkey's beak that changes size and colour with his mood?

The snood is erectile tissue on the forehead that hangs over the beak; its length and colour shift with the bird's health, mood and excitement, especially during courtship.

Which cooking method for turkey involves submerging the bird in hot oil?

Deep-frying a turkey has become a popular alternative to roasting, particularly known for producing a crispy skin and juicy meat in a shorter cooking time.

What is the term for a very young turkey?

Poult is the word, with 'turkeyling' the less common alternative.

Which Founding Father, in a letter to his daughter, called the bald eagle 'a bird of bad moral character' and privately preferred the turkey?

Benjamin Franklin wrote it to his daughter Sarah Bache in 1784; there is no evidence he ever publicly proposed the turkey as the national bird, so the preference lives only in that private letter.

What is the purpose of brining a turkey before cooking?

Brining adds flavor and moisture: soaking the bird in salt water seasons the meat and helps it hold its juices, so the dark meat can cook fully without the breast drying out.

Which of these is a common type of wild turkey subspecies found in North America?

There are several subspecies of wild turkey, and the Eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) is the most widespread and numerous subspecies found across much of eastern North America.

What term refers to the fleshy, bumpy growths on a turkey's head and neck?

Caruncles are the fleshy, bumpy growths on a turkey's head and neck, largest at the base of the throat; they flush bright red when the bird is excited or courting.

Approximately how many turkeys are slaughtered for meat worldwide each year?

About 620 million turkeys a year, roughly one bird for every 13 people on Earth; the United States alone slaughters well over 200 million of them.

From roughly how far away can a wild turkey's gobble be heard?

A gobble carries about a mile in open country; males older than a year gobble in early spring to announce themselves to hens and to rival toms.

Which of these is a common ingredient used to stuff a turkey?

Bread cubes are the classic base: a poultry stuffing is typically dried bread with onion, celery, sage and other herbs, sometimes bulked out with the bird's own giblets.

Why can the largest domestic turkeys, unlike agile wild turkeys, not fly at all?

Their sheer size grounds them: the heaviest commercial birds are too heavy for their wings, while younger and smaller domestic turkeys can still manage short flights, perch and roost.

Which breed has dominated US meat-turkey production since the 1960s?

The Broad Breasted White has dominated since the 1960s; selected for a huge breast, a commercial tom reaches about 40 pounds live weight, nearly twice a heritage bird.

Which US state first made Thanksgiving an official annual holiday?

New York was the first state to officially declare Thanksgiving an annual holiday in 1817. It wasn't until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday.

What is the common term for the fatty, triangular piece of skin at the base of a turkey's tail?

The pope's nose, also called the parson's nose or bishop's nose, is the uropygium: fatty skin built around fused tail vertebrae called the pygostyle.

What is the tuft of coarse, hair-like filaments growing from the centre of a male turkey's breast called?

The beard is a tuft of modified feathers growing from the breast; it grows continuously through the bird's life, and roughly one hen in ten sprouts a shorter one too.

Which of these birds is a close genetic relative of the turkey?

A 2007 genomic study placed turkeys firmly inside the pheasant family after years of being treated as their own family, Meleagrididae.

What is the primary benefit of basting a turkey during roasting?

Basting is meant to keep the meat moist and add flavour by spooning pan juices over the skin; done badly it backfires, since every oven-door opening drops the temperature.

Native to North America, wild turkeys typically prefer what type of environment for their habitat?

Forests with openings, hardwood or mixed conifer-hardwood, suit them: they roost in mature trees and feed in nearby pastures, fields and orchards.

Which traditional Thanksgiving accompaniment is made from the roasting-pan juices?

Gravy is made from the roasting-pan juices, cooked on the stovetop with onions and thickened with flour or cornstarch into the classic brown sauce.

Why is white plumage the norm on domestic turkeys?

Pin feathers show less on the carcass: white birds leave pale stubs after plucking, whereas bronze and brown-feathered varieties, still raised in small numbers, leave dark spots that buyers dislike.

In British butchery, what is a turkey 'crown'?

A crown is the breast, still on the bone, with legs and wings removed; it roasts faster and more evenly than a whole bird, so it suits smaller Christmas tables.

Which traditional turkey-cooking method uses indirect heat in an enclosed space?

Smoking a turkey is a popular method that uses indirect heat and wood smoke to slowly cook the bird, infusing it with a distinct smoky flavor and keeping the meat moist.

What is the common name for female turkeys?

Hens is the word, the same one used for female chickens and many other fowl; a young female turkey is a jenny.

What is it called when a turkey is left at room temperature before cooking to ensure even heating?

Tempering a turkey, or letting it sit at room temperature for a period before cooking, helps to ensure that the bird cooks more evenly and prevents the outside from drying out before the inside is done.

What is the primary characteristic that distinguishes dark meat from white meat in a turkey?

Because the pigment needs a higher temperature to fully denature, cooking the legs through tends to dry out the breast.

What muscular-walled organ, sometimes included with the giblets, grinds a bird's food?

The gizzard is a thick-walled muscular pouch; birds swallow grit that lodges there to do the grinding their toothless beaks cannot.

What is the main reason for resting a cooked turkey before carving?

Resting firms up the structure and raises the meat's water-holding capacity, so the board stays drier and the slices juicier.

What kind of eater is the wild turkey?

Omnivore: acorns and other hard mast are favourites, alongside berries, buds and seeds, but wild turkeys also eat insects, snails and even small lizards.

What is the name of the small, fleshy, red growth hanging from a turkey's throat or neck?

Wattles are fleshy, often reddish, growths that hang from the throat or neck of a turkey. Like snoods and caruncles, their appearance can indicate the bird's health and emotional state.

What is the concentrated liquid that collects at the bottom of a turkey roasting pan called?

Drippings are the fat and juices that render out of the bird as it roasts; skimmed of excess fat, they are the base for pan gravy and for moistening the stuffing.

Which editor, rebuffed by four presidents, talked Lincoln into a national Thanksgiving?

Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, had lobbied Presidents Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan without success before Lincoln's 1863 proclamation; she also wrote 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'.

What kitchen product traps steam around a roasting turkey, serving a similar purpose to basting?

An oven bag is a heat-resistant nylon or polyester sleeve; sealed around the bird, it traps steam so the turkey cooks in its own moisture with less attention.

In the US, what is a stuffing-style mixture called when cooked separately and served on the side?

Dressing is the usual word in the South, where the mixture is baked in a dish beside the bird; 'stuffing' strictly means the version cooked inside it.

Which common kitchen tool is essential for accurately checking the internal temperature of a turkey?

A meat thermometer is the only reliable check; the pop-up timer built into many supermarket birds, a spring held by a soft plug that releases at a set temperature, is the low-tech alternative.

What is the distinctive sound a male turkey makes, especially during mating season?

The gobble is the tom's spring mating call; wild turkeys have a whole vocabulary of other calls too, from the plain yelp and purr to the 'kee kee run'.

Roughly how far do wild turkeys, strong short-distance fliers, usually fly at a time?

About 400 m: wild turkeys fly low and fast for a quarter mile or so at a time, enough to reach the tall trees where they roost, sheltering in conifers from blizzards.

Which sweet and tart sauce is the traditional accompaniment to turkey at Thanksgiving dinners in the US and Canada?

Cranberry sauce also accompanies turkey at Christmas dinners in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom.

What method prepares a turkey by removing its backbone and flattening it for faster, more even cooking?

Spatchcocking, also known as butterflying, involves removing the turkey's backbone and flattening the bird. This technique allows for faster and more even cooking, resulting in juicier meat and crispier skin.

What is the typical color of a turkey's head and neck when it is excited or displaying?

Red, white and blue: the bare skin of the head and neck shifts between those colours within seconds as blood flow changes, and vivid colour may advertise a healthy, parasite-free male.

Which president is the first on record to call sparing his Thanksgiving turkey a 'pardon'?

Reagan joked about pardoning the 1987 turkey, Charlie, to deflect questions about pardoning Oliver North over Iran-Contra.

Which president spared a 55-pound turkey in 1963, saying 'we'll let this one grow'?

John F. Kennedy received the bird on November 19, 1963, three days before his assassination; it wore a sign reading 'Good Eating, Mr. President' and he sent it back to the farm.

What was the name of the first female turkey ever pardoned, in 2002?

Katie, a 30-pound hen, and her alternate Zack were named after the children of Ron Prestage, then chairman of the National Turkey Federation.

A likely apocryphal tale has Lincoln pardoning a Christmas turkey for which son?

Tad Lincoln, the president's youngest son, supposedly begged for the pet turkey Jack; the story only appeared in print after Lincoln's assassination in 1865, which is why historians treat it as legend.

Which farmer sent a dressed turkey to every president from 1873 until 1913?

Horace Vose, the Rhode Island 'Poultry King', supplied the White House bird for forty years; his death in 1913 set off a free-for-all of farmers competing to supply it.

Which 1947 Truman food-saving campaign enraged the poultry industry before Thanksgiving?

'Poultryless Thursdays' stung because Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day all fell on Thursdays that winter; farmers answered with 'Hens for Harry', shipping crates of live chickens to the White House.

From 2005 to 2009, where were the pardoned National Thanksgiving Turkeys sent to live out their days?

Disney resorts: from 2005 to 2009 the birds went to Disneyland or Walt Disney World as honorary grand marshals of Disney's Thanksgiving Day Parade; Mount Vernon took over in 2010.

What animal, sent for Coolidge's 1926 Thanksgiving table, became a White House pet?

The raccoon, sent from Mississippi for the 1926 Thanksgiving dinner, was named Rebecca by Calvin and Grace Coolidge, who kept her as a pet and walked her on a leash.

The 2001 pardoned turkey and its backup were named what, in the wake of 9/11?

Liberty and his alternate Freedom were pardoned by George W. Bush two months after the attacks; Stars and Stripes came two years later, in 2003.

Why did Mount Vernon stop taking the pardoned birds after 2012?

Washington never farmed turkeys, so the estate's policy of historical accuracy won out; from 2013 the birds went to Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia.

Before the 2024 White House ceremony, the two finalist turkeys stayed at which DC hotel?

The Willard InterContinental, a block from the White House, hosted the pair as it had earlier years' birds; the National Turkey Federation picked up the bill after acclimating them to crowds, noise and flash photography.

What were the two turkeys pardoned by President Biden in 2021 named?

Peanut Butter and Jelly, both 40-pound birds raised in Jasper, Indiana, retired to Purdue University's animal sciences farm.

In which year did the official presentation of a turkey to the president begin?

1947, under Harry Truman, is when the National Turkey Federation first presented the bird; Truman Library records show he ate at least some of the turkeys he was given.

The mayor of which New Jersey resort coined 'Franksgiving' in 1939?

Atlantic City's mayor coined the portmanteau of 'Franklin' and 'Thanksgiving' after FDR moved the 1939 holiday up a week; a Gallup poll found Americans opposed the earlier date 62% to 38%.

A 1941 act signed by FDR fixed Thanksgiving Day on which day?

The fourth Thursday of November: the joint resolution took effect in 1942, so Thanksgiving always falls between November 22 and 28.

Swanson's original 1953 TV Dinner, a turkey Thanksgiving meal, sold for how much?

It cost 98 cents; the first run was 5,000 dinners in aluminum trays modeled on airline food service, heated 25 minutes at 425°F.

Which Swanson executive is credited with coining the name 'TV dinner'?

Gerry Thomas, a Swanson salesman, claimed the name and the idea; his story that it came from a post-Thanksgiving turkey glut has been disputed by the Swanson family and the Los Angeles Times.

Which NFL commentator popularized the turducken during Thanksgiving Day broadcasts?

He ate his first on-air turducken on December 1, 1996, at the Louisiana Superdome and once sawed one open with his bare hand.

Which Cajun chef is credited with the turducken and trademarked the name in 1986?

Paul Prudhomme trademarked 'turducken' in 1986 and said he first made it in 1963 while cooking at a resort; Hebert's Specialty Meats in Maurice, Louisiana, also claims the dish.

What is the culinary term for stuffing one animal inside another, as in a turducken?

Engastration is the term for stuffing one animal inside another; the turducken, a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, is its best-known modern example.

The vegan Tofurky roast is made by Turtle Island Foods, based in which state?

Oregon: founder Seth Tibbott started the company in 1980 making tempeh, and the Tofurky roast launched in 1995 from Hood River in the Columbia Gorge.

What is the most frequent question asked of Butterball's Turkey Talk-Line?

How long defrosting takes has topped the list since the toll-free line opened in November 1981, when 11,000 people called; the safe answer is about a day per four to five pounds in the fridge.

Butterball LLC moved its headquarters in 2008 to Garner, in which state?

North Carolina: the brand had been bought in 2006 by Carolina Turkeys of Mount Olive, which renamed itself Butterball LLC and settled its headquarters in Garner, outside Raleigh.

Butterball's Turkey Talk-Line first hired male operators in which year?

2013 was the first year the Talk-Line hired men; Butterball noted that by then a quarter of its calls were coming from male cooks.

Roughly how many minutes per pound does a turkey need in a 350°F deep fryer?

About 4 minutes per pound, so a 15-pound bird is done in roughly an hour; that speed is the method's big selling point over hours of roasting.

Which safety certifier has declined to certify outdoor oil turkey fryers?

Underwriters Laboratories has declined to certify outdoor oil turkey fryers: hot oil over an open flame has destroyed a number of homes, and fried birds also cannot be stuffed and yield no drippings for gravy.

The USDA bred the Beltsville Small White turkey from 1934 at a center in which state?

Maryland's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center bred it from 1934 for smaller ovens and apartment-size families; it held about a quarter of US production in the early 1950s before larger whites took over.

Roughly how fast can a wild turkey fly in a short burst?

About 55 mph: wild turkeys burst into low, fast flight to escape predators such as coyotes and bobcats, then glide down to land.

The 'Bronze' turkey name came from an 1830s strain bred in which state?

Rhode Island's Point Judith Bronze lent its name to the whole breed, a cross of English domestic turkeys with wild birds.

The ornamental Royal Palm turkey first appeared in the 1920s on a farm in which state?

Florida: the variety turned up on Enoch Carson's farm in Lake Worth in the 1920s, and it took until 1971 for the white-and-black bird to be admitted to the APA Standard of Perfection.

Britain's oldest turkey breed, from Norfolk, is also known by what name?

Black Spanish is the other name: the Norfolk Black descends from birds that reached England via Spain around 1524, and colonists later carried black turkeys back across the Atlantic.

How are commercial turkey hens fertilized, since mature toms are too big to mate safely?

Artificial insemination is standard in commercial breeding: semen from one tom can serve several hens, so far fewer males are kept, and the breeders' tough meat goes into processed products.

What do turkey eggs look like?

Turkey eggs are cream-coloured with brown speckles and noticeably larger than hens' eggs; a turkey lays only around 100 a year, so they are rarely sold as food.

Minnesota's Fibrominn power plant, opened in 2007, burned what to make electricity?

Turkey litter, the droppings and bedding, fuelled it: the Benson, Minnesota plant produced 55 megawatts from about 500,000 tons a year until Xcel Energy bought it out and shut it down.

In the UK and Ireland, what is a male domestic turkey called?

A stag is the British and Irish word; Americans and Canadians say tom, while cob, gander and drake belong to swans, geese and ducks.

What is a juvenile male wild turkey called?

Jakes have very short beards and tail fans with longer feathers in the middle, unlike the uniform fan of an adult tom.

By the late 1930s, roughly how many wild turkeys were left in the entire United States?

About 30,000, after the species had vanished from 18 states; trap-and-transfer programs rebuilt the population to roughly 7 million by the 2010s.

Roughly how many days does a wild turkey hen incubate her eggs?

About 28 days: she lays 10 to 14 eggs in a shallow dirt depression, and the poults leave the nest within about a day of hatching.

Which 16th-century English navigator is credited with introducing the turkey to England?

William Strickland of Boynton, Yorkshire, is credited with it; his 1550 coat of arms features a 'turkey-cock in his pride proper', one of Europe's earliest depictions of the bird.

In which Shakespeare play is a character mocked as 'a rare turkey-cock' strutting under his plumes?

Twelfth Night: Fabian says of Malvolio, 'Contemplation makes a rare turkey-cock of him'; the casual usage shows the word was already familiar, turkeys having reached England by the 1540s.

What Aztec-derived Spanish word is used for the turkey in modern Mexico?

Guajolote comes from the Classical Nahuatl huehxolotl; Spanish chroniclers described turkey tamales for sale in the markets of Tenochtitlan.

The Aztecs associated the turkey with which trickster god?

Tezcatlipoca took the form of Chalchiuhtotolin, the 'jewelled fowl' or turkey, possibly because of the bird's comical behaviour; Mesoamericans raised it for meat, eggs and decorative feathers.

The ocellated turkey, the wild turkey's only living relative, lives primarily where?

The Yucatán Peninsula, including Belize and Guatemala's Petén, is its range; its tail feathers carry peacock-like eye spots, it has no beard, and its 'gobble' starts with low motor-like thumps.

Cranberry sauce was first paired with turkey in a 1796 cookbook by which author?

Amelia Simmons's American Cookery, the first cookbook written by an American, served its roast turkey 'with boiled onions and cranberry-sauce' but gave no recipe for the sauce.

Which British turkey tycoon made 'Bootiful' a catchphrase in his 1980 TV ads?

Bernard Matthews started in 1950 with twenty turkey eggs and a second-hand incubator and ended up hatching birds in the dining room of Great Witchingham Hall, his Norfolk manor.

Which British chef's 2005 school-dinners campaign got 'turkey twizzlers' pulled from menus?

Jamie Oliver's Channel 4 series Jamie's School Dinners made the twizzler a byword for junk food; the maker withdrew it in 2005 and relaunched a reformulated version in 2020.