About how much does a raw whole turkey weigh? And what size turkey should you choose for the smoker? Knowing the answers will make it easier for you to plan your next event. That’s why we’ve put together this guide on average turkey weight.
Average Turkey Weight
Turkeys that are packaged for sale will usually weigh somewhere between 7 and 30 pounds, but 18- to 20-pounders are the most common. Remember that you’ll need to get a turkey that can fit inside your smoker, so it may be better to look for one that’s on the lighter side.
How Much Does a Turkey Weigh?
Even when you attempt to find the average weight of a whole turkey, you’re looking at a broad range.
The turkeys that are available for sale commercially will typically weigh in at anywhere between 7 and 30 pounds. A domestic turkey weighs about 20 pounds on average, whereas the wild birds are smaller—8 to 10 pounds for the hens and 18 pounds for the toms.
As you can tell, even the turkeys on the lighter end of the spectrum aren’t exactly small. That’s one of the qualities that make whole turkeys such a popular choice for large gatherings, especially around the holidays.
Does it Make a Difference if the Turkey is Fresh or Frozen?
When meat is frozen, it’s a bit heavier than it was before. That’s because the moisture that’s contained within the meat’s fibers has turned to ice, which increases the total weight.
However, the weight that’s listed on the label should refer to how much the turkey weighed before it was frozen. So although it may lose a bit of moisture through the freezing and thawing process, it doesn’t really matter if the turkey is frozen or fresh.
If anything, you might notice a difference in the quality of a fresh turkey versus a frozen one. Fresh turkeys are often juicier than their frozen counterparts, with a richer taste. This is true especially of organic and free range turkeys.
Bear in mind that if you want to try cooking a fresh turkey, you can expect to pay a hefty per-pound price. You should also cook the meat off within a day or two, unless you purchased the turkey directly from a local farm.
How Much Turkey Should I Plan to Serve Per Person?
Our baseline estimate is to start with 1-1/4 pounds of raw turkey for each guest. This will work for most appetites, as it should yield around 1/2 pound of cooked meat per person.
Since we prefer to err on the side of caution, though, we usually round up to 1-1/2 pounds per person. That way, we can rest assured that there will be plenty of meat left over for sandwiches—or perhaps even a turkey pot pie.
There are a number of factors that could affect your final estimate. Young children won’t consume as much turkey as adults, for one thing. Gatherings that are held earlier in the day also tend to yield more leftovers, as most people eat their main meal in the evening.
What Size Turkey Works Best in the Smoker?
Before you start shopping, take a look at your smoker. Is it designed to hold a turkey that weighs 20 pounds or more? If not, you’ll definitely have to restrict your search.
Even if your smoker is large enough to accommodate a bigger turkey, remember that you’ll need to estimate your cooking time based on weight. A 22-pound turkey could be in the smoker for 7 to 8 hours, depending on what temperature you choose.
In fact, the larger the bird, the harder it is to guess when it might be done. That’s one of the reasons why we prefer to select birds in the 10- to 12-pound range for the smoker.
Do you need more meat than a 12-pounder can provide? In that case, try buying two turkeys and smoking them in tandem. That way, you’ll wind up with twice as much cooked turkey, but it will cook at the same rate as it would if you’d smoked a single bird.
Do Small Turkeys Taste Better?
The difference here has less to do with flavor and more to do with texture.
Small turkeys tend to be more tender than larger ones. The meat toughens up as the bird ages, so a turkey that was slaughtered at a younger age will have a more appealing texture than one that was allowed to grow bigger.
As an aside, we should mention that the hens are typically slaughtered at a younger age than the toms. That means a female turkey is likely to be smaller and therefore more tender than a male.
How Long to Smoke a Turkey Per Pound
Once you know how much your turkey weighs, you’ll have to estimate how long it will take to cook.
Your next step will be to decide at what temperature to smoke the turkey. A lower smoker temperature will allow the meat to take on more smoke flavor, but it will also prolong the cooking time.
Conversely, setting the smoker to a higher temp will get dinner on the table faster, but it might not give the wood smoke enough time to do its work. It’s important to find a happy medium between these two extremes.
There’s no need to set the smoker as low as 225 when preparing a whole turkey. Unlike ribs and brisket, which need to cook low and slow to achieve the right texture, the turkey is naturally lean. In fact, a prolonged cooking time could dry out the meat.
The next time you want to smoke a turkey, try setting the smoker to 275 degrees. This should result in meat that’s tender and juicy, with just the right amount of smoky flavor.
At 275 degrees, the turkey should cook through at a rate of 20 to 25 minutes per pound. Be forewarned that if your turkey is very large, you may be able to knock a few minutes off the per-pound estimate.
Setting the smoker to 300 will speed things along a bit, but not by much. Estimate 18 to 20 minutes per pound at this temperature. Smokers that run on the cooler side should be set to this temp to begin with, as they may dip into the 275-280 range anyway.
You can also set the smoker to 325, and the turkey should cook for around 15 minutes per pound. Be aware, though, that when you cook a turkey at this temperature, it will resemble a traditionally roasted bird more than a smoked one.
It’s best to check the turkey’s internal temperature at the estimated halfway point. That will give you a solid idea about how things are progressing.
The bird is done when the breast meat has cooked to 165 degrees and the dark meat has achieved an internal temp of 185. It’s fine to remove the turkey from the smoker when the temps are 5 degrees lower than these, since the meat will continue to cook as it rests.
The Bottom Line
As a rule, the turkey is a very large bird. The ones that are raised for sale are often even bigger than their wild counterparts, as the producers know that they can make more money when the birds weigh more.
The upside is that you should have plenty of leeway in terms of size when selecting a whole turkey. That will make it easier to buy just as much meat as you need.
Best of luck, and happy grilling!
