Tasting Table Asks: Which Cut Of Turkey Is Your Favorite?
Here at Tasting Table, we celebrate food all year long. But, on Thanksgiving, food is the star of the show for foodies and non-foodies alike. Green bean casserole, anyone? Statistically speaking, it looks like the answer is "Yes." Per Insider, 40% of Campbell's annual cream of mushroom soup sales happen within the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Day last year, American consumers put away 250 million pounds of potatoes, 80 million pounds of cranberries, and 40 million bread rolls (via Skillset Group).
While diehard poultry enthusiasts know that cooking turkey can be a year-round activity, Thanksgiving is the holiday when everybody else celebrates the dish, too. Last Thanksgiving, turkey put up similarly impressive numbers: fans enjoyed a whopping 46 million pounds of it. Even though you might find yourself elbow-deep in stuffing ingredients during much of the holiday, it's the aroma of roasted turkey that keeps them coming, so to speak. That's why Tasting Table asked 601 readers about their Thanksgiving Day preferences to find out — once and for all — which cut of turkey is the most popular, and the results are in. (Keep reading to see where your favorite is ranked.)
Turkey breast above the rest
Is bigger always better? When it comes to turkey, our readers seem to think so. Trailing the pack of most-beloved cuts is the humble drumette with 3% of the vote. (In case you haven't worked with it before, Goffle Road Poultry Farm says the drumette is the middle section of the wing. Small yet mighty.) Next up, the tenderloin: described by Shady Brook Farms as the ultra-tender part beneath the turkey breast, it drew 4.66% of the vote. Wings landed someplace in the middle, garnering a solid 11.98% of the vote, which is fitting, considering Cookist describes wings as the "middle" cut of the turkey, fatter than the breast yet thinner than the thighs. Speaking of which, 14.48% of readers said they're thigh fans, and understandably so. Thighs have the highest fat content on the bird; if you like to celebrate your holiday with an especially decadent mouthful, the thighs are where it's at. Drumsticks, one of the darker, juicier sections of the bird, were just ahead with 15.64% of the vote.
Without further ado, the moment we've all been waiting for. In first place, with over half of the vote, is turkey breast. 50.25% of readers said they'll be reaching their forks straight for lean, tender turkey breast this Thanksgiving Day. But, since the breast is such a popular favorite cut, it looks like you'll have to be quick enough to snag a piece at the dinner table. You can save the tryptophan coma for later.