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Meat & poultry

Turkey meat

Also called turkey as food and turkey flesh

Turkey meat is poultry taken from the bird’s muscle. Cooks bake, deep-fry, roast, or stuff turkey and serve the meat with gravy, potatoes, or Brussels sprouts.

  • Poultry
  • Gluten-free
  • No listed allergens

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Part used
Muscle
Cooked most in
The Americas, Asia
Top country
United States
Turkey meat, whole

Photo: Dezidor · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use turkey meat

Typical ways to cook or use it

  • Bake
  • Deep fry
  • Roast
  • Stuff

Preparing it

Brine turkey before roasting to improve its flavor and moisture.

Cooking with it

Cooking the dark meat fully can dry out the breast. Brining can help prevent this.

Goes well with

Nutrition

What 100 g of turkey meat holds

Per 100 g, raw. Averages from USDA; real values vary by variety, season and growing conditions.

Protein 73%Fat 27%Carbohydrate 0%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of turkey meat, raw
Energy125 kcal · 523 kJ
Protein17 g
Fat6 g
of which saturated1.6 g
Carbohydrate0 g
of which sugars0 g
Fibre0 g
Sodium233 mg
Cholesterol115 mg
Nutrition per 100 g of turkey meat, raw: minerals and vitamins
Potassium133 mg
Calcium24 mg
Iron1 mg
Magnesium15 mg
Zinc3.4 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)13 µg
Folate5 µg
Vitamin B121.8 µg
Cooked

Protein 75%Fat 25%Carbohydrate 0%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of turkey meat, cooked
Energy162 kcal · 679 kJ
Protein22 g
Fat7.4 g
of which saturated2.2 g
Carbohydrate0 g
of which sugars0 g
Fibre0 g
Sodium246 mg
Cholesterol128 mg
Nutrition per 100 g of turkey meat, cooked: minerals and vitamins
Potassium114 mg
Calcium58 mg
Iron1.2 mg
Magnesium18 mg
Zinc4 mg
Folate7 µg
Vitamin B121.4 µg

Source: USDA FoodData Central (foods 171086, 171087), public domain. Minerals and vitamins are listed only where USDA measured a non-zero amount.

Around the world

Where turkey meat is cooked

5 dishes in the catalogue use turkey meat. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list turkey meat among their ingredients.

Origins

  1. The 1400s · Europe

    Spanish conquistadores brought Aztec turkeys to Europe.

  2. The 1500s · United Kingdom

    Turkey was eaten in England by the 16th century.

  3. The 1600s · United Kingdom

    The Christmas turkey tradition spread across Britain.

On the table

Dishes made with turkey meat

5 dishes in the catalogue use it.
  • Amich

    Armenia

  • Club sandwich

    United States

  • Relleno Negro

  • Balsamic Roasted Turkey Salad

    United States

  • Turkey soup

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include turkey meat.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: turkey meat in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.
Allergens
None of the 15 listed allergens foundChecked and not found: soy, eggs, fish, milk, lupin, wheat, celery, sesame, mustard, peanuts, molluscs, sulphites, tree nuts, crustaceans, gluten cereals.
Animal origin
From: poultryChecked and not found: egg, fish, meat, dairy, honey, insect, gelatin, bone char, shellfish, other animal, animal fining, animal rennet.
Gluten
None
Alcohol
None
Caffeine
None
Pork
None

Family

Related forms

A kind of
meat

Around the world

What turkey meat is called

Names in 52 languages, from Wikidata.
  • Spanish

    carne de pavo · pavo

  • French

    viande de dinde · dinde (viande) · viande de dindon · dindon (viande)

  • Italian

    carne di tacchino

  • Portuguese

    carne de peru

  • German

    Truthahnfleisch · Putenfleisch

  • Dutch

    kalkoenvlees

  • Greek

    Γαλοπούλα (φαγητό)

  • Turkish

    Hindi eti

  • Russian

    индюшатина

  • Arabic

    لحم الديك الرومي

  • Persian

    گوشت بوقلمون

  • Hebrew

    בשר הודו

Show all 52 languages
  • Albanian

    mish gjeldeti

  • Aragonese

    carne de pavo

  • Armenian

    հնդկահավի միս

  • Asturian

    carne de pavu

  • Azerbaijani

    Hinduşka əti

  • Bangla

    টার্কি মাংস

  • Bikol

    Pabo (kakanon)

  • Brazilian Portuguese

    carne de peru · peru

  • Breton

    kig-yar-Indez

  • Bulgarian

    пуешко месо

  • Cantonese

    火雞肉

  • Catalan

    carn de titot · carn de tito

  • Chinese

    火雞肉

  • Chuvash

    Кăркка ашĕ

  • Czech

    krůtí maso · krocaní maso

  • Esperanto

    meleagraĵo

  • Filipino

    Pabo · Inihaw na pabo

  • Finnish

    kalkkunanliha

  • Galician

    carne de pavo

  • Georgian

    ინდაურის ხორცი

  • Hindi

    पेरू (पक्षी) मांस

  • Hungarian

    pulykahús

  • Indonesian

    daging kalkun

  • Irish

    feoil turcaí

  • Japanese

    七面鳥肉 · 七面鳥料理 · ローストターキー

  • Javanese

    Iwak kalkun

  • Korean

    칠면조고기

  • Latin

    Gallopavonina

  • Malay

    daging ayam belanda · ayam belanda

  • Malayalam

    ടർക്കി മാംസം

  • Māori

    korukoru

  • Norwegian Bokmål

    kalkunkjøtt · kalkun

  • Norwegian Nynorsk

    kalkunkjøt · kalkun

  • Serbian

    Ћуретина

  • Slovenian

    puranje meso · meso purana · puran · puranovo meso

  • Swedish

    kalkonkött

  • Tatar

    күркә ите

  • Ukrainian

    Індичатина

  • Uzbek

    Kurka goʻshti

  • Venetian

    carne de pito

  • Vietnamese

    thịt gà tây

Sources and credits

Data

Wikidata item: Q4200953

Photos

Photo: Dezidor · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons