How Many Ounces Is a Slice of Turkey?
The number of ounces in a slice of turkey varies based on how thick or thin the turkey is cut at the deli. If you’re purchasing prepackaged turkey slices, the weight of the slice will vary depending on the brand. Most slices of turkey are around 1 or 2 ounces in weight.
Measuring the Weight of Your Turkey Slices
The most precise way to measure the weight of your turkey slices is with a food scale. Start by placing your plate or napkin on the food scale and zeroing the food scale. You don’t want the food scale to count the weight of your dish or whatever you’re using to hold your meal towards the weight of your food. Then, select your preferred unit of measurement. You can then place your turkey slice on the food scale to determine its exact weight.
The Appropriate Serving Size for Turkey
If you’re watching your serving sizes or want to consume a specific amount of protein each day, it’s helpful to know the serving size for turkey. While the official serving size is dependent on the brand of the turkey, the suggested serving size for turkey is approximately 3 ounces.
Using Grams to Measure the Weight of Your Turkey Slices
Some food scales and food tracking apps use grams rather than ounces to measure portion sizes. If you’re used to weighing portions in ounces, you might not be able to visualize a serving in grams. There are approximately 28.35 grams in an ounce. So, if know that you need a 3-ounce portion, you would weigh out 85.05 grams of turkey.
Tips for Evenly Slicing Your Turkey
When serving or preparing turkey, you want to slice it as uniformly as possible. Before you start slicing, clean off any surfaces that you’ll use for your food prep and check that you have a sharp carving knife.
If you’re slicing a whole turkey, remove the legs and wings before making a horizontal cut along the rib area of the turkey. Then, make vertical cuts down to the horizontal cut for neat, even slices. You can also cut each of the turkey breasts away from the turkey entirely before you slice them.
In situations where you need paper-thin slices of turkey, use an electric meat slicer. Electric meat slicers allow you to customize the thickness of your slices so that they’re your ideal thickness.
How to Determine How Much Turkey You Need
Many people struggle with deciding how large of a turkey or how much turkey they need to purchase for their gathering or event. Culinary experts suggest that you cook a pound of turkey per person. So, if you’re having 10 people over, you’ll want to cook a 10-pound turkey.
This might seem excessive, especially now that you know a typical serving of turkey is only 3 ounces. However, the weight of a whole turkey also includes the bones. Cooking a 10-pound whole turkey doesn’t yield 10 pounds of meat. Using the pound-per-person recommendation accounts for the weight of the bones and will likely leave you with some leftovers after the event.
When cooking a boneless turkey, like a turkey breast, it’s permissible to use three-quarters of a pound per person as your guideline. This means that you’ll need a 7.5-pound turkey breast when you’re cooking for 10 people.
