Thanksgiving is coming and you need to just relax and embrace the horror.
Accept the fact that you’ll get at least something wrong. The turkey will be too big. Or too small. Or too frozen. There won’t be enough mashed potatoes, or maybe you’ll forget to salt them. Maybe you’ll have rivers of gravy, but only enough stuffing for two people. Which is just as well, because you probably won’t remember what temperature the stuffing is supposed to be cooked to anyway.
We can’t solve all of those problems for you, but we can give you a cheat sheet to help you avoid at least a few blunders. We’ve done some of the most common Thanksgiving math for you. Now you can focus on more important things, such as who will sit next to your obnoxious uncle or how to deflect your mother-in-law’s unwanted housekeeping advice.
Because this is Thanksgiving, all serving estimates are generous to allow for plenty of seconds and leftovers.
HOW BIG?
For turkeys less than 16 pounds, estimate 1 pound per serving (this accounts for bone weight). For larger birds, a bit less is fine; they have a higher meat-to-bone ratio. But if your goal is to have very ample leftovers, aim for 11/2 pounds per person no matter how big the turkey is.