Turkey: Tom or Hen

alan said:

Waldbaums, our supermarket, has turkeys in sale if you spend $25. The
Toms are 29 cents a pound and the Hens are 39 cents. Price wars are
great!.

We had the Tom last week and it's still on sale. It was pretty good
after a short 1 hour brining. I used Alton Brown's 500% for the first
1/2 hour and the rest at 350.

What is the difference in taste between a Tom and a Hen and is there
any difference in the size of the breast in the Hen?

Also, the same supermarket is selling choice Rib Roast (Middle Cut)
for $3.99 a pound. We were going to make brisket and turkey for
thanksgiving but we now we're thinking about Turkey and Rib Roast,
although brisket can be made the day before.

Anyway, what is the middle cut like?

I may be wrong, but I think the birds are sorted by size rather than
sex. A "hen" is smaller than a "tom", and either be male or female.

The heavier the bird, the more meat you get per pound.

Bob

zxcvbob said:

alan said:

Waldbaums, our supermarket, has turkeys in sale if you spend $25. The
Toms are 29 cents a pound and the Hens are 39 cents. Price wars are
great!.

What is the difference in taste between a Tom and a Hen and is there
any difference in the size of the breast in the Hen?

Quoted message said:

I may be wrong, but I think the birds are sorted by size rather than
sex. A "hen" is smaller than a "tom", and either be male or female.

The heavier the bird, the more meat you get per pound.

Bob

No, a hen is actually a 'woman' turkey (I know, I know, what a stupid
thing to say) and of course that makes the toms male. Most all turks
sold in the store are toms because they do seem to have the larger
breast. Hen turkeys can be had at the grocery stores but you may have
to do a search at your market or request they order one for you.

I've had both and not being a con-o-sewer I couldn't really tell any
difference in the taste. Some say there is, but I couldn't distinguish
any.

itsjoannotjoann said:

zxcvbob said:

alan said:

Waldbaums, our supermarket, has turkeys in sale if you spend $25. The
Toms are 29 cents a pound and the Hens are 39 cents. Price wars are
great!.

What is the difference in taste between a Tom and a Hen and is there
any difference in the size of the breast in the Hen?

Quoted message said:

I may be wrong, but I think the birds are sorted by size rather than
sex. A "hen" is smaller than a "tom", and either be male or female.

The heavier the bird, the more meat you get per pound.

Bob

No, a hen is actually a 'woman' turkey (I know, I know, what a stupid
thing to say) and of course that makes the toms male. Most all turks
sold in the store are toms because they do seem to have the larger
breast. Hen turkeys can be had at the grocery stores but you may have
to do a search at your market or request they order one for you.

I know /biologically/ that's the difference between toms and hens, but
when they are gutted and plucked and shrink-wrapped in plastic, I think
the wrapper says "tom" on the 20 pounders and "hen" on the 10 pounders,
and the actual sex of the once bird has nothing to do with it.

The males do tend to be larger, but I don't think they really sex them.

Quoted message said:

I've had both and not being a con-o-sewer I couldn't really tell any
difference in the taste. Some say there is, but I couldn't distinguish
any.

Best regards,
Bob

zxcvbob said:

I know /biologically/ that's the difference between toms and hens, but
when they are gutted and plucked and shrink-wrapped in plastic, I think
the wrapper says "tom" on the 20 pounders and "hen" on the 10 pounders,
and the actual sex of the once bird has nothing to do with it.

The males do tend to be larger, but I don't think they really sex them.

Quoted message said:

Best regards,
Bob

You could very well be right. All I know is I wouldn't want to have to
sex a turkey! <snort>

itsjoannotjoann said:

zxcvbob said:

I know /biologically/ that's the difference between toms and hens, but
when they are gutted and plucked and shrink-wrapped in plastic, I think
the wrapper says "tom" on the 20 pounders and "hen" on the 10 pounders,
and the actual sex of the once bird has nothing to do with it.

The males do tend to be larger, but I don't think they really sex them.

Quoted message said:

Best regards,
Bob

You could very well be right. All I know is I wouldn't want to have to
sex a turkey! <snort>

It's actually easier to sex a turkey than it is these days to sex
humans.
Make turkeys have all the fancy schmancy pumage.

Sheldon

zxcvbob said:

alan said:

Waldbaums, our supermarket, has turkeys in sale if you spend $25. The
Toms are 29 cents a pound and the Hens are 39 cents. Price wars are
great!.

We had the Tom last week and it's still on sale. It was pretty good
after a short 1 hour brining. I used Alton Brown's 500% for the first
1/2 hour and the rest at 350.

What is the difference in taste between a Tom and a Hen and is there
any difference in the size of the breast in the Hen?

Also, the same supermarket is selling choice Rib Roast (Middle Cut)
for $3.99 a pound. We were going to make brisket and turkey for
thanksgiving but we now we're thinking about Turkey and Rib Roast,
although brisket can be made the day before.

Anyway, what is the middle cut like?

I may be wrong, but I think the birds are sorted by size rather than
sex. A "hen" is smaller than a "tom", and either be male or female.

Actually the hens are indeed females, the toms are indeed males... and
it is very easy to tell the difference.... as easy as telling a rooster
from a hen with chickens

Quoted message said:

The heavier the bird, the more meat you get per pound.

Actually it's the opposite.... the heavier the bird the greater the
bone to meat ratio.

There is more meat, and more white meat, on two 12 pound hens than on
one 24 pound tom. Hens are moister and tastier, cook quicker, and are
easier to handle.... two hens cooked together will require the same
time as one hen. Hens being so much smaller will also defrost more
quickly. I recommend two hens rather than one large tom... you get
four wings and four drumsticks too. And even though hens may cost 10%
more they contain 10% more meat, and requiring less cooking time save
energy use too... no matter how you slice it hens are a better buy.

Sheldon

I wonder why the hens are 10 cents more a pound, unless there is just
less of a supply or with the Tom, you get a volume discount.

On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 13:33:02 -0600, zxcvbob <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

itsjoannotjoann said:

zxcvbob said:

alan wrote:

>Waldbaums, our supermarket, has turkeys in sale if you spend $25. The
>Toms are 29 cents a pound and the Hens are 39 cents. Price wars are
>great!.
>
>
>What is the difference in taste between a Tom and a Hen and is there
>any difference in the size of the breast in the Hen?
>
>

Quoted message said:

I may be wrong, but I think the birds are sorted by size rather than
sex. A "hen" is smaller than a "tom", and either be male or female.

The heavier the bird, the more meat you get per pound.

Bob

No, a hen is actually a 'woman' turkey (I know, I know, what a stupid
thing to say) and of course that makes the toms male. Most all turks
sold in the store are toms because they do seem to have the larger
breast. Hen turkeys can be had at the grocery stores but you may have
to do a search at your market or request they order one for you.

I know /biologically/ that's the difference between toms and hens, but
when they are gutted and plucked and shrink-wrapped in plastic, I think
the wrapper says "tom" on the 20 pounders and "hen" on the 10 pounders,
and the actual sex of the once bird has nothing to do with it.

The males do tend to be larger, but I don't think they really sex them.

Quoted message said:

I've had both and not being a con-o-sewer I couldn't really tell any
difference in the taste. Some say there is, but I couldn't distinguish
any.

Best regards,
Bob

Joan,

I used to think females had larger breasts than males but I guess it
depends on who you hang out with. It's a good think to know for
reincarnation.

alan

itsjoannotjoann said:

zxcvbob said:

alan said:

Waldbaums, our supermarket, has turkeys in sale if you spend $25. The
Toms are 29 cents a pound and the Hens are 39 cents. Price wars are
great!.

What is the difference in taste between a Tom and a Hen and is there
any difference in the size of the breast in the Hen?

Quoted message said:

I may be wrong, but I think the birds are sorted by size rather than
sex. A "hen" is smaller than a "tom", and either be male or female.

The heavier the bird, the more meat you get per pound.

Bob

No, a hen is actually a 'woman' turkey (I know, I know, what a stupid
thing to say) and of course that makes the toms male. Most all turks
sold in the store are toms because they do seem to have the larger
breast. Hen turkeys can be had at the grocery stores but you may have
to do a search at your market or request they order one for you.

I've had both and not being a con-o-sewer I couldn't really tell any
difference in the taste. Some say there is, but I couldn't distinguish
any.

alan said:

Joan,

I used to think females had larger breasts than males but I guess it
depends on who you hang out with. It's a good think to know for
reincarnation.

alan

I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole!

I don't know where my mind was when I said I would hate to have to sex
a turkey, but Sheldon was right. It's easy to sex one by looking at
his gorgeous plumage. And this brings me to a little tale.

About 7 or 8 years ago ex-b/f and I were at the Henry Ford Museum in
Dearborn, Michigan. The second day of our two day ticket we were
touring the grounds and were at the Harvey Firestone farm portion of
this enormous place. We were outside of the house and they had maybe a
1/2 dozen of tom turkeys. Also, there were several elementary school
children there with their parents. Nobody could get the turkeys to
come to them and they were very tame. I don't know why but I made a
sound sort of like brrrrrrt and ALL those turkeys came to me with all
their spectacular plummage displayed! It was quite a sight to see as I
had only ever seen this on tv. Needless to say, I was a hit with all
those kids.

When I got home I told my little tale of me and the turkeys and one of
the guys I work with started sniggering. He told me that was the sound
the hens made when they were looking for a turkey b/f and ready to
mate!! I was a little red-faced but no worse off for the experience.

itsjoannotjoann said:

Quoted message said:

I may be wrong, but I think the birds are sorted by size rather than
sex. A "hen" is smaller than a "tom", and either be male or female.

The heavier the bird, the more meat you get per pound.

No, a hen is actually a 'woman' turkey (I know, I know, what a stupid
thing to say) and of course that makes the toms male. Most all turks
sold in the store are toms because they do seem to have the larger
breast. Hen turkeys can be had at the grocery stores but you may have
to do a search at your market or request they order one for you.

I've had both and not being a con-o-sewer I couldn't really tell any
difference in the taste. Some say there is, but I couldn't distinguish
any.

When all else fails, Google is you friend. From the University of Illinois
Turkey for the Holiday page:

A Hen or A Tom Turkey

Most experts agree that a hen turkey is a better buy than a tom. Hens are
generally weigh less than 16 pounds and a tom turkey is usually over 16
pounds. Toms are larger with larger bones and less edible portions. However,
age not gender is the determining factor where tenderness is concerned.

alan said:

Waldbaums, our supermarket, has turkeys in sale if you spend $25. The
Toms are 29 cents a pound and the Hens are 39 cents. Price wars are
great!.

We had the Tom last week and it's still on sale. It was pretty good
after a short 1 hour brining. I used Alton Brown's 500% for the first
1/2 hour and the rest at 350.

What is the difference in taste between a Tom and a Hen and is there
any difference in the size of the breast in the Hen?

Also, the same supermarket is selling choice Rib Roast (Middle Cut)
for $3.99 a pound. We were going to make brisket and turkey for
thanksgiving but we now we're thinking about Turkey and Rib Roast,
although brisket can be made the day before.

Anyway, what is the middle cut like?

Most of the Thanksgiving turkeys are young Toms. The reason being that
female turkeys are kept for breeding. One Tom can service a flock of
hens, so Toms get the axe. The same is true for most of the meats we eat.

If the turkeys are the same age, then there should not be a lot of
difference. The Toms will probably be bigger for their age and have more
meat on their bones. Hens, generally, have a higher fat ratio. If there is
an age difference (young tom, old hen) the hen will be tougher and
more stringy.

There are less hens available, so, often, they are priced higher.
When hens are on the market, it can be because there was a bumper crop of
hens or older, non-laying, or no-longer-laying hens are being culled from
the crop.

Elaine, too

alan said:

Joan,

I used to think females had larger breasts than males but I guess it
depends on who you hang out with. It's a good think to know for
reincarnation.

alan

That's only in mammals! <wink>

Elaine, too

itsjoannotjoann said:

I don't know where my mind was when I said I would hate to have to sex
a turkey, but Sheldon was right. It's easy to sex one by looking at
his gorgeous plumage. And this brings me to a little tale.

About 7 or 8 years ago ex-b/f and I were at the Henry Ford Museum in
Dearborn, Michigan. The second day of our two day ticket we were
touring the grounds and were at the Harvey Firestone farm portion of
this enormous place. We were outside of the house and they had maybe a
1/2 dozen of tom turkeys. Also, there were several elementary school
children there with their parents. Nobody could get the turkeys to
come to them and they were very tame. I don't know why but I made a
sound sort of like brrrrrrt and ALL those turkeys came to me with all
their spectacular plummage displayed! It was quite a sight to see as I
had only ever seen this on tv. Needless to say, I was a hit with all
those kids.

When I got home I told my little tale of me and the turkeys and one of
the guys I work with started sniggering. He told me that was the sound
the hens made when they were looking for a turkey b/f and ready to
mate!! I was a little red-faced but no worse off for the experience.

Tee hee hee. Look at the bright side. It is always nice to know you
haven't lost your sex appeal!

Elaine, too

Elaine Parrish said:

If the turkeys are the same age, then there should not be a lot of
difference. The Toms will probably be bigger for their age and have more
meat on their bones. Hens, generally, have a higher fat ratio. If there is
an age difference (young tom, old hen) the hen will be tougher and
more stringy.

Especially if they are married :-)

Quoted message said:

There are less hens available, so, often, they are priced higher.
When hens are on the market, it can be because there was a bumper crop of
hens or older, non-laying, or no-longer-laying hens are being culled from
the crop.

Turkeys tend to produce about three times as many hens as toms.

Dave Smith said:

Turkeys tend to produce about three times as many hens as toms.

Naturally you can offer better proof than imbecilic Elaine.

Actually with avians the percentage of male to female production in the
wild is darn close to 1 : 1. There is much info on the net regarding
this topic. With domestic birds for food production, such as turkeys,
farmers have tried to manipulate the sex ratio with temperature and
hormones but to no avail, the population stays darn close to 1 : 1.

Also, large turkey farmers that raise turkey for consumption either buy
their chicks (poults) or incubate eggs but typically do not produce
eggs, instead they purchase fertile eggs from farmers who just breed.
They definitely do not wish to lose any so turkey farmers who proudce
marketable turkey refrain from attempts at artificial population
manipulation... I mean they can kill off a certain percentage of poults
as soon as they can be sexed. duh Hens mature for market at about 15
weeks, toms at about 20 weeks. Production of both sexes is very close
to equal.

If you search <turkey raising> you will be amazed at what's available.

Btw, did you know that turkeys possess a significantly higher IQ than
Elaine

I have wild turkeys living on my property (100s), I can confirm that
the mix of males to females is purty darn equal. But, not all males
actually mate. The related males (those of the same mother) will work
as a team to round up the females but only the dominant male gets to
mate while his brothers stand guard to keep other males away and to
cheer their brother on... only the toms can make the gobble sound,
which can be heard for a mile. Don't believe, look it up, every word
is true.

Sheldon

"itsjoannotjoann" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

alan said:

Joan,

I used to think females had larger breasts than males but I guess it
depends on who you hang out with. It's a good think to know for
reincarnation.

alan

I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole!

or a ten foot swede

Quoted message said: