Roast turkey
Roast turkey—the preparation of the whole bird as a meal for a large group of people—has a long tradition in North America that dates back to the time when wild turkeys were shot to be roasted on the campfire and continues to modern times when a domesticated turkey is prepared in the oven to be served at a family gathering, typically on Thanksgiving and also on Christmas Day. Turkeys, which originated in the Americas, also have a long tradition of being prepared in European countries such as England and France for festive occasions. Because of the large size of the typical turkey, it is almost always roasted whole rather than being cut into separate pieces for other types of preparation, as for the literally thousands of recipes for chicken for instance. Because of industrial breeding processes, a medium-sized turkey of today would have been considered a very large turkey 50 years ago. Recipes for roast turkey dating to the mid-20th century often call for turkeys weighing between six and eight pounds. Today a separate, boned turkey breast can be purchased that typically weighs the same amount, while whole turkeys weighing 20 to 30 pounds are easily found.