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Traditionally turkeys are eaten as the main course of Christmas dinner in many countries of the world since first appearing in England some time around the 16th century and also for Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada, though this tradition originates from modern times as opposed to colonial times as is often thought. Pork ribs were actually the preferred and most common food for the holiday period before the 20th century as the animals were usually slaughtered in November time. At one time Turkeys were so abundant in the wild that they were eaten all year round and were commonplace, whereas pork ribs were rarely available outside of the Thanksgiving and New Year season. While it was traditional to serve turkey at Christmas across England during the 17th century, it was more common that the working classes served goose, and this remained the most predominate roast dinner until Victorian times. Eating turkey was once only mainly eaten on special occasions such as these, but nowadays turkey is eaten all year round and it forms a regular part of many people's diet. Turkeys are usually sold whole, similar to chickens with the head feathers and feat removed first, but you can also buy Turkey either sliced or minced as well. It is also popular to buy whole frozen turkeys. It is popular to make sandwiches using sliced turkey meat and it can also be severed up as cold cuts as well. Turkey can usually be used as a substitute for chicken in chicken recopies and minced turkey is sold in just the same way as minced beef and is often promoted as a healthy substitute for beef. If turkey isn't prepared and cooked carefully it tends to end up a lot less moist than other poultry meats like chicken or duck. On Boxing Day it is a popular custom to serve up leftovers from the cold turkey as cold cuts and then the caucus of the bird can be boiled up to make a very tasty turkey soup.

Whilst wild turkeys are technically the same species as domesticated turkeys, farm raised turkeys have a very different taste. With wild turkeys almost all of the meat is dark meat, even the breast, and it also usually has a much stronger and more intense flavour. The flavour can also vary from season to season due to the changes in the available forage the birds can find to eat, and this often gives wild turkey meat a much gamier flavour in the late summer time due to the greater number of insects in its diet when compared to the other months of the year. A wild turkey that has mainly eaten grain and grass will have a much milder flavour. There is a large amount of turkey meat processed and older heritage breeds also can differ in flavour a lot too. Turkey can also be smoked and in this way is sometimes referred to as turkey ham. Deep fried turkey meat in twisted helices came to the news in the UK in 2004 when Jamie Oliver, the popular TV chef, campaigned to get these turkey twizzlers and other similar foods removed from school dinner menus. Turkey eggs aren't commonly sold for food like chicken eggs, duck eggs and quail eggs are because of the high demand for whole turkeys and their lower egg production when compared to the other fowl. It is estimated that one turkey egg is worth about $3.50 on the open market whereas you can but a box of a dozen chicken eggs for less money. On Christmas day in the UK in 2009 it is estimated that 7,734,000 Turkeys were eaten for Christmas dinner.

The same as with most foods, fresh turkeys are usually preferred for cooking rather than frozen ones but they also usually cost a little more. During the holiday season when the demand is the highest they can become much more difficult to purchase due to the increased demand for them and many people place their orders for their Christmas turkey well in advance to avoid any last minute disappointments. Due to the large size of turkeys usually purchased for the holiday season frozen ones can take several days to defrost properly. Turkeys are normally either roasted or baked in the oven and usually take several hours to cook. Some people like to brine their turkey before cooking it as they say that it enhances the flavour and makes the meat moister. Brining helps to fully cook the dark meat without drying out the breast meat too much as the dark meat requires a higher temperature to denature all of the myoglobin pigment than the white meat that is very low in myoglobin. Other people recommend cooking the bird upside down which can also help to cook the dark meat better whilst keeping the breast meat moist. Some people also like to decorate the finished cooked turkey with frills prior to serving.

Some people, especially in South America, prefer to deep fry their turkey in hot oil for around 30 to 45 minutes using a turkey fryer. Deep frying turkey has become something of a fad but can have hazardous consequences due to the large amounts of hot oil required so be very careful if you decide to try this method of cooking your Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey yourself. Turkey's white meat has a lower fat content than the dark meat and so is considered to be slightly more healthy but the actual nutritional difference are in fact very small. The white meat of turkey is generally considered healthier than dark meat because of its lower fat content, but the nutritional differences are small. Turkey meat also contains small amounts tryptophan which some people say causes sleepiness but holiday dinners are usually very large meals served up with lots of carbohydrates, fats and are often accompanied by consuming alcohol so all these factors combined with a relaxed atmosphere probably contribute far more to post meal sleepiness than any tryptophan from the turkey.