By Morgan Watts
N.C. Cooperative Extension

With it being the month for Thanksgiving, it is almost certain that everyone will get to partake in eating turkey. Turkey is one of the most popular types of meat to eat at Thanksgiving. Almost everyone has one, whether they get it baked, or my personal favorite, fried! Did you know that according to the 2020 USDA census that North Carolina produced around 30,000 turkeys, weighing in at 1,134,000 pounds of turkey, for a value of $804,006?

If your family is like mine, we always get a little over ambitious and buy the biggest turkey we can find and after eating all day Thursday for Thanksgiving, we seem to always end up with leftover turkey. So, what do we do with all the leftovers? You can only eat just plain turkey for so many days. Let’s be honest; all the other fixings are usually long gone at this point. Some of my favorite things to do with leftover turkey is to make turkey quesadillas, white turkey chili or my personal favorite, stuffing and turkey casserole (if there is any stuffing left).

Just remember as you indulge in all that turkey to thank the farmers for all of their hard work throughout the year so that we are able to enjoy all of our favorite foods this season.

If you have any questions or want to read more about Agriculture Production Statistics in North Carolina, go to ncagr.gov/stats/.