Turkey or ham? Survey takers, locals weigh in on holiday menu debate

From the TribLIVE archive, this story was first published on Nov. 24, 2021.

Ready to roast that Thanksgiving … swine?

Turkey is the traditional centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner, of course, but ham has become a leading contender among alternative entree choices.

Ham is included in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual price survey that pegs the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner “in recognition of changes in Thanksgiving dinner traditions.”

By the numbers, turkey remains the holiday staple:

• Americans eat about 46 million turkeys for Thanksgiving compared to 24.75 million pounds of ham, according to The Washington Post, which cited numbers from Illinois University Extension and a food industry expert.

• Nearly 90% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving, a National Turkey Federation survey found.

• Turkey sales in the four weeks leading up to Thanksgiving 2020 totaled $716 million, up more than 7% from the previous year. Smoked ham sales were at $307 million, an increase of 4.5%, according to grocery data cited by marketing research firm 210 Analytics.

• Spending on Thanksgiving turkeys will jump to $927 million this year, driven by an expected increase in the per-pound price compared to last year, according to projections from Finder.com.

Christmas: A different story

Protein preferences are a more mixed bag at the Christmas dinner table.

Turkey consumption drops off by more than half, to 22 million birds, according to the Illinois University Extension.

But turkey remained the meat of choice three-quarters of the time in a series of head-to-head matchups with other Christmas foods done by YouGov, which polled 1,140 people last year.

But other meat choices weren’t far behind.

Prime rib won against the competition 69% of the time, followed by 66% for roast beef, 65% for steak, 64% for chicken, 64% also for roast pork and 62% for ham.

Less popular entrees included lamb (39%), duck (33%), goose (28%) and tofu (11%).

Turkey is the primary Thanksgiving entree at the home of Jim Matarazzo in Manor. But “ham is available if someone doesn’t like turkey,” he said.

The Matarazzo Christmas menu reflects the family’s Italian heritage. “My son makes a meatless pasta using squid,” he said, noting Italian roast beef also will have a starring role.

Rosanne Bodziak of Latrobe similarly makes sure all her Thanksgiving guests can have what they want. She, too, is serving both ham and turkey.

For Christmas, the choices will be ham and, “just for something different,” chicken Kiev.

In between, her family will gather for a traditional meatless Polish Christmas Eve feast.

“We have fish,” she said. “We’ve done that every year.”

“Turkey may beat ham a little bit at Thanksgiving. It’s all-American,” says local restaurateur Joey DiSalvo, while “at Christmastime, it’s a world holiday.”

Still, his DiSalvo’s Station Restaurant in Latrobe will offer both roasted turkey and honey-glazed ham to diners on Thanksgiving. Cod with a Seafood Newburg sauce and herb-roasted chicken will be other meat choices on the buffet menu.

“We offer the best of both worlds,” DiSalvo said of the Thanksgiving entree options. “It’s strictly preferential.”

For his own family holiday gatherings, DiSalvo said, “We come home and eat the traditional American Thanksgiving dinner.”

But, at Christmas, his personal menus are rooted in the customs of Abruzzo, Italy, where his family originated. Following a Christmas Eve repast centered on seafood, his dinner on Dec. 25 is likely to include filet mignon or lamb.

“Lamb has been a big thing for Christmas in that region of Italy,” he said.

While the choice of meat for holiday meals may be primarily a matter of personal taste or family tradition, there are other factors residents may weigh when they decide what to serve.

Price

In general, turkey is cheaper than ham, which comes with added expense if it’s boneless or specially smoked. But turkey comes with a drawback — a shorter shelf life than cured ham.

The Farm Bureau survey indicates the price of a 16-pound Thanksgiving turkey has increased from $19.39 in 2020 to $23.99 this year. But, the bureau notes, many retailers have cut their prices since survey participants checked out frozen birds, from Oct. 26 to Nov. 8.

The survey indicates a 4-pound ham can be had for $10.87 this year, up from $9.16 in 2020.

Canadian Living cites a typical adult serving of turkey meat at between a half-pound and 1 pound, each adding between 1½ pounds and 2 pounds to the required whole turkey purchase.

Southern Living suggests a typical serving between a third of a pound and a half-pound of boneless ham.

Nutrition

When it comes to overall health impacts, turkey is a better choice than ham. That’s the conclusion of foodstruct.com, based on information from the National Library of Medicine.

While it’s higher in fat and cholesterol than ham, with about double the cholesterol, fresh turkey meat is richer in vitamins, protein, phosphorus, copper and magnesium.

Ham provides more zinc, potassium and iron, but it typically has high sodium content. That sodium, which can be more than 50% of the recommended daily value, is related to an increased risk of developing gastric cancer.

Turkey is considered a better bet for those concerned about diabetes and obesity.