# How much to charge for a 20 pound smoked turkey?



## AndrewYoung (Nov 24, 2021)

Hey ya'll...I am smoking a bunch of Turkeys and was told I was charging way too low at $100 for a 21 pound turkey. Thoughts?


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## TNJAKE (Nov 24, 2021)

Would be helpful to know how much you are paying for the turkey before you smoke it......Are you injecting or brining? Using rub? Type of smoker fuel etc


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## indaswamp (Nov 24, 2021)

Would also need to know where you are located as cost of living would factor into the price. No way $100 would fly here in Louisiana....maybe $60-80....


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## forktender (Nov 24, 2021)

I don't think you'd sell many at $100 a pop even out here in sunny Cali. I could be completely wrong though, people are nuts!!!


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## sandyut (Nov 24, 2021)

agreed $100 is too high.


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## flatbroke (Nov 24, 2021)

AndrewYoung said:


> Hey ya'll...I am smoking a bunch of Turkeys and was told I was charging way too low at $100 for a 21 pound turkey. Thoughts?


Are the birds selling? If so it’s definitely not too high


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## Nefarious (Nov 24, 2021)

It also depends on the turkey, organic, freerange, etc.  I'm not a turkey eater, my wife paid $45 for a 14 lb turkey.  She would pay $100 for a 20 lb turkey like hers to be smoked.


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## SmokinEdge (Nov 24, 2021)

Cost of the bird x 3 will get you honestly close.


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## 912smoker (Nov 24, 2021)

Sounds kinda high to me with birds @ .39 lb in several area stores but hey if they are selling keep em in the fire


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## AndrewYoung (Nov 24, 2021)

Using a J&R Smokemaster with hickory wood. Turkey cost $1.55/pound. Smoking with melted honey and brown sugar mixture in a paper bag for browning.


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## AndrewYoung (Nov 24, 2021)

We couldn't get turkeys here.


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## pushok2018 (Nov 24, 2021)

Hmmm.... Interesting.... I decided to ask my wife how much she will be willing to pay for 20 pounds smoked turkey - like one I usually smoke. Short question and a quick reply: $100! No, I wasn't shocked  because this would be, basically, my answer if I was asked... Here, in North Cal people pay around $35-60 for just store baked  12-15 pound turkey. Smoked turkey is another level of deliciousness.... Yes, I am completely agree - this depends where you live....


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## AndrewYoung (Nov 24, 2021)

Located outside the metro areas of NC. Lots of New Yorkers moving here -- no offense meant. Well, maybe:)


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## TNJAKE (Nov 24, 2021)

I'd pay $100 for a good smoked turkey (if I didn't smoke my own). Not sure I'd raise the price higher. Seems reasonable as is. And like 

 SmokinEdge
 said 3x price. You are in the ballpark.


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## gmc2003 (Nov 24, 2021)

Don't worry, we bitch about NY'ers in VT also, and I was born in NY.

Chris


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## TNJAKE (Nov 24, 2021)

Also I'll add that with the way things are going right now people appreciate a good deal and will be repeat customers for you in the future even if inflation causes you to raise the price next time


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## SmokinEdge (Nov 24, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> Cost of the bird x 3 will get you honestly close.


On sale prices don’t count. Steady price of the meat product is what I’m basing this off of. No matter ribs, brisket chicken pulled pork or a turkey. X3 the going rate of raw product will be close. Your markets may vary. But this is just being honest.


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## gmc2003 (Nov 24, 2021)

Are you planning on selling it whole or broken down? 

Chris


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## AndrewYoung (Nov 24, 2021)

Whole...a regular just walked in gave me $140 for one when I told him $75:)


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## indaswamp (Nov 24, 2021)

Are the turkeys cured with nitrite and smoked? Or just smoked?


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## pushok2018 (Nov 24, 2021)

indaswamp said:


> Are the turkeys cured with nitrite and smoked? Or just smoked?


Good question.... I missed that part - I was talking about brine cured with injections, smoked turkey....


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## clifish (Nov 24, 2021)

Wife just paid $2.79/lb for a 20lb frozen turkey...I was kind of pissed as last week she paid $.99 for a 14lb,  she got lazy and just bought the second one when more people were added.


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## pc farmer (Nov 24, 2021)

AndrewYoung said:


> Whole...a regular just walked in gave me $140 for one when I told him $75:)




Cant go wrong then.  They think the price they paid was well worth it.


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## indaswamp (Nov 24, 2021)

Turkey prices are out of whack this year because of Covid shut downs at processors....lowest number of turkeys processed per capita since 1987...so maybe $140 is in the ball park for a smoked bird in N.C. I have no idea.
Turkeys were $0.87/# here today at one of the large grocers. I'm sure that price was a loss leader ahead of T-day. I almost bought one just because...and put it in the freezer. But our freezers are filling up with wild game fast.


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## indaswamp (Nov 24, 2021)

Flip side is that maybe there will be a surplus of birds next year as growers hope to cash in on the high prices......


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## jcam222 (Nov 24, 2021)

I think Smokinedge is right with the market raw price x 3. The problem now is that with high market prices most folks are having to narrow their margins to sell. Another person pointed out that the cost of the turkey is a big factor. I just paid $3 / lbs for local fresh turkey whereas I could get in store frozen for < $1 a lbs.


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## Steve H (Nov 25, 2021)

AndrewYoung said:


> Located outside the metro areas of NC. Lots of New Yorkers moving here -- no offense meant. Well, maybe:)



Watch it bud! Lol!


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## AndrewYoung (Nov 25, 2021)

Man, this is gooooooooooooood! Happy Smoked Turkey Day!!


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## SmokinEdge (Nov 25, 2021)

Markets are what they are. We live fairly close to Telluride (ski resort) our town is the grocery shopping area for those traveling to the resort, or those that live there. Our City Market (Kroger) is the store of choice for them. The store carries the typical Butterball, Jenny O, Perdue poultry products as well as a company called Red Bird, now this company is in northern Colorado and raises free range non GMO, blah, blah, a 4#ish fryer chicken will run 10-11 bucks from them their fresh turkeys are over 2 bucks a pound. Just across from them are butterballs for .48 cents, but both sell equally well. 
So I don’t think it’s worth while to smoke a .48 cent a pound turkey for say $30.00, you would have to go off of a standard market price, say $1-1.25 per pound, pricing the smoked bird in the 60-70 dollar range regardless if you bought the bird for .48 cents or $1.00. But you would have wiggle room in there to cut your price to say $50.00 if you wanted to. Now the Red Bird turkey is already priced at $2.00 plus a pound. So a 20# bird is in that $40-45.00 range, that’s $120-ish for a smoked bird, you would have wiggle room here too, but don’t forget the market. If I were selling these birds in Telluride,  I wouldn’t hesitate to price them at that $120.00 price point. If they sold too fast, I would raise the price. Locally here in town, I would expect a price point somewhere around $50-60.00 would sell, but if I advertised both the Butterball at $60.00 and the Red Bird at $120.00, I would except to sell more Butterballs, but I would expect to sell some Red Birds as well locally. Understanding your local market is key. And who knows, in Telluride you might sell them for $180.00 everything is market driven.


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## Nefarious (Nov 25, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> Markets are what they are. We live fairly close to Telluride (ski resort) our town is the grocery shopping area for those traveling to the resort, or those that live there. Our City Market (Kroger) is the store of choice for them. The store carries the typical Butterball, Jenny O, Perdue poultry products as well as a company called Red Bird, now this company is in northern Colorado and raises free range non GMO, blah, blah, a 4#ish fryer chicken will run 10-11 bucks from them their fresh turkeys are over 2 bucks a pound. Just across from them are butterballs for .48 cents, but both sell equally well.
> So I don’t think it’s worth while to smoke a .48 cent a pound turkey for say $30.00, you would have to go off of a standard market price, say $1-1.25 per pound, pricing the smoked bird in the 60-70 dollar range regardless if you bought the bird for .48 cents or $1.00. But you would have wiggle room in there to cut your price to say $50.00 if you wanted to. Now the Red Bird turkey is already priced at $2.00 plus a pound. So a 20# bird is in that $40-45.00 range, that’s $120-ish for a smoked bird, you would have wiggle room here too, but don’t forget the market. If I were selling these birds in Telluride,  I wouldn’t hesitate to price them at that $120.00 price point. If they sold too fast, I would raise the price. Locally here in town, I would expect a price point somewhere around $50-60.00 would sell, but if I advertised both the Butterball at $60.00 and the Red Bird at $120.00, I would except to sell more Butterballs, but I would expect to sell some Red Birds as well locally. Understanding your local market is key. And who knows, in Telluride you might sell them for $180.00 everything is market driven.


We have to remember that the person who pays 49 or 99 cents per pound are way more price conscious then the person who would spend $3 per pound.  I would expect to sell way more of the higher priced turkeys then the lower cost ones.


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