Christmas Turkey Guide: Choosing Your Turkey in Melbourne

Planning Christmas lunch? South Melbourne Poultry at South Melbourne Market can help you choose the right turkey for your table, whether you love a traditional whole bird, easy-carving breast meat or a cooked option that takes some preparation off your hands.

Whole turkey, buffet or turkey fillet roll?

A fresh whole turkey is the traditional centrepiece, with both breast and leg meat. Choose this if your family enjoys a mixture of white and dark meat.

A turkey buffet is the breast on the bone, without the legs. It’s a good choice for white-meat lovers who still want a bone-in roast.

A fresh turkey fillet roll is an easy-carving option, available plain or with a choice of stuffings. Prefer to prepare your own? Our fresh turkey fillets can be butterflied on request. Leave us a note at checkout.

What size should I choose?

For whole turkeys and buffets, allow approximately 500 g of raw weight per person. As a guide, a 4 kg bird serves around eight people.

For turkey rolls, our approximate serving guide is:

• 1 kg: 4–5 people
• 2 kg: 8–10 people
• 3 kg: 12–14 people

These are guides rather than guarantees. Consider appetites, side dishes and whether you’d like leftovers. If you’re unsure, ask our team before ordering.

Fresh or cooked?

Fresh turkeys and rolls are supplied for you to cook at home. They’re ideal if you enjoy preparing the Christmas roast yourself.

Our cooked whole turkey and cooked turkey fillet roll are supplied cooked and chilled for collection. Both include sage and onion stuffing. Follow the supplied instructions for serving and reheating.

Cooked Christmas products are available in limited numbers, so check availability before making your plans.

Make it a pack

Our packs combine your turkey with cranberry sauce, gravy and stock. Whole-turkey packs also include separate sage and onion stuffing; roll packs have stuffing inside the roll.

Choose a regular whole turkey pack, large whole turkey pack, regular roll pack or large roll pack.

Ordering and collection

Order your selected Christmas products online for collection from South Melbourne Poultry at South Melbourne Market. Check the available collection options when ordering and keep your order confirmation handy.

Before Christmas, follow the cooking instructions linked on your product page or find them here. Contact our team if you need help choosing your turkey or clarifying collection details.