Madden makes the call: Biggest turkey was 27-pound Dwight, not Giants

The New York Giants might have felt like the biggest turkeys on Thanksgiving weekend when they blew a late 21-0 lead, but that title instead went to the incredibly beefy bird that was prepared for dinner at Picks Central headquarters.  Dwight the Turkey tipped the scales at 27 pounds, exceeding the 24-point barrage by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth quarter that stunned the Giants 24-21.

"It was a close call, but my vote for biggest turkey is Dwight," said NFL analyst John Madden, who certainly has experience judging both football teams and turkeys.  He's been known to use a telestrator on the air to circle the best parts of his Thanksgiving bird.

Named after "big fat turkey" Dwight Shrute from the hit NBC series "The Office," the Picks Central bird weighed exactly 26.92 pounds when purchased from Jewel Foods in the Lilac Village.  Dwight literally was bending the steel rack while cooking in the family's new convection oven.  The Picks girls felt short-changed last year with a turkey half that size, so they decided to go big.  Really big.

"There's no doubt the Giants were a group of big turkeys this week," Madden said, "but I met my friend Blaine a few years ago at Arlington Park, and I believe him when he tells me his turkey was a monstrosity.  What I can't believe is that there were only six people at the dinner table.  A turkey that size is a feast for 20 hungry eaters."

Madden is right.  According to online cooking experts, the Thanksgiving chef should follow the turkey formula of one pound per person, or a pound and a half per person if you have hearty eaters or want ample leftovers.  With 27 pounds for six people, Dwight provided 4½ pounds of turkey per person, which means leftovers for quite some time.

"I like a big turkey just like the next guy, but wow, trying to finish a mammoth helping like that would probably send me into cardiac arrest," Madden said.

The average weight of a Thanksgiving turkey is 15 pounds.  Guinness World Records states that the heaviest turkey ever, stuffed with dressing, weighed 86 pounds on Dec. 12, 1989.  While Dwight probably cleared 30 pounds filled with dressing, he unfortunately fell well short of the world record.  Dwight will have to settle for the family record, and the fun memories he created.