--- title: Christmas Ham vs Christmas Turkey: Which Should You Eat? description: May the best protein win. canonical: https://time.com/3646915/christmas-turkey-ham-dinner/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-24T22:06:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:15:32.033Z og:title: Christmas Ham vs Christmas Turkey: Which Should You Eat? og:description: May the best protein win. og:url: https://time.com/3646915/christmas-turkey-ham-dinner/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bd337cbaca5442a/6987773dcd1bba2df86f4609/christmas-ham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4948 og:image:height: 2783 og:image:alt: Spiral ham on platter og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Christmas Ham vs Christmas Turkey: Which Should You Eat? twitter:description: May the best protein win. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bd337cbaca5442a/6987773dcd1bba2df86f4609/christmas-ham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Should You Eat Turkey or Ham This Christmas? 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Dec 24, 2014 10:06 PM UTC  Spiral ham on platter Spiral ham on platterGetty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Dec 24, 2014 10:06 PM UTC Americans consume an estimated 22 million turkeys on Christmas. They also purchase an estimated 318 million pounds of ham around the holidays. A back-of-the-envelope calculation would suggest that turkeys, weighing in at an average of 15 pounds, are neck and neck with ham in total pounds consumed. To help break the impasse, TIME has arranged a perfectly scientific throwdown between the two Christmas staples. May the best protein win. **Tradition:** Turkey was all the rage when it first hit European dinner tables in the late 1600s. The exotic bird had to be imported at great expense from the New World, so it acquired an instant luxury status among the era’s aristocrats. By the Victorian era, the bird had displaced the popularity of the goose as the ultimate Christmas table centerpiece, the Independent [reports](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/happy-christmas-turkey-its-your-last-1526939.html). Pigs, on the other hand, were always there for every holiday and any other humdrum occasion. Turkey 1, Ham 0 **Health:** The USDA breaks down fat content for every 100 grams of whatever it is you’re serving this Christmas. The average roasted turkey, skin included, [clocks](http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/963?fg=&man=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=25&offset=&sort=&qlookup=Turkey+whole) in at 7.39 grams of fat. A whole cured, boneless roasted ham [clocks](http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2794?fg=&man=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=25&offset=&sort=&qlookup=Ham+whole+roast) in at 3.13 grams of fat. Turkey 1, Ham 1 **Price:** A porcine epidemic has killed off millions of piglets ahead of the holidays, sending the average price of spiral ham [spiraling](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/lswporkfeatures.pdf) up to $2.91 a pound. Meanwhile, fresh turkey [held](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/pytturkey.pdf) steady at $1.28, according to USDA reports. Turkey 2, Ham 1 **Taste:** Even if you use per capita consumption figures [supplied](http://www.eatturkey.com/why-turkey/stats) by the National Turkey Federation, Americans outside of the holidays choose pork over turkey by a 3 to 1 margin. Turkey 2, Ham 2 **Versatility:** But give the National Turkey Federation credit for compiling a whopping [list](http://www.eatturkey.com/search/node/Christmas?page=11) of more than 100 Christmas Day recipes to marinade, dress, accompany and generally gussy up the turkey. Maple-spice-brined turkey with Chardonnay sauce vs honey glazed ham? Not much of a contest. **WINNER:** Turkey, by a hair. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3646915/christmas-turkey-ham-dinner/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3646915/christmas-turkey-ham-dinner/"},"headline":"Should You Eat Turkey or Ham This Christmas? 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