SUPERSIZE MY TURKEY; BIRDS ARE GAINING IN SIZE AND POPULARITY.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

As if you didn't expect to gain enough weight this Thanksgiving, try this on for size: Turkeys are getting bigger.

Armed with better genetic selection and feeding techniques, turkey farms have been growing bigger birds to feed an increased demand for turkey meat, even as they cut back on the number of gobblers raised, according to industry experts.

The trend is feeding a growing consumer demand for big birds, according to a local grocer.

Mike Kennedy, meat buyer for the HOWS Market in Granada Hills, said he has close to a dozen orders for Thanksgiving turkeys bigger than 30 pounds - something he didn't see 10 years ago.

``Fourteen to 16 (pounds) is still the most consumed turkey, but there are quite a few more 28 and above turkeys out there,'' Kennedy said.

Nationally, the average turkey's live weight this year is 25.45 pounds, which translates to a 20-pound bird in your grocer's aisle, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture economist Milton Madison. That's an increase of almost 20 percent from 1990, when the average live turkey weighed 21.25 pounds.

This is not the result of some mad scientist splicing genes and boiling new chemicals in a laboratory to create a monster bird. Instead, growers have simply gotten better at playing Cupid with the plumpest hens and the brawniest toms, even as they have improved formulas for feed and bettered living conditions, Madison said.

A 25-or 30-pound turkey, though, is usually too much for the typical holiday gathering and might not even fit in the average-size oven.

``It's huge,'' Kennedy said. ``Usually they're packed two or four per box, but when you get a 30-pound turkey, you only pack them one to the box. You've got to have a pretty good-sized oven to take care of that.''

Still, bigger birds often provide more bang for the cluck, er, buck, with more meat per pound, according to a local chef. Larger turkeys also taste better, said Octavio Becerra, corporate executive chef for the Patina Group, which owns 14 restaurants in the Los Angeles area, including Pinot Bistro in Studio City.

``It allows the turkey to cook slower and longer,'' Becerra said. ``There's not so much stress or intense heat. The meat and the juices tend to go through a less rigorous process, ending up with what seems to be a more moist, juicy product.''

Californians eat about 40 million turkeys a year, while only 18 million are produced in the state, said Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation.

This Thanksgiving, Americans are expected to consume about 45 million turkeys and an additional 22 million for Christmas, according to Sherrie Rosenblatt, spokeswoman for the National Turkey Federation. And in a year, the average person eats about 18 pounds of turkey.

This year, 275 million turkeys were raised in the United States - a decrease of about 10 million from last year, to compensate for overproduction during the mid-1990s, Madison said. Still, the average turkey this year weighed about half a pound more than in 1998.

And while wholesale prices are up about nine cents a pound, grocers are eating most of the difference, so consumers should only see about a penny a pound increase from last year, he said. Supermarkets tend to use turkeys as a ``loss leader,'' selling them at below cost in order to get consumers in the door, Madison said.

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Photo: Mike Kennedy, meat buyer at HOWS Market in Granada Hills, shows a burly turkey of more than 29 pounds.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer