Meat was obtained from a single daily lot of turkey frames by mechanically deboning with a Beehive AU 4171 deboner and by hand deboning. The meat was analyzed for protein, fat, moisture, ash, iron, calcium, and 19 amino acids. Mechanically deboned turkey had 68 percent more ash, 74 percent more iron, and nine times more calcium than the hand deboned turkey meat. Other constituents were about equal in the two products. Protein bioavailability tests, including protein efficiency ratio, biological value, net protein utilization, and nitrogen efficiency for growth, did not reveal significant differences between mechanically deboned and hand deboned turkey. Iron bioavailability tests measuring hemoglobin regeneration in rats did not reveal significant differences either. Higher levels of iron in mechanically deboned turkey makes it a better dietary source of iron than hand deboned turkey meat.