Instead, learn how to cook a still-frozen turkey. https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-safely-thaw-a-turkey-225724 To ensure the bird is totally defrosted, reach one hand into the hollow part and check for ice crystals. Still having trouble determining the thaw time of the turkey? And if your sink is too small, this method won't work. (And your turkey will be golden-brown and delicious.). That’s bad news for anyone planning to hit the malls the next day for some Black Friday bargains. So you'll want to break out the snacks to make sure folks don't start eating the furniture. r/SmallYoutubers is a place where youtubers who think they don't have the views/subscribers they … How to Cook a Frozen Turkey Without Thawing (Don't Panic! So, if the turkey weighs 4 to 12 pounds, plan for it to defrost in the fridge for one to three days. Which means you'll have to plan ahead. Thanksgiving will be a little different this year. This will prevent any cross-contamination and ensure that the bird won’t absorb any extra water during the thawing process. Allow 1 day of thawing for every 4 pounds of turkey –use our Turkey Calculator for better estimates. Allow 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds of frozen turkey (see the full chart below). Leave the turkey in its wrapper. Wrap the turkey when thawing it in cold water. Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks. But if you're actually planning to serve it to people, this is not a good method to use. That's right! https://www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/thanksgiving/a44866/thaw-frozen-turkey Place the bird on a tray or in a pan to collect any juices that leak out. Since microwaves tend to heat things unevenly, make sure to rotate and flip the meat throughout the thawing process. Also, you've got to make sure the turkey remains completely submerged. A large turkey, say, 15 to 20 pounds, will need to spend 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. After it’s thawed, the turkey must be cooked immediately. Before deciding whether to thaw the Thanksgiving centerpiece in the microwave, make sure it actually fits in there ... with some extra space to spin. ), Everything You Need to Cook Your First Thanksgiving Dinner, How to Cook a Frozen Turkey Without Thawing It. "If your turkey weighs 16 pounds, it will take about four days to thaw. Keep it at the bottom of your fridge so that any leakage won't contaminate anything below. Some turkeys can be cooked from frozen, but only if manufactures instructions say so. You want to keep the water at about 40 degrees. But one of them is not easy, and the other one is not good—as in, it will do bad things to your turkey, and make you wish you had used a different technique. and when the breast meat close to (but not touching) the bone says 165°F, then it's cooked through and ready to eat. The problem is, you need to allow 30 minutes of thawing time for every pound of frozen bird, and you MUST keep the water 40 F or colder the entire time. Get the best news, information and inspiration from TODAY, all day long. The best way to thaw frozen turkey. But if you haven't got enough time, and don't want to try roasting it while it's still frozen, you can always try the cold water method. compiled a few must-follow tips for how to thaw a frozen turkey: a process that, if done incorrectly, has the potential to bring a ton of illness-causing bacteria to the holiday table. Thawing Frozen Turkey Breast in Cold Water Again, the water must remain at 40 degrees or colder the whole time and it needs 30 minutes of thaw time per pound of turkey breast. You could also test the thicker parts of the turkey with a fork, to tell whether the meat feels frozen. First be sure the turkey is in a leak-proof plastic bag to prevent cross-contamination and to prevent the turkey from absorbing water, resulting in a watery product. Then, fill a bowl that’s big enough to fit the bird with cold tap water. No one's ever given thanks to a frozen bird. The turkey simply sits in the fridge and thaws all by itself. Make sure to change the water about every half hour in order to maintain the water temperature, and not allow warmer water to become a breeding ground for salmonella. Get easy-to-follow, delicious recipes delivered right to your inbox. Beyond the ruckus involved in preparing a dinner of epic proportions, food safety should be the top priority. The heat will first thaw, and then cook the turkey. Before it's popped in there, lay it on a rimmed tray, which will catch any leaks. Leave the turkey in its original wrapper. Then, using a fork, poke the thick parts of the bird and make sure they're no longer hard or icy. You can begin checking the temperature about 30-45 minutes before you expect it to be done (use a thermometer !) These tips and recipes can help, Giada De Laurentiis' Smoky Paprika-Rubbed Turkey, Celebrate Thanksgiving with the TODAY anchors' family recipes, What Happens to Your Body on Thanksgiving. You're better off using the cold water technique, where your tiny turkey will be thawed in a couple of hours. There are a couple of other methods that might be technically safe. Check out Butterball’s thawing calculator — which allows people to choose either the refrigerator or cold-water method. The best way to thaw turkey … Change the water every 30 minutes until the turkey is thawed. Learn the correct, safe ways to thaw your frozen turkey.It's not safe to thaw a turkey at room temperature or to cook a still frozen turkey. Pour cool water into a clean pot, tub, or … Place it breast side up (the plumpest area in between the wings) and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. How to Cook a Frozen Turkey . Sit the turkey breast-side up in the microwave. So, don't even think about this one. A 12- to 15-pound bird will thaw in six to eight hours. Changing the water will help to ward off any contaminating bacteria. If it floats (and it will), you'll need to weigh it down. Place the turkey in a large pan to catch any liquid that will melt from the turkey as it thaws. Moreover, you can't necessarily merely add fresh water from the tap; the water needs to be colder than 40 F. If the water coming out of your tap is warmer than that, you'll have to add ice to lower the temperature. Using ice water, or frigid water no more than forty degrees Fahrenheit, is vital for this process to bring the turkey up to the right temperature to avoid bacterial growth. Remove all outside wrapping and place the turkey on a microwave-safe dish to catch any juices that may leak. Six minutes per pound is a good rule of thumb. If you don’t have a rack, use something, like a cookie cooling rack, to … 16 Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes to Feed a Crowd. If it’s 12 to 16 pounds, make sure it's placed in the fridge three to four days before the holiday arrives. Thaw turkey in unopened packaging in a pan in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf. Refrigerator Turkey Thawing Time 8 to 12 pounds: 2 days. And depending on how big it is, a frozen turkey can take several days to thaw in your fridge. A water bath can get you a roasting ready turkey. • Place the frozen turkey in the fridge — be sure your refrigerator temperature is set at 40 °F or below. Thawing in the refrigerator is the ONLY recommended way to defrost a frozen turkey. Thawing With Salt While Stirring (Fastest) Fill your container. Here’s the calculation: plan on 24 hours of fridge thawing for every 5 pounds of frozen turkey (for example: budget 4 full days of thawing in the fridge for a 20-pound turkey). There is no way you are going to fit a frozen turkey through an 8-inch opening. If the plan is to thaw the bird in cold water, make sure it’s in a leak-proof plastic bag before it is submerged. In either case, check the temperature and cook the turkey until it registers 165°F in both the breast and the thigh. Now, ring in when you've figured out the problem with using this method... Ding! A bit of preparation will ensure that you're not faced with a still-frozen turkey on Thanksgiving morning. Aside from the fact that you have better things to do with your time, the major drawback to this method is that after two or three hours, you'll slack off and stop changing the water, and wind up with a salmonella bomb soaking in your kitchen sink. It's pretty straightforward. Any longer than that and you're just begging for a case of food poisoning. Thawing a turkey couldn't be simpler. Allow approximately 4 hours per pound to thaw. 43.1k members in the SmallYoutubers community. If you overestimated the amount of time the turkey needed to defrost and it’s good to go a few days before the holiday, it’s safe to store the bird in the fridge — just don’t keep it in there for more than two days. Place your turkey in the microwave breast side up, on a heatproof plate or in a dish. You’ll want to allow 30 minutes of thawing time per pound of turkey, and … The best way to thaw a turkey Ideally, place the frozen bird into your refrigerator upon bringing it home from the grocer—hopefully several days … Every four to five pounds of turkey will require 24-hours of thaw time in the refrigerator, according to the USDA. And that's all there is to it. Don't thaw a turkey on the kitchen countertop where it can become a nesting area for nasty bacteria — or your cat’s midnight snack. That's if you can even fit a turkey in your microwave, which, obviously, you can't. The problem is, you need to allow 30 minutes of thawing time for every pound of frozen bird, and you MUST keep the water 40 F or colder the entire time. Submerge your turkey in its original wrapping in cold water in your sink. Those invisible bugs could make people horribly sick! If the bird is small enough, pop it in sans wrapping on a microwave-safe dish. Don’t worry about pulling out the bag of giblets; we’ll talk about it later. But, as savvy cooks know, microwaves may be quick and convenient, but they often compromise the quality of food as a trade-off. It's possible to safely thaw a frozen turkey in a sink full of cold water, but it won't be easy. Refrigerator Thawing. Besides the fact that it is, let us say, unseemly to defrost a Thanksgiving turkey in some random bedroom (to say nothing of the bathroom), thawing a turkey at room temperature is a terrible practice. The fastest way to defrost a turkey breast is in the microwave, using its defrost setting. It's about 8 inches high, right? • You’ll need to allow about 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds of frozen turkey you plan to thaw in the fridge. For a very large turkey, like a 20-pounder, which can take ten hours or more to defrost, you would have to change the water every thirty minutes for ten hours. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. That means monitoring the temperature with an instant-read thermometer and changing the water every half hour. How Much Turkey Do You Need for Thanksgiving? Uncooked meat or poultry (including frozen) shouldn't be left at room temperature for more than two hours. With two easy methods, your turkey will be oven-ready in no time. Place it in a sterilized tub, large sink or bathtub. Allow 30 minutes of thawing time for each pound of turkey, which translates to two to six hours for a 4- to 12-pound turkey. For example, if you're planning to use it as a soccer ball; or maybe cook it and feed it to some wild animals. There is only one safe, easy and good way to thaw a frozen turkey, and that is in the refrigerator. Once thawed, use within 1 or 2 days. And even if you can (i.e. If you can manage that, you'll be golden. They also recommend placing your turkey on a dish to catch any leftover turkey juices. For it to work, however, you'll need plenty of time: 24 hours of defrosting time for every 4 to 5 pounds of bird. It's easy because you don't have to do anything. After all, loved ones should end the day with leftover pumpkin pie — not food poisoning. Submerge the wrapped turkey in it and change the water every half hour. Thaw turkey breast side down, in an unopened wrapper, with enough cold water to cover your turkey … Remove all the packaging and any metal clips, as well as the bag of giblets from the cavity. While there are a few different ways to thaw a bird, nearly all of them require starting the process a few days prior to Turkey Day, so it's important to prep accordingly. It takes up to 6 minutes per pound to thaw this way, though time varies by individual microwave. Before you commit to thawing your turkey in the microwave, check your owner’s manual for the size turkey that will fit in your microwave oven, the minutes per pound and the power level to use when thawing a turkey. Grab a tape measure right now, and go measure the opening of your microwave. Instead, use the fridge. Every Classic Thanksgiving Dish — Ranked. The USDA recommends thawing a turkey for 6 minutes per pound. Have a look at your microwave manual if you’ve got one, or initially place on the defrost function for 30 mins, then for 5 min-bursts until defrosted. First, manage your guests' expectations. It's safe because it stays cold the whole time, thus preventing the growth of dangerous bacteria that can cause food poisoning. So, for example, if your turkey is two and a half kg, then it will likely take around 36 hours to thaw. Push the defrost button, punch in the weight of the bird and let the microwave work its magic. Thawing a frozen turkey on the kitchen counter, or the dining room table, or in any other room of your house, is a HUGE no-no. That's because once the bird is defrosted, bacteria that were present before it was fully frozen can begin to regrow, according to the USDA. The best way to thaw a frozen turkey is to submerge it into ice water in a sink, a large cooler, or a clean bucket. https://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/cooking-basics/how-to-defrost-a-turkey Estimate 50 percent longer cooking time for a completely frozen turkey and around 25 percent longer for a partially frozen turkey. It's possible to safely thaw a frozen turkey in a sink full of cold water, but it won't be easy. Allow about 30 minutes per pound. That’s why the researchers at Eat This, Not That! Approximate times to defrost a whole turkey in the fridge: - 10 pounds — 2 days plus 12 hours Cooking a frozen turkey-sicle is easy, just unwrap it and place it on a rack in a shallow roasting pan ($24). But be prepared to work. According to the USDA, the safest way to thaw turkey is in the refrigerator. When thawing a turkey in the refrigerator, allow 24 hours of defrosting time for every 4 to 5 pounds of bird, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Planning ahead can help prevent problems on the day. you have a 7-inch turkey), you don't need to resort to this method in the first place. If the plan is to thaw the bird in cold water, make sure … A frozen turkey breast also can be placed directly in an oven and cooked, although it will take a long time to reach the proper internal temperature. At first, the turkey will chill the water too much and halt the defrosting process. IE 11 is not supported. If they are, the turkey definitely needs more time to thaw. Watch TODAY All Day! And whatever you do, don't try to thaw a turkey in HOT water. The big day is coming up fast but let’s face it, hosting Thanksgiving dinner is no easy feat. Here's a time chart to help you compare thawing times using the refrigerator and cold-water methods: Yes, temperature-wise, your turkey will be thawed, if that's all you care about. Cover it completely with cold water. Cooking a frozen turkey will take around 50 percent longer than cooking one that's already been thawed. That's twenty water changes! If the microwave happens to lack a defrost function, determine how long the bird needs to stay in there based on its weight. After it’s thawed, the turkey must be cooked immediately. Given the number of different wattages, power levels, minutes per pound, and other variables, the most likely outcome for this method of thawing is a turkey that's still frozen in some parts, while already cooked in others. Submerge the wrapped turkey in cold tap water. 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