Defrosting Turkey

[northernmom2boys]

Everytime I defrost a turkey I worry am I going to give it enough time.What are your rules for thawing a turkey in the fridge?

[PrairieRose]

Don't tell the turkey people this but I (gasp!) thaw mine in the kitchen sink. It usually takes about 3/4's of a day, I check on it every 2 hours or so, by giving it the poke in the side. When I can't feel that it's still frozen I put it in the fridge. I cook it the next day. We've never gotten sick from it yet. Oh, and I don't add water....just in the clean, kitchen sink.

[northernmom2boys]

I wont tell if you dont tell lol

[PrairieRose]

(it's our little secret )

[northernmom2boys]

my mom defrosted hers like that all the time and no harm was done.

[YankeeMom]

I use a cold water bath in my cooler. It has a drain on the side, I stick it in my tub so I can empty & refill it every couple of hours. It stays cold because the cooler is insulated. And it keeps my sink free for other prep.
Plus my sink is too shallow for anything other than the smallest of birds LOL

ETA: the last time I did a turkey a couple of weeks ago I did it the "right" way. It was just under 16lbs and the experts say allow 1 day of refridgerator thawing for every 4lbs. That means 4 days should have given it time to thaw, right?

Nope. I put it in the fridge early Monday morning and went to pull it out late Friday morning and it was still frozen. I had to run cold water over it in my sink for an hour or so before I could get the innards out.

[dcompton]

That a great idea to use a cooler! How come I didn't think of that?

[DixieJ]

I sit mind down in a cooler also. I just don't have enough room in my frig. to defrost it there. I would really like to have a larger refrigerator, but when I looked at all the larger models there really wasn't that much more space in the frig.--it was all more freezer space. I've got 2 freezers in my utility room, don't really need more freezer space. I would like to find a deal on a used frig to set on my carport to put water, soft drinks and extras in.

Dixie Jean

[MarshHen]

I defrost mine in the sink in cold water and turn it every few hours. I have never been able to thaw a turkey in the fridge. It takes forever, plus it takes up too much fridge space. I generally thaw mine in the sink the day before I'm planning to cook it. When thawed, I put it in the fridge until I pop it in the oven. My mom did this for years as well, and it never killed anyone.

[Katybird]

I am another sink thawer and I toss in in the day before and keep it in cold water and then pop it back in the refrigerator that night and into the roaster on the morning that I am cooking it.

[Michelle]

I will bump my usual defrosting turkey reminder post. I was just going to search for it anyway since we are cooking a big one this year