:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/How-Long-Does-It-Take-to-Thaw-a-Frozen-Turkey-FT-BLOG1124-8c56f54efea7468cb8d65f2cd55f413f.jpg?w=1500&resize=1500,1000&ssl=1 "How Lengthy Does It Take to Thaw a Turkey?")
We’ve all made errors in the case of Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe you’ve handled gluey mashed potatoes, a mushy inexperienced bean casserole, or lumpy gravy. However the turkey is usually the largest downside space for a house prepare dinner, whether or not it’s dry and overcooked or dangerously pink and undercooked. My aunt famously roasted an entire turkey with the giblets — together with the gizzards, neck, and organ meat — nonetheless wrapped in plastic within the cavity of the hen.
Earlier than you even begin to concern your self with these scrumptious gravy-making bits, it’s worthwhile to cross the primary Thanksgiving dinner problem off your record: thawing a frozen turkey. Andrea Baletiwicz,a Butterball Turkey Speak-Line supervisor, advised us that almost all of calls to the hotline are associated to thawing a turkey. That’s not shocking, since many dwelling cooks can underestimate how lengthy the bigger turkey takes to thaw in comparison with a smaller hen.
What’s extra, the vast majority of turkeys offered for Thanksgiving are frozen, in accordance with the U.S. Division of Agriculture. That’s as a result of there is just too a lot demand for turkeys through the holidays, so producers start freezing birds on the finish of every vacation season to be prepared for the next 12 months. Usually, frozen turkey inventories hit their peak by August or September, proper earlier than turkey consumption skyrockets in November.
In case you’re one of many tens of millions of Individuals buying a frozen turkey this 12 months, right here’s the whole lot it’s worthwhile to find out about thawing your hen safely.
The underside line
The easiest way to thaw your turkey is within the fridge. Permit one full day per 4 kilos of meat. In case you are quick on time, you may thaw your turkey in chilly water in its unique packaging, which is able to take six to 10 hours (one hour for every pound of turkey). Refresh the chilly water each half-hour. Most sinks aren’t large enough for the job, so professionals suggest utilizing a big food-storage container like a cooler or ice chest. Don’t thaw your turkey utilizing heat or sizzling water, which inspires micro organism development.
Methods to thaw a frozen turkey within the fridge
Butterball and most professionals suggest thawing a frozen turkey within the fridge. This may take a number of days or as much as per week, relying on the load of the hen. Importantly, the meat continues to be good for 4 days after the turkey thaws, Baletizicz says. You possibly can issue about one full day within the fridge per 4 kilos of frozen turkey. Which means it’s best to begin thawing a 12-pound turkey about three days earlier than the massive day, and so forth. Right here’s a chart:
| Weight of turkey | What number of days to thaw |
| 8 kilos | 2 days |
| 10 kilos | 2–3 days |
| 12 kilos | 3 days |
| 15 kilos | 3–4 days |
| 18 kilos | 4–5 days |
| 20 kilos | 5 days |
| 24 kilos | 6 days |
Butcher and chef Steve Sabicer — who writes a weekly publication, Enlightened Omnivore, on sustainability and meals with a give attention to meat — notes that the fridge technique additionally means that you can dry-brine the turkey whereas it thaws.
“In case you have the time, I like to recommend thawing the turkey within the fridge whilst you dry-brine it,” he says. Take away the hen from its packaging whereas it’s nonetheless frozen and place it on a baking sheet. When it has thawed sufficient so that you can entry the cavity, apply one tablespoon kosher salt for each 5 kilos of hen. Put half the salt within the cavity and half the salt everywhere in the exterior of the hen. Then wrap and seal the turkey in a rubbish bag, place it on a baking sheet, and thaw it within the fridge for per week, flipping the hen over every single day. “The hen will thaw completely and be fantastically seasoned,” Sabicer says.
Steve Sabicer, butcher and founding father of Enlightened Omnivore publication
“Sinks aren’t usually deep sufficient to submerge the entire hen, leading to uneven thawing and publicity to micro organism. And you find yourself monopolizing the kitchen sink throughout one of many busiest cooking occasions of the 12 months.”
— Steve Sabicer, butcher and founding father of Enlightened Omnivore publication
Methods to thaw a frozen turkey with chilly water
However what occurs when you forgot to thaw your turkey the week earlier than? In case you’re quick on time, you may thaw your frozen hen in chilly water in a matter of hours, Baletizicz says.
That is the strategy we frequently used to thaw shrimp rapidly once I was a line prepare dinner in eating places. Even at the moment at dwelling, I prefer to thaw parts of fish, floor beef, or hen within the sink underneath chilly operating water. However there’s a distinct problem with utilizing your kitchen sink to thaw your turkey — it’s sometimes not large enough.
Sabicer sums it up like this: “Sinks aren’t usually deep sufficient to submerge the entire hen, leading to uneven thawing and publicity to micro organism. And you find yourself monopolizing the kitchen sink throughout one of many busiest cooking occasions of the 12 months.”
As an alternative of the sink, Sabicer likes to make use of a big food-storage container (like a cooler or an ice chest). Depart the turkey in its unique packaging. If there are any holes within the packaging, place it in a small rubbish bag to keep away from leakage. Fill the container midway with water, then add the turkey, making certain it’s submerged within the water.
Maintain the container close to the sink to alter out the water if it dips beneath 40°F. Baletiwicz recommends refreshing the chilly water each half-hour. In case you comply with this technique, you may sometimes thaw one pound of frozen turkey each half-hour. Which means it’s best to plan on about six to 10 hours to thaw a turkey in chilly water.
What to keep away from when thawing a frozen turkey
With regards to cooking your Thanksgiving hen, there are some essential issues to contemplate to make sure your frozen turkey is scrumptious and secure to serve:
- Don’t attempt to rush thawing your frozen turkey underneath sizzling and even heat water. This can encourage micro organism development underneath the nice and cozy water whereas the remainder of the hen continues to be frozen strong.
- Cooking a turkey that hasn’t been thawed correctly makes it way more difficult to prepare dinner your turkey to a secure resting temperature, both producing a dangerously undercooked hen or overcooked and dry meat.
- Your hen will prepare dinner erratically if not thawed correctly, which is able to usually be most noticeable within the joints and darker meat.
- Irrespective of your approach for thawing your hen, make sure you sanitize your workspace effectively to keep away from any cross-contamination points.
And, in case you are actually behind on thawing your turkey, think about shopping for a recent hen on the retailer.
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