5 Weirdest Methods Individuals Have Tried to Thaw a Turkey

Turkey fails are sitcom gold. Followers of New Woman would possibly bear in mind the unorthodox approach Jessica Day tried to thaw a frozen turkey in that present’s first season. “I put it on everlasting press,” she explains as her roommates watch the Thanksgiving fowl banging round of their dryer. Though we haven’t seen the dryer methodology in motion, we’ve heard of loads of wacky methods for rapidly defrosting a turkey.

Listed below are a few of the strangest, grossest, and downright most hilarious methods individuals have tried — and failed — to thaw a turkey. 

Wrapping it in an electrical blanket

A Butterball Turkey Speak-Line consultant revealed {that a} caller as soon as tried to defrost her fowl by wrapping it in an electrical blanket. Whereas many electrical blankets can attain a most temperature starting from 100°F to 115°F, sadly the one factor you’re cooking up with this methodology is a possible fireplace hazard.

Placing it in a jacuzzi

Based on one other Butterball Hotline consultant, a person as soon as requested if he may thaw a frozen turkey in his jacuzzi, with the jets flowing. This methodology is the proper instance of excellent intentions with a nasty method. When you can rapidly defrost a turkey by submerging it in water, the water must be chilly (a most of 40°F per the U.S. Division of Agriculture, or USDA) and altered each half hour. Scorching water solely promotes bacterial progress, resulting in foodborne sickness. Persist with soaking your self in a scorching tub, not your Thanksgiving dinner.

Utilizing an electrical hair dryer

A blow dryer could also be your go-to answer for a moist head of hair (or for crisping up roast rooster), nevertheless it’s undoubtedly not for defrosting a turkey. You’ll deliver your turkey into the temperature hazard zone (between 40 and 140°F), an open door for dangerous micro organism to flourish in your meals and make you sick. All you’re actually doing is overworking your dryer — and possibly giving these micro organism a blowout.

Leaving it on the kitchen counter

Ah sure, the outdated “let meat sit out at room temperature for completely even cooking” methodology. This would possibly work for a small lower of meat, however undoubtedly not for a 16-pound fowl that’s frozen strong and as onerous as a brick. Leaving any perishable merchandise out at room temperature for over two hours makes it weak to dangerous micro organism because it enters the temperature hazard zone. And in addition to, a totally frozen fowl would take a lengthy time to thaw totally. 

Utilizing a tub

We’ve seen options to thaw a turkey within the bathtub, and whereas this methodology would possibly sound icky, it’s primarily based on a reputable technique to rapidly defrost a turkey, aka the cold-water methodology. Most residence sinks aren’t giant sufficient to comprise a 12-pound-plus fowl, so many cooks will choose to make use of a food-safe container like a cooler. A tub is just a bigger model of this. 

To make use of the tub methodology, place your turkey, nonetheless wrapped, in a clear (that is essential!) bathtub. Cowl it with chilly water, and alter the water each half hour to stop bacterial progress. It takes about half-hour per pound to thaw, so a 16-pound turkey will want roughly eight hours to completely defrost.

The cold-water methodology is quicker than thawing within the fridge (which might take a number of days), and it helps preserve the meat at a secure temperature, stopping dangerous bacterial progress because it defrosts.

The true technique to thaw a turkey

There’s just one tried-and-true technique to defrost your turkey: plan forward. The very best methodology, which additionally aligns with USDA suggestions, is thawing it within the fridge. Relying on the dimensions of your fowl, it ought to thaw for at some point for each 4 to 5 kilos, so a 16-pound turkey will take about 4 to 5 days to thaw. You’ll want to place your turkey on a big roasting pan or baking sheet to catch any juices. 

As famous above, you too can thaw your turkey utilizing chilly water in a food-safe container, refreshing the water each half-hour, which can take six to 10 hours. And, whereas we don’t suggest this methodology, the USDA says you too can safely defrost your turkey within the microwave in below two hours. However if you happen to’re actually crunched for time, simply go purchase a recent turkey!