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We’ve all made errors in terms of Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe you’ve handled gluey mashed potatoes, a mushy inexperienced bean casserole, or lumpy gravy. However the turkey is commonly the most important 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 chook.
Earlier than you even begin to concern your self with these scrumptious gravy-making bits, you might want to cross the primary Thanksgiving dinner problem off your listing: thawing a frozen turkey. Andrea Baletiwicz,a Butterball Turkey Speak-Line supervisor, informed 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, nearly all of turkeys offered for Thanksgiving are frozen, based on 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 yr. Usually, frozen turkey inventories hit their peak by August or September, proper earlier than turkey consumption skyrockets in November.
For those who’re one of many tens of millions of Individuals buying a frozen turkey this yr, right here’s every thing you might want to learn about thawing your chook safely.
The underside line
One of the simplest ways to thaw your turkey is within the fridge. Permit one full day per 4 kilos of meat. In case you are brief on time, you’ll be able to 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 sufficiently big 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 progress.
The right way to thaw a frozen turkey within the fridge
Butterball and most professionals suggest thawing a frozen turkey within the fridge. This will take a number of days or as much as every week, relying on the load of the chook. Importantly, the meat continues to be good for 4 days after the turkey thaws, Baletizicz says. You may issue about one full day within the fridge per 4 kilos of frozen turkey. Which means you must begin thawing a 12-pound turkey about three days earlier than the large 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 deal with meat — notes that the fridge technique additionally lets you dry-brine the turkey whereas it thaws.
“When you have the time, I like to recommend thawing the turkey within the fridge when you dry-brine it,” he says. Take away the chook 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 chook. Put half the salt within the cavity and half the salt all around the outdoors of the chook. Then wrap and seal the turkey in a rubbish bag, place it on a baking sheet, and thaw it within the fridge for every week, flipping the chook over day by day. “The chook 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 chook, leading to uneven thawing and publicity to micro organism. And you find yourself monopolizing the kitchen sink throughout one of many busiest cooking instances of the yr.”
— Steve Sabicer, butcher and founding father of Enlightened Omnivore publication
The right way to thaw a frozen turkey with chilly water
However what occurs when you forgot to thaw your turkey the week earlier than? For those who’re brief on time, you’ll be able to thaw your frozen chook in chilly water in a matter of hours, Baletizicz says.
That is the tactic we regularly used to thaw shrimp rapidly once I was a line prepare dinner in eating places. Even immediately at dwelling, I wish to thaw parts of fish, floor beef, or hen within the sink beneath chilly operating water. However there’s a distinct problem with utilizing your kitchen sink to thaw your turkey — it’s usually not sufficiently big.
Sabicer sums it up like this: “Sinks aren’t usually deep sufficient to submerge the entire chook, leading to uneven thawing and publicity to micro organism. And you find yourself monopolizing the kitchen sink throughout one of many busiest cooking instances of the yr.”
As a substitute of the sink, Sabicer likes to make use of a big food-storage container (like a cooler or an ice chest). Go away 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.
Hold 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. For those who comply with this technique, you’ll be able to usually thaw one pound of frozen turkey each half-hour. Which means you must plan on about six to 10 hours to thaw a turkey in chilly water.
What to keep away from when thawing a frozen turkey
In relation to cooking your Thanksgiving chook, there are some essential issues to contemplate to make sure your frozen turkey is scrumptious and protected to serve:
- Don’t attempt to rush thawing your frozen turkey beneath sizzling and even heat water. This may encourage micro organism progress beneath the nice and cozy water whereas the remainder of the chook continues to be frozen stable.
- Cooking a turkey that hasn’t been thawed correctly makes it way more difficult to prepare dinner your turkey to a protected resting temperature, both producing a dangerously undercooked chook or overcooked and dry meat.
- Your chook will prepare dinner erratically if not thawed correctly, which is able to usually be most noticeable within the joints and darker meat.
- Regardless of your method for thawing your chook, remember to sanitize your workspace properly 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 chook on the retailer.