thawing a turkey

[swamp]

I have an 18 pound turkey in my freezer. When do I start thawing it?

[chiver78]

today

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2012 13:43:36 GMT -5 swamp said:

I have an 18 pound turkey in my freezer. When do I start thawing it?

Yesterday.

[Deleted]

Oh, thanks for the reminder! LOL. I would get that thing out today or tomorrow for sure.

[NancysSummerSip]

Assuming you are cooking it Thursday morning, I'd start thawing it Tuesday morning, in the fridge. A lot of people do the water in the sink thing, and thaw the turkey that way, but it's not the safest way to go. It's faster, just not safer.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

According to the USDA:

Refrigerator Thawing
When thawing a turkey in the refrigerator:
Plan ahead: allow approximately 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds in a refrigerator set at 40 °F or below.
Place the turkey in a container to prevent the juices from dripping on other foods.

[Top of Page]

Refrigerator Thawing Times
Whole turkey:
4 to 12 pounds …… 1 to 3 days
12 to 16 pounds …… 3 to 4 days
16 to 20 pounds …… 4 to 5 days
20 to 24 pounds …… 5 to 6 days

A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days before cooking. Foods thawed in the refrigerator can be refrozen without cooking but there may be some loss of quality.

[justme]

If you have an ice chest big enough to fit it and a water pump for like fountains or something you can google Alton Brown's method for a quick thaw. I think it's hours vs. days...but I don't do turkey so didn't pay that much attention.

[thyme4change]

Yesterday. I do 4 days for a medium turkey in the fridge. I follow USDA rules. An 18 pounder is pretty big.

[vonna]

Several years ago I started getting fresh, vs frozen turkeys. It has made the whole meal prep much easier for me. I hated dealing with the thawing time.

This year would have been a bear since I cooked a 26 pounder for my son and his friends. . .

[swamp]

Nov 19, 2012 13:50:29 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Yesterday. I do 4 days for a medium turkey in the fridge. I follow USDA rules. An 18 pounder is pretty big.

DH bought it. It's his fault. He doesn't do well at the grocery store unsupervised.

[chiver78]

if you are putting it into a brine solution the night before cooking, it'll finish the thaw job. you should be okay putting it into the fridge today.

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2012 13:50:29 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Yesterday. I do 4 days for a medium turkey in the fridge. I follow USDA rules. An 18 pounder is pretty big.

LOL We're making a 24 pounder and a 22 pounder. It will be all gone....

[lynnerself]

Ours is only 14 lbs. There are only 4 for dinner. I guess we'll start thawing it tonight.

[thyme4change]

18 isn't a bad size - I don't know how many people you are having, but you are going to have about 9-10 pounds of meat off that thing. It doesn't take too many people to eat that much meat.

[swamp]

13 people.

[thyme4change]

No problem - half pound per person would give you leftovers for 2 days. If you have some big eaters, less, small eaters - you'll have a little more leftovers. I think he picked the perfect size.

[swamp]

5 of them are 7 and under. 2 will eat like adults, the rest just pick.

[sheilaincali]

Um yeah. Mine came straight from the farmer. It's right at 40 lbs My mother (who will be cooking it - I bought it) is not at all amused by the size. I didn't ask for one that big that's just how big the one he had earmarked for me ending up. There is some serious concern that it won't fit in her oven.

There will be at least 20 people at my mom's for thanksgiving. We do lunch and they will have leftovers for dinner. Swing by in the middle of Black Friday shopping and have leftovers for lunch and more leftovers for dinner. By the time they all leave to go home they will not want to see a turkey again until next year.

[thyme4change]

Mine came straight from the farmer. It's right at 40 lbs

That is unnatural.

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2012 14:15:49 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Mine came straight from the farmer. It's right at 40 lbs

That is unnatural.

That is disturbing.

You know darn well that bird couldn't move and was just propped up in a brooder shed somewhere.

[sheilaincali]

Yeah it really is. The one my co-worker got from him is 42 lbs. IDK. They are free range out on his farm. He feeds them pretty generously. The chickens we get from him are all over 7 lbs. I don't know what he does to it but it tastes yummy.

[swamp]

was it 42 lbs alive or 42 dead and dressed? Because once you take the feathers off and take out the internal organs, that takes a few pounds off.

[sheilaincali]

Actually I was out at the farm last week and those turkeys were moving around the yard.

[sheilaincali]

Swamp- I didn't ask. All I know is that the cooler I picked up this morning with the turkey in it (dead and dressed) is pretty freaking heavy.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Nov 19, 2012 14:19:02 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

I have a little oven. I almost maxed out last year at 26lbs. If pressed I think I could maybe go 1 or 2 more pounds.

I use an Ostermann thing to do turkey. Because my Mom did/still does. ;D And it frees up the oven for other stuff, like pies and stuffing.

DH ordered a fresh turkey. They can't/won't guarantee exact poundage so we're tagged for 1 between 10-14 lbs.

[Deleted]

We cook our turkeys up the day/night before, then shred them and put in roasting ovens. That way the oven is available for everything else.

[thyme4change]

You can always debone the turkey and then stuff it and tress it back together. It is smaller (shorter.)

[swamp]

I cook everything the day before and just warm it up the next day after the turkey is done.

[Tiny]

Swamp - yesterday or Saturday is when you should have started thawing that Bad Boy.

You might want to put the turkey (in it's original wrapping) into a tub/cooler/sink of cold water for 3 or 4 hours tonight, dry it off, and then put it into the fridge to finsh thawing. Your other option would be to check the Turkey early Thanksgiving morning and if it's still frozen on the inside, you'll have more work - you'll need to let the now unpackaged Turkey 'swim' in a cooler or sink of water with running water -- which may result in a less tasty bird as you flush out all the saline/seasonings that was added at the factory. Be sure to clean up everything well.

To jump start the thawing I'd go the route of letting it swim while packaged at the front end of the thawing process for a less stressed T-Day. You may need to change the water a couple times while it's swimming - better than having to baby sit the swimming turkey overnight... water changes every hour or so...


I speak from experience.

[swamp]

I'm going to give the turkey a bath tonight, since I have to start cooking the turkey about 6 on thursday morning.