Thawing the Turkey

If your turkey is not prestuffed, it will need to be thawed. This can be a big problem, even for experienced cooks. “A lot of the calls are from people who forgot to thaw the turkey or thawed it improperly,” says Schnelle. The proper way to thaw a turkey is in the refrigerator, where it will thaw slowly at a lower temperature, thus inhibiting bacterial growth. This may take up to five days for a large bird of 20 to 24 pounds or only one to two days for an 8 to 12 pound bird. Schnelle says the turkey should be placed in the refrigerator, in its original wrapper, on a tray to catch the juices as they melt. Raw turkey juice is not good for the other foods in your refrigerator.

If you suddenly remember the day before Thanksgiving that you forgot to thaw the turkey, there’s a faster way to get the job done, if you consider 12 hours fast. Schnelle says that the bird can be submerged in cold water, in the sink of bathtub. The water needs to be changed every 30 minutes and must be kept cold to inhibit bacterial growth.

Microwave thawing is also possible but is not recommended by the people at the hotline because it may affect the quality of the finished bird. If microwave thawing is your only resort, check the owner’s manual of your oven to determine procedure.

As a very last course of action, the bird can be cooked frozen. This does not present a health problem but may affect the quality of the turkey. The USDA recommends a temperature of 350 degrees if cooking an unthawed bird.