From frozen to feast, how to safely defrost your Thanksgiving turkey

On By Littum

Millions of Americans are already preparing their parties for this Thanksgiving – including the frozen turkey that is at the center of many holiday menus.

When it comes to buying a turkey for Thanksgiving, buying a frozen bird is often the most convenient choice because it allows customers to get ahead of the holiday chaos. However, thawing them safely is no small task.

Fortunately, there are experts in US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Butter ball — one of America’s largest turkey purveyors — has recommended the best ways to defrost your turkey without disaster.

According to Butterball, one of the safest and least practical ways to thaw your frozen turkey is by using the refrigerator method. To do so, pop the frozen turkey — still tightly in its original packaging — breast side up inside the refrigerator, which should be set at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

It takes a whole day per four pounds to thaw a turkey, which means your 16-pound bird will need a long weekend to thaw properly. Once thawed, each turkey has a four-day window before it needs to be cooked in the oven.

Thanks to three handy methods, defrosting a turkey for Thanksgiving has never been easier (Getty Images)

Thanks to three handy methods, defrosting a turkey for Thanksgiving has never been easier (Getty Images)

For those who lack patience, the cold water method may be more your speed. This method involves dipping a turkey breast side down in a container full of cold water. However, the turkey must be completely submerged and the water must be changed every 30 minutes to stay cold.

No giant pot? No problem. Instead, you can turn the bird every half hour, but make sure it stays cool.

The cold water method takes 30 minutes to defrost per pounds, which means an average-sized turkey will need several hours to thaw. When the turkey is thawed, put it in the oven right away.

For the culinary risk-takers, there is also the microwave method. The USDA advises removing all packaging before placing your turkey on a microwave-safe dish. From there, check your microwave’s manual for defrost times based on weight.

Typically, you need about six minutes of thawing per pound. Throughout the process, be prepared to rotate and flip the turkey several times for even thawing. Like the cold water method, this microwave method requires immediate cooking after thawing.

Regardless of which method you choose to thaw your turkey, remember that a properly thawed turkey is not only safer – it’s also tastier.