Frozen turkey? No drawback. Ideally you’d let this occur step by step, a number of days earlier than, in a 40°F fridge. The golden rule is about 24 hours of thawing for each 4 to five kilos. However typically that does not occur! And typically it is Thanksgiving morning and your fowl remains to be onerous as a rock. Learn on to search out out the best possible option to defrost a turkey—quick.
Simply, one of the vital requested Hotline questions in Food52 historical past is: How do I defrost my turkey?
From stuffings and casseroles to pie crusts and dinner rolls, the freezer is a ready prepare dinner’s greatest good friend throughout Thanksgiving. However as the massive day approaches, there’s one factor you’ll must take out of the ice field: the turkey. And, relying on how huge it’s, it is best to in all probability do it days earlier than Thanksgiving.
The best and most secure option to defrost your turkey is within the fridge (saved at 40°F). Our golden rule: 1 day of thawing within the fridge for each 4 kilos.
(So you probably have a 15-pound fowl, you then’ll want to start out defrosting practically 4 days upfront to be on the secure aspect.)
Be sure that to put the wrapped turkey breast-side up on a tray close to the again of the fridge, the place it’ll stay constantly chilly. You may also wish to preserve it on a backside shelf to forestall contamination from leakage. As soon as your fowl has thawed, prepare dinner it inside the subsequent 4 days.
For those who don’t have room for turkey within the fridge (or solely have Wednesday to prep), then the second option to defrost the fowl is in chilly water breast-side down, altering the water each half-hour. On this technique, funds half-hour of thawing per pound.
(So, plan 7 hours for a similar 15-pound turkey as above, then prepare dinner instantly.)
In chilly water–thawing, it’s essential that all the turkey stays submerged in 40°F water. Chances are high that your faucet water gained’t be chilly sufficient, so add some ice cubes. For those who don’t have a big sufficient container, attempt utilizing your sink or ice chest. One other option to preserve the turkey lined is to carry it underwater with a heavy plate. Be sure that to stir the water sometimes to interrupt up the chilly envelope surrounding the fowl.
As soon as thawed, pat dry and roast away!
This text was up to date in 2023.
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