How to Defrost a Turkey

During Arctic expeditions, explorers can spend hours simply melting enough permafrost to yield drinkable water—so what makes you think you can defrost a 25-pound turkey in 20 minutes? Read on for the three main techniques with which you can defrost your bird.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Refrigerator/Freezer
• Pots & Pans
• Frozen turkey

1. The most traditional—and also the most time-intensive—means to thaw a turkey is simply to move it from your freezer to your refrigerator a few days in advance of the feast. As a rule of thumb, you’ll need 24 hours for every five pounds of bird, so a 20-pound bird will require four full days of defrosting time. Remember to place the turkey in a pan, to catch any drippings—or, if there’s not enough room, situate the pan on the shelf below.

2. If you don’t have days to spare to thaw your turkey in the fridge, there’s a quicker—but more labor-intensive—alternative. Simply place the bird in a big pot of cold water, allowing half an hour of soaking time per pound (meaning a 25-pound turkey can thaw in half a day). You’ll have to replace the water every half hour, and also make sure that the turkey is in a leak-proof package, because turkey meat can absorb moisture and become watery.

3. If you’re feeling brave—and if your oven is cavernous enough—it’s also possible to defrost your turkey in the microwave. You need to zap the bird on a low-to-medium energy setting for at least 6 minutes per pound (two hours for a 20-pound bird), being sure to rotate it occasionally from top to bottom and end to end. Because it’s possible that the microwave will start cooking certain portions of the turkey, it’s necessary to start cooking the bird in a traditional oven immediately after defrosting.

Tips & Warnings

• As tempting as it may seem, you should not attempt to thaw your turkey by leaving it out overnight in a room-temperature environment (either on the kitchen counter, or inside a brown bag or a picnic cooler). A room-temperature-thawed bird is susceptible to contamination by bacteria, so unless you’d like your guests to be visiting the emergency room in the days after your feast, the thawing techniques above are your only options.

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[Crissleigh]

on 12/4/2008 Great advice . I never leave mine at room temp . My best advice is never put your husbans in charge of thawing the turkey or you may spend 3 or more hours thanksgiving morning pouring salt water up you turkeys back side . Not a great way to start your day at 4 am .

[belovedwar]

on 11/15/2008 Thank you, this was very helpful.

[celticeagle]

on 11/13/2008 Good information.

[sneedc]

on 11/12/2008 My problem is the opposite, it's a 15 lb bird, been in the fridge since Thurs night, and I wonder how long I can go without cooking it? hmmmmm. Back to the drawing board. (today is Weds)

[writer7]

on 10/20/2008 Great advice. Especially the part about those folks who like to leave their turkeys out overnight on the counter tops to thaw.