The Great Thaw: How to Thaw a Turkey

Cooking a turkey seems so intimidating for the novice cook. Think about it. What do you picture when envisioning the perfect turkey? I see a large bird with glistening golden-brown skin, topped with mouth-watering spices and garnished with fresh fruit and herbs. My perfect turkey is on a festive platter and a well-decorated table, complete with candles and a 16-piece dinner set. Now to be more realistic…

I’m not expecting to make that kind of Thanksgiving dinner for years. For now, I just need to know how to make a turkey and how to do it safely. I’m not going to fib, I’ve read up on the proper way to cook a turkey and I’ve never done it correctly. Luckily, I did not get sick. (And neither did my loved ones.) But why would you ever take that risk?

The fist step in cooking a turkey is thawing. I stopped by my local store and asked our meat expert for some tips. I learned there are three safe ways to thaw a turkey. And one of them IS NOT room-temperature in the sink.

The best way is to plan ahead and to thaw on a large plate in your refrigerator. For each pound of turkey it takes about 4-hours of thawing—so if you have a large turkey, it could take three to five days to thaw completely.

Another way is to use cold water and your sink. Make sure you keep your turkey in its original packaging and to completely submerge it in cold water. You can either run the water, or, let it “soak”. This method takes about 30 minutes per pound, or 6-9 hours for the average turkey.

The last way is to use your microwave, which is not recommended. There must be some pretty large microwaves out there—because my turkey is not fitting in my microwave. And honestly, in my opinion, it sounds gross. I can’t explain why, but I think unless I’m in a horrific bind that I will not be using my microwave to thaw a turkey. Thanks, but no thanks.

Then, I learned of something that would forever change my turkey cooking and thawing experience forever. You can buy a refrigerated turkey. That means they are fresh, never frozen, and you won’t have to deal with any thawing. After learning about that, it seemed the choice was easy. Don’t worry about any of the thawing and go the quick and easy route. Oh, and to make it even better, most people say the refrigerated turkeys are more tender and juicy than a frozen turkey. Hip-hip-hooray!

Steve gave me a few more tips when picking a turkey that were extremely helpful:

-Check for the grade A shield, which will ensure you have the best turkey with no pin feathers, broken bones, skin, cuts, bruises, etc.

-Pre-basted turkeys are usually juicer, more tender and come some come pre-seasoned.

-Once your turkey is thawed, use it in seven days.

-Plan on getting ¾ pound of raw turkey per person for a generous serving without tons of leftovers. (The raw weight is always located on the tag attached to the package.)

-Frozen turkeys will keep in your freezer for over a year without a noticeable loss in quality.

The last thing that Steve suggested I buy was a meat thermometer. Apparently you shouldn't just trust the pop-out timer.

So here we go… the great thaw countdown is on!

Be sure to check out my special blog post this Tuesday, where I will be cooking a turkey the safe and proper way for the first time!