The Greatest Solution to Defrost Turkey, In keeping with Meals Security Consultants

When you’ve ever cooked a complete turkey for Thanksgiving or one other vacation, you know the way aggravating coping with a frozen turkey might be. Whereas a frozen hen is usually probably the most broadly out there, handy, and affordable option, having a still-frozen turkey on Thanksgiving morning is the stuff of nightmares for a lot of. And never solely do it’s important to thaw the factor—you additionally need to do it safely, lest you poison a dozen members of the family and mates. Happily, it is actually not that onerous to correctly and safely defrost a turkey. For steerage, we spoke to 2 meals security consultants and a chef to search out out the easiest way to defrost turkey—and which strategies residence cooks ought to keep away from. 

Why It is Essential to Defrost Turkey Appropriately

Within the US, Thanksgiving turkeys usually vary from 12 to 16 kilos, with some even exceeding 20 kilos. Due to the hen’s giant dimension, defrosting it nicely—and safely—might be difficult. Relying on the load of your hen and the strategy you select, it may take as much as 5 days to your turkey to totally thaw. And although it could be tempting to let your turkey sit out at room temperature or in a bucket of heat water, this can lead to uneven thawing, with some components of the hen hitting the temperature hazard zone (40 to 140ºF; 4.5 to 60ºC), the temperature at which dangerous micro organism akin to Salmonella, clostridium, or campylobacter can multiply rapidly and improve your danger of meals poisoning. 

The way you defrost your turkey issues, and to stop foodborne diseases, the USA Division of Agriculture (USDA) has strict pointers on the right way to safely thaw turkey. There are solely three strategies the group recommends for defrosting turkey: within the fridge, in chilly water, and within the microwave. Beneath, we’ll discover every of those strategies intimately so you possibly can thaw your turkey safely and in a approach that units you up for cooking a juicy, succulent centerpiece of a hen.

How Lengthy Does It Take to Defrost Turkey?

The time it takes to defrost your turkey will rely on its dimension. The USDA estimates that you just’ll want 24 hours within the fridge for each 4 to 5 kilos of turkey you’re defrosting, however many components can impression thawing time, together with the temperature of your fridge and the way crowded the fridge is. Past the turkey’s dimension, the reduce and form of your turkey can even impression how lengthy it takes to defrost. Jessica Pryles, chef and creator of Hardcore Carnivore, says a complete turkey is basically a “huge, spherical, frozen ball,” and its density means it’s not conducive to fast defrosting. Whereas not generally discovered at conventional grocery shops, spatchcocked turkeys will each freeze and defrost quicker than an intact hen. Entire turkeys which have been separated into parts after which frozen flat can even thaw quicker than a complete hen.

To provide your self loads of time to correctly thaw and brine your turkey, it’s greatest to start defrosting the hen not less than 5 days earlier than you propose to prepare dinner and serve it. (As Kenji has famous beforehand, there’s no need to brine birds which can be labeled as kosher, enhanced, or self-basting, as these have already been handled with salt.)

The Most Widespread Strategies for Thawing Turkey

Learn how to Defrost Turkey within the Fridge

In keeping with Meredith Carothers, a meals security specialist with the USDA, and Catherine Nettles Cutter, a professor and meals security specialist in Penn State College’s meals science division, defrosting your turkey within the fridge is the easiest way to thaw it. “It is the best and the most secure,” says Carothers, who explains {that a} fridge set to take care of a temperature beneath 40ºF (4ºC) ensures that your turkey won’t ever hit the hazard zone, decreasing the danger of food-borne pathogens.

To thaw your turkey within the fridge, Carothers and Cutter advocate retaining your turkey wrapped and storing it on a big platter or tray, akin to a rimmed sheet pan, to gather any juices which will leak. You’ll additionally wish to place it on the lowest attainable level in your fridge to maintain any rogue uncooked poultry juices not caught by the platter from contaminating anything in your fridge. 

This technique is the one one the USDA recommends utilizing when you plan on dry brining your turkey, as the opposite two USDA-approved strategies—thawing within the microwave and in chilly water—are thought of “speedy” and require you to prepare dinner the hen instantly after it thaws. Thawing within the fridge comes with two trade-offs, although: time and house. A 20-pound hen will want about 5 days to defrost, taking over treasured fridge house you may in any other case use to retailer different Thanksgiving elements. Nonetheless, it’s probably the most hands-off technique and is the most secure method, as it’s the just one that ensures your turkey might be held at a food-safe temperature your complete time it thaws. (We advocate utilizing a fridge thermometer to make sure your fridge is on the proper temperature.)

TL;DR: Defrosting turkey within the fridge is the most secure and most hands-off technique, and is the one USDA-recommended technique when you plan on dry brining your turkey. It is usually the slowest technique and requires you to have vital fridge house.

Learn how to Defrost a Turkey in Chilly Water

When you’re working not on time and wish to hurry up the defrosting time of your hen, submerging it in cool water will do the trick. (We advocate retaining the turkey in its authentic packaging to stop the meat from changing into waterlogged.) With this technique, it takes about half-hour to defrost per pound of turkey, Pryles says. A ten-pound hen will defrost in about 5 hours, slightly than the 2 to a few days it could require within the fridge.

As a result of chilly water conducts warmth higher than air, this technique is quicker than thawing within the fridge. This technique, nonetheless, is a little more hands-on than thawing turkey within the fridge. As I wrote in my guide to defrosting chicken, the USDA says this technique is okay so long as your faucet releases water within the 55 to 65ºF (12.7 to 18.3ºC) vary. You’ll even have to vary the water each half-hour or so to make sure the water stays within the really helpful vary; because the frozen turkey defrosts, the water round it turns into cooler, and ultimately turns into chilly sufficient to stop the hen from adequately thawing.

The opposite downside with this technique is discovering a container giant sufficient to carry your turkey. Kenji has really helpful utilizing a large cooler or tub and altering out the water each hour or so. A cooler, Pryles says, can even assist hold the temperature extra constant and probably cut back the variety of instances you’ll want to refill it. Many coolers have spigots on the backside, making it straightforward to empty if you’re finished defrosting. When you don’t have a big sufficient cooler, Pryles suggests utilizing a five-gallon bucket. “You simply wish to make it possible for there’s loads of room between the precise turkey and the facet of the bucket so it may really be immersed within the chilly water,” she says, which can assist thaw the hen evenly.

When you have neither a cooler or five-gallon bucket, defrosting your turkey in a clear kitchen sink and even your bathtub can be an possibility. When you plan on defrosting your turkey within the sink or tub, you’ll want to totally clear them to stop any filth, micro organism, or dish detergent and residues from bathing or cleansing merchandise from contaminating your poultry. (Though we advocate retaining your turkey within the packaging, there’s a probability of it being breached.)

As a result of defrosting by way of chilly water is taken into account a rapid-defrost technique, the USDA recommends you prepare dinner meals defrosted this fashion instantly as soon as it is thawed, which sadly means you received’t be capable to dry brine a turkey defrosted this fashion.

TL;DR: Defrosting a turkey in chilly water is quicker than thawing within the fridge, however it’s barely extra hands-on because it requires you to vary the water continuously to take care of a temperature of 40ºF (4ºC) or beneath. Additionally, you will want a big vessel, akin to a cooler or five-gallon bucket, for thawing the turkey. A turkey defrosted this fashion have to be cooked instantly after thawing, which suggests you received’t be capable to dry brine it.

What About Defrosting a Turkey within the Microwave?

Regardless of being endorsed by the USDA, defrosting a complete turkey within the microwave is just not lifelike for most individuals, as most turkeys are too huge to slot in a typical microwave. This technique is extra appropriate for thawing smaller cuts like drumsticks or wings rapidly, although we don’t advocate it until it’s the solely possibility out there. As I discovered in my analysis and testing on how to best defrost chicken, this technique ends in erratically thawed meat; as a result of the microwave jumpstarts the cooking course of, the outer edges of the poultry could also be absolutely cooked by the point the middle of the hen is defrosted. The feel of the meat can be dry and ugly to eat. 

When you insist on thawing cuts of turkey within the microwave, the USDA recommends utilizing your microwave’s poultry defrost setting to take action, and planning on it taking about six minutes per pound. You must also rotate and flip the items all through the method to verify it’s defrosting evenly. As a result of that is one other speedy defrosting technique, the turkey needs to be cooked instantly after it has thawed.  

TL;DR: Most turkeys are too huge to slot in a typical microwave; this technique is greatest for thawing smaller cuts of turkey like thighs or wings. Turkey defrosted this fashion could have a drier texture, and we don’t advocate utilizing this technique until it’s the just one out there. As a result of the microwave is a speedy defrosting technique, the turkey have to be cooked instantly after it has thawed.

Why You Ought to By no means Defrost a Turkey at Room Temperature

Leaving a complete frozen turkey out at room temperature is the riskiest defrosting technique, and the USDA doesn’t advocate thawing turkey this fashion, nor can we. Give it some thought: Even weeknight-friendly cuts of poultry like hen breasts, which usually weigh about one to 2 kilos, can take a number of hours to thaw at room temperature. An entire turkey—which is greater than triple the scale of these cuts—will take for much longer. Because the turkey sits at room temperature, its exterior will thaw first, and sure hit the temperature hazard zone whereas the inside has but to totally thaw, making it susceptible to bacterial development.

Pryles notes that when you dwell in a chilly local weather the place the skin temperature is persistently beneath 40ºF (4ºC), you may safely defrost the turkey exterior in your yard or your porch. The USDA, nonetheless, doesn’t advocate thawing turkey this fashion, whatever the exterior temperature. If the turkey occurs to be in direct daylight or if the temperature fluctuates all through the day above 40ºF (4ºC), Carothers says, you’re placing your visitors in danger. She additionally warns {that a} porch isn’t as sterilized as your kitchen, and the thawing turkey may appeal to undesirable Thanksgiving visitors within the type of native wildlife and neighborhood pets. For these causes, we don’t advocate this technique both. 

TL;DR: Thawing your turkey at room temperature is the riskiest defrosting technique. We don’t advocate utilizing this technique.

Can You Prepare dinner Frozen Turkey?

Until you’re deep-frying your turkey—by which case the hen needs to be 100% thawed and totally dried earlier than taking a dip within the oil—you possibly can technically prepare dinner a turkey from frozen and it’ll still be food safe in line with the USDA. From a culinary standpoint, we don’t advocate it; a hen you’ve thawed within the fridge and dry brined is all the time going to be extra flavorful and juicy. But when it’s Thanksgiving day and your turkey continues to be a block of ice and cooking it frozen is the one possibility left, you possibly can, certainly, do that. Simply remember the fact that a frozen turkey will take not less than 50% longer to prepare dinner than a thawed turkey, and simply tossing a frozen hen within the oven will definitely not end in a wonderfully cooked, moist hen with crisp pores and skin. We aren’t going to supply directions for it right here, however you possibly can head on over to Thermoworks, the place there’s a thorough information on the right way to prepare dinner a frozen turkey.

The Takeaway

For defrosting a complete turkey, our best choice is the fridge. Be sure you begin defrosting not less than 5 days earlier than you propose on cooking the turkey, and calculate that it’ll want 24 hours within the fridge for each 4 to 5 kilos of turkey you’re defrosting, probably longer. Be sure you construct in time for prep strategies, like dry brining.