Depending on its size, it might be time to start defrosting your Thanksgiving turkey.
Overton Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent Christina Swallows said there are several ways to defrost a turkey, but the most recommended way is in the refrigerator.
“Looking at a 4 to 12-pound turkey you’re looking at probably Monday or Tuesday, it takes one to three days to defrost a turkey,” Swallows said. “Whereas if you’re looking at a 20 to 24-pound turkey, you’re looking at five to six days which would be Friday the 19th.”
Swallows said that other ways to properly defrost are by soaking your turkey in cold water, or even the microwave with the proper settings. She said that if for some reason you forget to thaw your turkey it is possible to cook it from frozen, though not recommended.
Swallows said that one of the biggest mistakes people can make is leaving a turkey outside because they think the temperature is cool enough.
“We do not recommend that at all it is so unsafe because what’s happening is your turkey is starting to thaw on the outer portions, and as that outer portion are thawing your bacteria are starting to attack that meat,” Swallows said. “So the inner part is still frozen but you’ve got all kinds of millions of bacteria on the outer portions and if that turkey is not cooked properly it’s going to make a lot of people ill.And with this time of the year with everything going on, it’s not a healthy thing. Especially with someone with a lower immune system or someone who’s been sick, those are the people that are more susceptible to bacteria and so forth but everybody could be sicked from a badly-cooked turkey.”
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