How do you thaw a turkey? Here are 3 safe ways to defrost your bird for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is astir here! If you're readying to navigator the large bird, the USDA says determination are three ways to safely thaw a frozen turkey.

How to thaw a frozen turkey successful the refrigerator

Every 4 to 5 pounds of turkey volition necessitate 24-hours of thaw clip successful the refrigerator, according to the USDA.

"If your turkey weighs 16 pounds, it volition instrumentality astir 4 days to thaw. Once thawed, the turkey is harmless for different 2 days, truthful you tin commencement thawing it six days earlier Thanksgiving (the Friday earlier Thanksgiving)," recommends the USDA.

Thawing your turkey successful the refrigerator is the safest method due to the fact that the turkey volition thaw astatine a consistent, harmless temperature, USDA says.

But, if you hide to thaw the turkey and request to bash it quickly, don't panic! There are different ways.

The USDA recommends the following:

Cold h2o thawing

"For the acold h2o method, permission the turkey successful its archetypal wrapping and submerge it successful a descend (or container) afloat of acold water. It is important that the h2o beryllium acold truthful that the turkey stays astatine a harmless temperature. You should alteration the h2o each 30 minutes. Empty retired the h2o and regenerate it with caller acold water. With this method, let 30 minutes of defrosting clip per pound, truthful a 16-pound turkey volition instrumentality 8 hours to thaw utilizing this method (so you mightiness request to commencement astir 4 a.m. if you privation to devour successful the afternoon!). Once the turkey has thawed, navigator it immediately."

Thawing a turkey successful the microwave

"Before you perpetrate to thawing your turkey successful the microwave, cheque your owner's manual for the size turkey that volition acceptable successful your microwave oven, the minutes per lb and the powerfulness level to usage erstwhile thawing a turkey. Remove each extracurricular wrapping and spot the turkey connected a microwave-safe crockery to drawback immoderate juices that whitethorn leak. Use the defrost relation based connected weight. As a wide rule, let six minutes per lb erstwhile thawing a turkey successful the microwave. Be definite to rotate it respective times, and adjacent flip it, during the thawing process."

What if the turkey starts to really navigator alternatively of conscionable defrost?

The USDA says to fto it remainder for astir 5 minutes earlier you resume thawing.

"Partway done thawing, you whitethorn privation to screen the tips of the wings and drumsticks with a tiny portion of foil to shield them from the microwaves and support them from cooking. Once the turkey has thawed you should navigator it immediately," said the USDA.

If you are disquieted astir utilizing aluminum foil successful the microwave, the USDA says it's really good to use foil successful the microwave successful tiny amounts.

So, what if your turkey is inactive icy connected Thanksgiving morning? The USDA says it's perfectly harmless to navigator a frozen turkey, it volition conscionable instrumentality longer to cook.

"A solidly frozen turkey volition instrumentality astatine slightest 50% longer to navigator than a thawed turkey," said the USDA. "If your turkey is lone partially frozen, retrieve that it volition instrumentality a spot longer to cook. Use your nutrient thermometer, and erstwhile your vertebrate measures 165F successful the innermost portion of the thigh, the innermost portion of the helping and the thickest portion of the breast, it is ready."

Click here for much tips connected harmless thawing methods.

This communicative was primitively published successful November 2020 and has been updated.