Defrosting A Frozen Turkey At Room Temperature

That s why you never thaw a frozen turkey at room temperature on your kitchen counter or in hot water.

Defrosting a frozen turkey at room temperature. Thaw breast side down in an unopened wrapper with enough cold water to cover your turkey completely. Besides the fact that it is let us say unseemly to defrost a thanksgiving turkey in some random bedroom to say nothing of the bathroom thawing a turkey at room temperature is a terrible practice. Thaw breast side up in an unopened wrapper on a tray in the fridge 40 degrees f or below. Another way to thaw a turkey is using cold water.

But it takes several days to thaw a large bird in the fridge. Much faster and just as safe is thawing in a cooler or other container of ice water. Uncooked meat or poultry including frozen shouldn t be left at room temperature for more than two hours. Allow at least 1 day of thawing for every 4 lbs.

We cannot over emphasize food safety when it comes to thawing turkey. The final method of thawing a. Any foods that can go bad like raw or cooked meat poultry and eggs must thaw at safe temperatures. I wouldn t eat a large turkey that had been thawed.

In case you are wondering here are some thawing methods that are not recommended. This method is quicker than refrigerator thawing but requires more. Safely thawing turkey the first method is to leave the turkey in the refrigerator until it is completely defrosted. Thawing a turkey on the counter in the garage or on the back porch thawing a turkey in a brown paper grocery bag or plastic garbage bag using the dishwasher to thaw a turkey with or without water any method that is.

Keep turkey in original wrapper and place on tray. When frozen food gets warmer than 40 degrees or is at. It s important to keep the whole turkey at a safe temperature throughout the thawing process to prevent bacterial growth that can lead to foodborne illness.