Here are some thawing tips that can save time and trouble when you are readying a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. Gary Crawford has more.
PARTICIPANTS: Gary Crawford and Meredith Carothers with USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline.
The USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline number is 888-MPHOTLINE (888-674-6854). You can also go online to Ask.usda.gov
Transcript
It supposedly was famed ancient Roman soldier and leader Julius Caesar who said "Vini vidi vici" which means Another fanfare, please come on That's better.
I came I saw I conquered but at Thanksgiving turkey time, which usually I came I thawed I cooked it But that is indeed the trouble with buying a frozen turkey that thawing process Getting the bird on the table when people are ready to eat it as to the thawing procedure We asked the expert in this case Meredith Carruthers She's with the Agriculture Department's meat and poultry hotline the number of which will give you in a moment So Meredith, what is the best way to defreeze that bird?
Thawing in the refrigerator is going to be the safest method of thawing just because it ensures that the product that you're thawing is Staying at a safe temperature throughout the entire thawing process We really don't recommend to thaw at room temperature Just because that could allow bacteria to grow that could then make you sick if consumed So you say refrigerator thawing is the safest way to thaw your turkey, but it's also the longest It'll take about 24 hours for every five pounds of turkey So you want to do the math ensure you're giving yourself enough days to try and get that turkey fully thawed days Days, yeah that right my 12 pound turkey won't be thawed for three days And for me when it comes to cooking my theme song always seems to be I'm late I'm late for a very important date.
See I've only got hours not days to get this turkey ready to go Don't sweat.
We have a few recommendations for you as well.
Cold water is another safe way of thawing a turkey We recommend submerging it in cold water But then replacing that water about every 30 minutes to ensure it is in fact staying cold enough and that should help thaw it a Little bit quicker.
Yeah, it Looks like it would take about 30 minutes a pound So that's six hours for my 12 pounder just for the thawing let alone the cooking I've got to do better than that.
Is there any hope for me?
What can I do?
You can actually cook the turkey from the frozen state It's just gonna take a little bit longer for that turkey to fully come to a safe internal temperature and be cooked and ready to Eat.
Yes, they say it'll take about one and a half times longer to get that internal temperature up to the 165 degrees needed to kill any bacteria in there So instead of an approximate cooking time for my totally thawed 12 pounder of about 20 minutes a pound or four hours the frozen bird would take about roughly six hours Need more help with that dinner in any way try calling the meat and poultry hotline 1-888-MP-HOTLINE 1-888-MP-HOTLINE Or for chat go online to ask.usda.gov.
This is Gary Crawford reporting for the US Department of Agriculture
