I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.

That means I'll need to have to start thawing the bird on Saturday or
Sunday. (Yes, I know other people thaw them very easily in 3-4 days,
but mine takes at least a day longer before I can get in the cavity and
remove the giblets and neck.)

The heck with it. I'll plug it in now, and that way I'm pretty sure
it'll be ready when I haul out the bird.

Never mind.
maxine in ri

"maxine in ri" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
> room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
> ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
> 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
> dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.
>
> That means I'll need to have to start thawing the bird on Saturday or
> Sunday. (Yes, I know other people thaw them very easily in 3-4 days,
> but mine takes at least a day longer before I can get in the cavity and
> remove the giblets and neck.)


Why does yours take longer? Some sort of special bird, never seen in any
other supermarket on earth?

Could be the OP's fridge is just set a bit lower than other
refrigerators on Earth, or opened less, or ...

We keep our refrigerators pretty cool, and five days sounds about right
to me for a solidly frozen turkey of any size. She might still find
some ice crystals in the cavity even then because of the giblets being
jammed in there, but hopefully nothing that a rinse in cold water won't
fix.

Bob
===========================
In article >,
says...
>
> Why does yours take longer? Some sort of special bird, never seen in any
> other supermarket on earth?
>

maxine in ri wrote:
>
> I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
> room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
> ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
> 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
> dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.
>
> That means I'll need to have to start thawing the bird on Saturday or
> Sunday. (Yes, I know other people thaw them very easily in 3-4 days,
> but mine takes at least a day longer before I can get in the cavity and
> remove the giblets and neck.)
>
> The heck with it. I'll plug it in now, and that way I'm pretty sure
> it'll be ready when I haul out the bird.
>
> Never mind.
> maxine in ri

Have you considered defrosting it in cold water? That only takes a few
hours and doesn't take up tons of freezer space.

Pete C.

Pete C. wrote:
> maxine in ri wrote:
> >
> > I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
> > room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
> > ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
> > 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
> > dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.

> Have you considered defrosting it in cold water? That only takes a few
> hours and doesn't take up tons of freezer space.
>

Pete, you took the words right out of my mouth. Off of my keyboard.
Something...

Once upon a time I tried thawing the turkey in the fridge, just like
the wrapper said. I forget how long it was spozed to be in there....
but by the time Thanksgiving Eve rolled around the bird was still
pretty doggone solid. So I did the cold-water thaw Thanksgiving
morning, which worked a treat and saved the day.

Obviously my fridge is colder than most others. Or my turkey was just
being mean. Or something. But since then I've always thawed the
turkey in cold water, it's much more predictable.

Best -- Terry

wrote:
>
> Pete C. wrote:
> > maxine in ri wrote:
> > >
> > > I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
> > > room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
> > > ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
> > > 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
> > > dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.
>
> > Have you considered defrosting it in cold water? That only takes a few
> > hours and doesn't take up tons of freezer space.
> >
>
> Pete, you took the words right out of my mouth. Off of my keyboard.
> Something...
>
> Once upon a time I tried thawing the turkey in the fridge, just like
> the wrapper said. I forget how long it was spozed to be in there....
> but by the time Thanksgiving Eve rolled around the bird was still
> pretty doggone solid. So I did the cold-water thaw Thanksgiving
> morning, which worked a treat and saved the day.
>
> Obviously my fridge is colder than most others. Or my turkey was just
> being mean. Or something. But since then I've always thawed the
> turkey in cold water, it's much more predictable.
>
> Best -- Terry

I think that the air circulation in the refrigerator is the biggest
factor. Most people's refrigerators would be 35-38 degrees or so, but
the air circulation would vary greatly. No air circulation and the
turkey would not thaw at anywhere near the predicted rate.

Pete C.

wrote:
> Pete C. wrote:
>> maxine in ri wrote:
>>> I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
>>> room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
>>> ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
>>> 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
>>> dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.
>
>> Have you considered defrosting it in cold water? That only takes a few
>> hours and doesn't take up tons of freezer space.
>>
>
> Pete, you took the words right out of my mouth. Off of my keyboard.
> Something...
>
> Once upon a time I tried thawing the turkey in the fridge, just like
> the wrapper said. I forget how long it was spozed to be in there....
> but by the time Thanksgiving Eve rolled around the bird was still
> pretty doggone solid. So I did the cold-water thaw Thanksgiving
> morning, which worked a treat and saved the day.
>
> Obviously my fridge is colder than most others. Or my turkey was just
> being mean. Or something. But since then I've always thawed the
> turkey in cold water, it's much more predictable.
>
> Best -- Terry
>


I've started roasting my turkeys from frozen. I thaw them just enough
to get the plastic wrap off.

Best regards,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
>
> wrote:
> > Pete C. wrote:
> >> maxine in ri wrote:
> >>> I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
> >>> room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
> >>> ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
> >>> 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
> >>> dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.
> >
> >> Have you considered defrosting it in cold water? That only takes a few
> >> hours and doesn't take up tons of freezer space.
> >>
> >
> > Pete, you took the words right out of my mouth. Off of my keyboard.
> > Something...
> >
> > Once upon a time I tried thawing the turkey in the fridge, just like
> > the wrapper said. I forget how long it was spozed to be in there....
> > but by the time Thanksgiving Eve rolled around the bird was still
> > pretty doggone solid. So I did the cold-water thaw Thanksgiving
> > morning, which worked a treat and saved the day.
> >
> > Obviously my fridge is colder than most others. Or my turkey was just
> > being mean. Or something. But since then I've always thawed the
> > turkey in cold water, it's much more predictable.
> >
> > Best -- Terry
> >
>
> I've started roasting my turkeys from frozen. I thaw them just enough
> to get the plastic wrap off.
>
> Best regards,
> Bob

I hope that's a joke. It would be both dangerous since large sections
will be in the bacteria danger zone for quite a long time and also just
about guaranteed to produce terrible results from very uneven cooking.

Pete C.

"Pete C." > wrote in message
...
> zxcvbob wrote:
>>
>> wrote:
>> > Pete C. wrote:
>> >> maxine in ri wrote:
>> >>> I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot
>> >>> of
>> >>> room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
>> >>> ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost
>> >>> the
>> >>> 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to
>> >>> air
>> >>> dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.
>> >
>> >> Have you considered defrosting it in cold water? That only takes a few
>> >> hours and doesn't take up tons of freezer space.
>> >>
>> >
>> > Pete, you took the words right out of my mouth. Off of my keyboard.
>> > Something...
>> >
>> > Once upon a time I tried thawing the turkey in the fridge, just like
>> > the wrapper said. I forget how long it was spozed to be in there....
>> > but by the time Thanksgiving Eve rolled around the bird was still
>> > pretty doggone solid. So I did the cold-water thaw Thanksgiving
>> > morning, which worked a treat and saved the day.
>> >
>> > Obviously my fridge is colder than most others. Or my turkey was just
>> > being mean. Or something. But since then I've always thawed the
>> > turkey in cold water, it's much more predictable.
>> >
>> > Best -- Terry
>> >
>>
>> I've started roasting my turkeys from frozen. I thaw them just enough
>> to get the plastic wrap off.
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Bob
>
> I hope that's a joke. It would be both dangerous since large sections
> will be in the bacteria danger zone for quite a long time and also just
> about guaranteed to produce terrible results from very uneven cooking.
>
> Pete C.


Shhhh........we're about to see natural selection at work. Either that, or
the outermost layers of meat end up with the texture of a cinder block.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
> "Pete C." > wrote in message
> ...
>> zxcvbob wrote:

>>> I've started roasting my turkeys from frozen. I thaw them just enough
>>> to get the plastic wrap off.
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>> Bob
>> I hope that's a joke. It would be both dangerous since large sections
>> will be in the bacteria danger zone for quite a long time and also just
>> about guaranteed to produce terrible results from very uneven cooking.
>>
>> Pete C.
>
>
> Shhhh........we're about to see natural selection at work. Either that, or
> the outermost layers of meat end up with the texture of a cinder block.
>
>


Wrong, Dogbreath:

http://www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/Food%...zen_turkey.htm

I saved a food safety web-page from Utah State University a couple of
years ago that has complete instructions. I can email it to you if you
like.

Bob

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
>> "Pete C." > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> zxcvbob wrote:
>
>>>> I've started roasting my turkeys from frozen. I thaw them just enough
>>>> to get the plastic wrap off.
>>>>
>>>> Best regards,
>>>> Bob
>>> I hope that's a joke. It would be both dangerous since large sections
>>> will be in the bacteria danger zone for quite a long time and also just
>>> about guaranteed to produce terrible results from very uneven cooking.
>>>
>>> Pete C.
>>
>>
>> Shhhh........we're about to see natural selection at work. Either that,
>> or the outermost layers of meat end up with the texture of a cinder
>> block.
>
>
> Wrong, Dogbreath:
>
> http://www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/Food%...zen_turkey.htm
>
> I saved a food safety web-page from Utah State University a couple of
> years ago that has complete instructions. I can email it to you if you
> like.
>
> Bob

Yeah. They're suggesting this cooking method because it saves some people
from thawing it in an unsafe fashion. But, it's definitely a compromise.
Think about it for a minute or three.

Pete C. wrote:
> maxine in ri wrote:
> >
> > I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
> > room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
> > ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
> > 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
> > dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.
> >
> > That means I'll need to have to start thawing the bird on Saturday or
> > Sunday. (Yes, I know other people thaw them very easily in 3-4 days,
> > but mine takes at least a day longer before I can get in the cavity and
> > remove the giblets and neck.)
> >
> > The heck with it. I'll plug it in now, and that way I'm pretty sure
> > it'll be ready when I haul out the bird.
> >
> > Never mind.
> > maxine in ri
>
> Have you considered defrosting it in cold water? That only takes a few
> hours and doesn't take up tons of freezer space.
>
> Pete C.

My family likes to eat early (by 1pm they're whining) and since I love
them dearly, I try to comply. This is our busy season at work, so I
can't do the cold water thing on Wednesday, and much as I do love my
in-laws, I am _Not_ getting up at 3am to start defrosting the bird<g>.

Fridge was plugged in last night, and is down to 40 this morning at 5.
I should be able to move Thomasina in there tonight!

maxine in ri

"JoeSpareBedroom" > wrote in message
...
> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Wrong, Dogbreath:
>>
>> http://www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/Food%...zen_turkey.htm
>>
>> I saved a food safety web-page from Utah State University a couple of
>> years ago that has complete instructions. I can email it to you if you
>> like.
>>
>> Bob
>
> Yeah. They're suggesting this cooking method because it saves some people
> from thawing it in an unsafe fashion. But, it's definitely a compromise.
> Think about it for a minute or three.

You think about it for a minute or three. Breast cooks faster than the
thighs in a thawed turkey. That means it's dried out by the time the thighs
are done. If it's frozen and takes longer to cook than the thighs that
means it won't be overdone.

For that matter if the whole damn turkey is going to be *totally* cooked in
less than 5 hours exactly how long could it possibley linger in the danger
zone?

Ms P

"ms_peacock" > wrote in message
...
>
> "JoeSpareBedroom" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Wrong, Dogbreath:
>>>
>>> http://www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/Food%...zen_turkey.htm
>>>
>>> I saved a food safety web-page from Utah State University a couple of
>>> years ago that has complete instructions. I can email it to you if you
>>> like.
>>>
>>> Bob
>>
>> Yeah. They're suggesting this cooking method because it saves some people
>> from thawing it in an unsafe fashion. But, it's definitely a compromise.
>> Think about it for a minute or three.
>
> You think about it for a minute or three. Breast cooks faster than the
> thighs in a thawed turkey. That means it's dried out by the time the
> thighs are done. If it's frozen and takes longer to cook than the thighs
> that means it won't be overdone.
>
> For that matter if the whole damn turkey is going to be *totally* cooked
> in less than 5 hours exactly how long could it possibley linger in the
> danger zone?
>
> Ms P

I'm assuming one might want to tuck flavoring things under the skin ahead of
time. That's not going to work very well with a frozen bird.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
> "maxine in ri" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> >I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
> > room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
> > ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
> > 16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
> > dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.
> >
> > That means I'll need to have to start thawing the bird on Saturday or
> > Sunday. (Yes, I know other people thaw them very easily in 3-4 days,
> > but mine takes at least a day longer before I can get in the cavity and
> > remove the giblets and neck.)
>
>
> Why does yours take longer? Some sort of special bird, never seen in any
> other supermarket on earth?

B'ball says one day (24 hours) for every 4 pounds of turkey - I'm with
Maxine, mine never seem to thaw in the charted time.

For anyone thawing the turkey in cold water - the cold water should be
changed every 30 minutes.

N.