How many days before Thanksgiving do you take the turkey out of the freezer and put it in the fridge? It has to be several days. I've had frozen meatloaf in the fridge for about 2-3 days before it fully defrosted.
I've only done Thanksgiving a few times, and for the life of me I cannot remember how I defrosted the darn turkey!
I take mine out 2 days before and let it sit on the counter for one day and then put it in the frige for the other day. Like when you take something out for dinner to thaw. It thaws out pretty well that way. I also start to cook mine the night before about half way and then refrigerate and then cook the rest the next day so that my oven isn't going all day. My family has done that for as long as I can remember.
My turkey usually takes up too much space. I have 2 fridges but they are full on the holidays. I use an ice chest and just keep a close eye on it.
I drop my frozen turkey into a 5 gallon bucket of brine and let it that for approx 18-24 hours in the brine bucket. Works for us :)
I just read this year in a Thanksgiving magazine that you don't have to have a completely defrosted turkey. It can still be partially frozen when you place in the oven, just check your thermometer for doneness. This helps a lot b/c refrigerators get so packed at the holiday's and turkey's never defrost all the way.
I buy the turkey Sat or Sun, leave in the frig and pull out Thanksgiving morning. I used to brine my turkey's, but it really was a lot of work and extra fuss. I now give him a salt bath. Fill the clean sink with a few inches of warm water, dissolve 1/2 cup of kosher salt, add more water, slip in the turkey....bath and massage the salt water all around. Turns out like I brined it...Well I add a lot of other seasonings in the pan..
I get the Turkey on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and then I don't put it in the freezer. Even though they are frozen at the store, they do defrost some on the shelves and are definitely not as frozen as if you put it in your freezer. I also brine the Turkey 24 hours before I cook it.
unwrap, put it in a cleaned ice chest 2-3 days before thankgiving. Set it out on the porch. Put 1 c salt in the chest and fill w/ water. make sure no animals can get to it.
My mom always placed it in a roaster on Monday so she could stuff it Wed night.. and pop it into the oven Thursday morning. we always eat promptly at Noon on Thanksgiving..
If it is larger than 20 lbs, you may want to place it in the fridge on Sunday afternoon.
Updated
My mom always placed it in a roaster on Monday so she could stuff it Wed night.. and pop it into the oven Thursday morning. we always eat promptly at Noon on Thanksgiving..
If it is larger than 20 lbs, you may want to place it in the fridge on Sunday afternoon.
My mom puts the turkey on the back porch (indoor) if it is 40 degrees or colder. Otherwise it goes in my brothers cooler with some ice packs for 2 or 3 days. Turkey takes up too much room in the fridge with all the other things cooked.
About 5 days and then I brine it for 24 hours. It needs to be fully thawed before brining.
We did it for 5 days... then when we opened the thing the instructions (On the INSIDE of the darn thing, where you couldn't see it with the packaging on) said NOT to defrost it... (turns out it was pre-stuffed though... which I failed to notice... lol.) It should give you an idea on the packaging though...
I can't help...we go to a local farm and buy them fresh from the farm the day before Thanksgiving.
I always check the instructions. It's usually on there somewhere near the cooking instructions. Then, when I haven't left it long enough, I soak it in cold water. I don't stuff mine, so it doesn't take as long to roast.
5 to 7 days in the fridge
You may have your fridge setting too cold to let the turkey thaw fully in the fridge. If you don't have a fridge thermometer, get one and just change the setting so that the fridge stays at around 45 degrees. 3 or 4 days will thaw it.
You can also defrost the turkey in the sink. Place the turkey in the sink in a large bowl (leave on the wrapping) and let just a trickle of cold water run on it, it will thaw and not get warm enough to spoil because the cool water is constantly running.
