Recipes

[On It]

Earlier we had a discussion about when to move a 16 pound turkey from the freezer to the fridge. I was hoping some of you would share your thawing experience.

I was planning on beginning thawing my 16.8 pound bird on Saturday, but we had a distraction that made us forget. We moved it Sunday morning. Our meal is served at midday, so we prepared the turkey and it is cooking as I write this.

The turkey was defrosted well enough that we could move the leg band to remove the neck from the breast cavity and replace it. There was a good deal of ice still in the cavity as well as under the wings on the outside of the bird. The plastic bag of yuck came out fairly easily.

I would probably have liked another day of defrosting, but four was adequate. I realized from other posts that many have their meal later in the day which means a later start time. I think four days would probably work for most for a 16 pounder.

[SoonerLater]

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@On It wrote:

Earlier we had a discussion about when to move a 16 pound turkey from the freezer to the fridge. I was hoping some of you would share your thawing experience.

I was planning on beginning thawing my 16.8 pound bird on Saturday, but we had a distraction that made us forget. We moved it Sunday morning. Our meal is served at midday, so we prepared the turkey and it is cooking as I write this.

The turkey was defrosted well enough that we could move the leg band to remove the neck from the breast cavity and replace it. There was a good deal of ice still in the cavity as well as under the wings on the outside of the bird. The plastic bag of yuck came out fairly easily.

I would probably have liked another day of defrosting, but four was adequate. I realized from other posts that many have their meal later in the day which means a later start time. I think four days would probably work for most for a 16 pounder.

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@On It BE VERY CAREFUL and check the temperature in a lot of spots when you think it is done.  Especially near the inside, down in the thigh, etc.  

[On It]

@SoonerLater Thank you for the advice. I added 30 minutes to the cook time just in case.

[SoonerLater]

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@On It wrote:

@SoonerLater Thank you for the advice. I added 30 minutes to the cook time just in case.

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@On It Good to be careful but it may or may not cook in "regular" time.  Just be careful!   And have a wonderful day! 

[gardenman]

I bought mine on Saturday (10.97 lbs.) and it went right into the fridge to thaw and was perfect this morning. Your turkey should be fine. Don't go too crazy on extra cooking time. Trust your meat thermometer.

[KingstonsMom]

@On It 

Butterball has some excellent instructions on all facets of cooling a turkey, it doesn't have to be a butterball turkey.

I rely on it every year for many, many years and it's instructions have never failed me! HTH!

How To Thaw A Frozen Turkey | Butterball®

[On It]

I want to thank everyone for their concern. The turkey was pretty much thawed. The ice was in clumps in the chest cavity and under the wings. I have a Butterball instruction guide in my recipe box from years and years ago that I am following. I went with the longest cooking time for my weight bird. At the end of that time, I will test the temp.

You all are so kind and thoughtful. I am thankful to have found such a supportive and caring group.

[sunshine45]

24 pound butterball and we moved it to our refrigerator on sunday morning.

this morning it was pretty much thawed except for a chunk of ice in the cavity. we are going to eat around 6pm.

[ECBG]

@On It 

Looks like you did well.

Half of my degree is in Food Science and a little ice is fine as you rinse in tepid water.  It has been in a cold refrigerator, so you're safe as long as the door isn't held open for long periods of time.

After, I always go over the kitchen and spice bottles with clorox wipes to prevent any cross contamination.

[gtx]

 Clorox Wipes! That is what  I didn't do. I washed everything with soap and water. I will go back over everything with the wipes.

My 16 pound turkey went into the refrigerator on Saturday.It was perfectly thawed this morning. I have it in the oven now.

Thanks everybody!