Is it okay to defrost a turkey in the fridge up to week before Thanksgiving? This is the first year in a long time that I have bought a frozen turkey. I've looked online and have seen mixed advice on how to defrost in the fridge. It's a 12 lb. bird. I put it in my fridge last night.
I heard on the news on Thursday from a Butterball employee that is was National Thaw Your Turkey Day - they said if your turkey is 12# or larger to move it from the freeze to the fridge for a perfectly thawed turkey.
We are cooking a 22# one and didn't get it moved till yesterday... we may have to finish thawing it in cold water, guess we will see Wednesday night how it is doing.
My husband (who has cooked for restaurants and makes a mean turkey himself) puts it in cold water the day before in our sink. so far I have lived through this. Although he puts it in the sink where it takes up room.
My understanding is that once the turkey is unfrozen, you need to cook it right away - well, not longer than the next day. You want very little thawed-out time - the time between frozen and cooking - because that is the time bacteria can get out of control.
If I were you, I'd check my turkey now; if it's still solidly frozen I'd put it back in the freezer and leave it there until Monday. A twelve-pound bird is sort of a little guy. It's better for the turkey to be still a little frozen (then you can do the cold-running-water-in-the-sink method) than for it to sit thawed for too long.
