Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Thawing the Turkey

This whole farce about thawing the turkey in the 'fridge for 4 days that results in a still-frozen bird when it is time to put it in the oven - who ever came up with that and are they still laughing?

Brine and thaw it at the same time.

Alton Brown Brine/Thaw at same time

We have been putting the frozen bird in a cooler of tap water, and letting it thaw for two days for several years, and we ain't dead yet.

Exactly ! Works like a charm !

WHOA !!!! Shiver me gizzards

IIRC, a rule-of-thumb for defrosting a turkey is 5 hours per pound of bird in a refrigerator.

Ours is sitting in an unheated garage at ~ 40*. Perfect by Thurs. morning.

Depends on how cold you have your fridge set?

For the guys who brine there turkeys, are you frying it rather then roasting it?

I haven't bought a whole turkey in years as prefer just the crown or one of the turkey joints..

If I was going to use a whole turkey, I would try to buy fresh and avoid all the defrosting hassle....

I brine then cook on the grill or smoker. If I'm going to fry it, I usually don't brine it but I do inject it.

For those that haven't brined a bird, I highly recommend it. The meat comes out very moist and flavorful. There are a number of brine recipes on the internets, but 1 cup salt, 1/2 gallon of apple juice, couple tablespoons of tyme, rosemary, and sage, and about a tablespoon of pepper. Heat the brine to dissolve the salt, and pour it in a container big enough to hold the bird and extra liquid. I use a food grade 4 gallon bucket, but you could use a cooler or whatever you have (no metal). Cover the bird with water, put a lid on it, and let it sit in cool spot for a day. When you pull it out before cooking, you can rinse it off, or not, up to you. The days of dry turkey will be over once you start doing this.

I've since had turkey cooked without brining a few times, and there is no comparison.