One of the
most difficult parts of cooking the Thanksgiving
meal is
THAWING THE TURKEY! We must thaw the turkeys under
refrigeration,
which translates to 2 days minimum for a small (15
pounds or under)
turkey, and 3-4 days for larger turkeys. This
means, we have to find
room to thaw the turkeys (s) in the fridge when it
is already filled to
maximum capacity, because we have been cooking for
2 weeks!
So, what do we do? Bob and I use ice chests, thoroughly cleaned,
sanitized (1 teaspoon chlorine bleach per quart of
water) wipe down
all the surfaces and allow to air dry. We check
each day to see if
our turkey has thawed out yet. The ice chest will
help keep it cool
enough for safety for a day or so. We also use this
opportunity to
brine the turkey. Overnight is long enough for
brining.
The day before you want to roast the turkey, remove it from its
plastic bag and rinse it thoroughly, inside and
out, with cold running
water, pat the turkey dry, put it on a tray, baking
sheet, or roasting
pan, cover loosely and put it in the fridge. Even
when the turkey
appears to be completely thawed there are usually
big chunks of ice
on the inside that will never melt unless you run
water on the inside
of the turkey. So while you are doing all the other
chores, don’t forget
to check the turkey!
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