Shea Simmons
It’s that time of year! Turkey day is nearly here, and it’s time to get prepped to thaw that frozen bird. There’s one important thing to remember when getting it ready for cooking.
During the thawing process, you shouldn’t let the turkey sit at room temperature for longer than two hours.
The United States Department of Agriculture released its safety tips and included turkey thawing procedures. To avoid bacteria growth, you need to make sure your turkey doesn’t sit out too long. But the best way to avoid any sort of issue is to thaw in the refrigerator.
The USDA recommends leaving the turkey in the fridge for about 24 hours for every four to five pounds of turkey. If you’ve got a 10-pound turkey, you’ll need roughly two days for it to thaw in the fridge (so you might want to hop on the thawing soon). Once the turkey is thawed, it’s safe to leave it in the fridge for a day or two.
If, however, you want to speed up the process, you can thaw a turkey safely in a cold water bath or microwave. For thawing in cold water, thaw for 30 minutes per pound and keep the turkey underwater in its original wrapping. For the microwave, you can use the preset options that most appliances come with.
Now that you know how to thaw your turkey safely, here are some tips on cooking it, too.
[Via Best Life]
