I know this is the wrong time of year for this subject, and yet here I am.
I usually buy fresh turkeys, but I like turkey year round - not just on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Once you get away from those times, turkeys are in short supply, and can be pretty expensive. So when frozen birds were on sale for 59 cents/lb, I bough six of them. But I'm having problems defrosting them.
I'm trying to go by the rules. I take a 13 pounder out of the 0F freezer and put it into my 37F fridge. After about a day and a half, the outer edge is soft. After four days, I take it out to bake. But once I get it out of the plastic wrapping, there is still ice in the center, and some areas are still a little on the semi-frozen side.
So should I be leaving it in the fridge longer? USDA says not to leave a thawed turkey in the fridge for more than two days. But the outside edge has been thawed for three days, and if I have to leave it in longer for the inside to completely thaw...
I put the current turkey in the fridge four days ago. As I write this, it's morning, and I won't be putting it into the oven for another five hours, but I decided to take it out of the packaging now and prepare it. As usual, the center had lots of frozen liquid. I pulled out the neck/giblets and hosed down the inside with warm water to get rid of the ice. Then I warmed up some of the still frozen areas under the wings and legs. Finally, I put it onto a platter and back into the fridge where it will stay till roasting time.
How do others handle this? Seems to me that all turkey should be treated equally, and if "thawed in the fridge for over two days" is bad, doesn't that make it bad for the outside of the turkey that was thawed after the first day?
I usually buy fresh turkeys, but I like turkey year round - not just on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Once you get away from those times, turkeys are in short supply, and can be pretty expensive. So when frozen birds were on sale for 59 cents/lb, I bough six of them. But I'm having problems defrosting them.
I'm trying to go by the rules. I take a 13 pounder out of the 0F freezer and put it into my 37F fridge. After about a day and a half, the outer edge is soft. After four days, I take it out to bake. But once I get it out of the plastic wrapping, there is still ice in the center, and some areas are still a little on the semi-frozen side.
So should I be leaving it in the fridge longer? USDA says not to leave a thawed turkey in the fridge for more than two days. But the outside edge has been thawed for three days, and if I have to leave it in longer for the inside to completely thaw...
I put the current turkey in the fridge four days ago. As I write this, it's morning, and I won't be putting it into the oven for another five hours, but I decided to take it out of the packaging now and prepare it. As usual, the center had lots of frozen liquid. I pulled out the neck/giblets and hosed down the inside with warm water to get rid of the ice. Then I warmed up some of the still frozen areas under the wings and legs. Finally, I put it onto a platter and back into the fridge where it will stay till roasting time.
How do others handle this? Seems to me that all turkey should be treated equally, and if "thawed in the fridge for over two days" is bad, doesn't that make it bad for the outside of the turkey that was thawed after the first day?