Holy turkey!!!! Need help/advice, please.

[jeninga75]

I'm about 24 hours from putting the turkey in the oven and to my horror, I open the fridge and see the nicely defrosting turkey in a pool of it's own juices...

Turns out, even after I inspected the wapper in the store, there are 2 tiny holes in it where the juices are leaking out. Is this bad? I mean, will I enjoy an afternoon and days to follow of food poisoning if I cook this turkey? Should I throw some tape over the holes and continue as planned?

Let me know what you guys think or if this has happenned to you in the past. Thanks.

 

[Michelemarie]

This happened to me at Thanksgiving and I returned the turkey for a new one - of course, the bird was fresh and I had the time to do it. I don't know if it is okay or not but if you can return it I would - just my opinion though. Others here know better.

 

[Andy M.]

If the turkey was in the fridge all the time it was leaking, it will be just fine. Those juices would have spilled into the sink when you unwrapped the turkey anyway.

What is important is that you thoroughly clean the inside of the fridge anywhere the juices might have gone. If the juices contained any bacteria, they are in the fridge now and could contaminate other foods. Wash thoroughly with soap and water then wipe down or spray with a diluted bleach solution. You probably will have to take the shelf out.

 

[miniman]

There shouldn't be any problem with the turkey as Andy says. Check it as you would normally do before cooking. I usually have mine in a bowl or on a platter so any leaks are contained.

 

[jeninga75]

Ok, thanks guys. The holes are very tiny, more like little slits and the plastic is still sealed up tight around the turkey itself. Luckily I have glass shelves in my fridge so I was able to clean up easily.

As far as trading it, I don't have the reciept from where I got it, they would probably look at me like I was insane anyway lol...

 

[BreezyCooking]

Absolutely no problem. This happens to me all the time with frozen poultry - everything from Cornish Hens to ducks to turkeys, to the goose I now have defrosting in my fridge right now. (Which is why I always defrost wrapped frozen poultry on a platter.) The fact is that rock-hard frozen poultry - regardless of how careful the handling - is going to bump into other rock-hard frozen poultry during shipping/stocking, etc., etc. And sometimes these "bumps" (especially with bony birds like ducks & geese, or large birds like turkey) are going to result in tiny holes &/or tears in the wrapper - regardless of how heavy duty it is.

I always check the frozen poultry I buy very very carefully, but still, if I returned every bird that ended up "leaking", I'd not only waste more time & $$ on gas then the bird was worth, but I'd also probably be boycotted by all the local supermarkets - lol!!

Seriously - if your bird has been defrosting in your fridge, you're A-okay. It's certainly not going to detract from the quality, as even with an intact wrapper, that "juice" would still be leaking out of the bird. It would just be trapped in the wrapper instead of onto your platter.

 

[Maverick2272]

Happens to us all the time as well, which is why we always put a plate or cookie sheet under meat that is thawing in the fridge. Never fails, some liquid always leaks out.