Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your Thanksgiving Turkey on the Counter to Defrost.
For those who have a frozen bird to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner, planning begins a few days before the holiday . Obviously, your bird needs plenty of time to thaw, and according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are a few different ways to safely defrost a turkey… but leaving it on the counter at room temperature is not one of them. .
Why you shouldn’t leave your turkey on the counter to defrost.
To safely defrost a frozen turkey—or any other frozen meat or poultry, for that matter—you need to prevent it from reaching a temperature of 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the range in which food-borne bacteria multiply rapidly. The USDA calls this the ” danger zone ,” and when you leave a frozen turkey on the counter at room temperature for more than two hours, the temperature of the outer layer falls into this danger zone, even if the center remains frozen.
In addition to not leaving turkey on the counter, the USDA urges consumers not to defrost frozen turkey:
-
In the garage
-
On the porch
-
In a brown paper grocery bag.
-
In a plastic garbage bag
-
Dishwasher safe (with or without water)
How to Defrost a Turkey Safely
There are two USDA-approved methods for thawing a turkey: placing it in the refrigerator or placing it in a cold water bath. Either way, there’s some math involved here. To defrost a frozen turkey in the refrigerator, let it sit for about 24 hours for every four to five pounds of bird. This means that larger birds will have to spend several days there. Once it’s thawed, you can safely store the turkey in the refrigerator for another day or two before cooking it.
Defrosting a turkey in a cold water bath is much faster, taking about 30 minutes per pound of bird. Start by submerging the entire turkey in its original packaging. To avoid cross-contamination, you should change the bath water every 30 minutes until the turkey is defrosted. It is also important to pay attention to the time when you defrost the turkey in a cold water bath. This method does not have the same flexibility as using the refrigerator, and you should cook the turkey immediately after defrosting it.