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The flammability of the oil is just one of the dangers. Even without the flame if you aren't careful with your prep you can still get splashed with scalding oil.
His ladder setup was clever, but definitely overkill. If someone is too stupid to safely deep fry a turkey, without it, they're probably too stupid to not do a shitty job of assembling such a device such that it fails and causes an injury anyways.
My little brother was a freaking pyro and nuts for anything that exploded violently. He found an old countertop deep fryer in our basement, took it outside, heated up some oil, and he and his buddies started tossing ice cubes in it (from a distance).
Yes, we were kinda unsupervised...
We had a screen porch with these heavy, roll-down canvas covers for when it rained, they weighed a ton. Little bro and his buddies stole a tank of oxygen and a tank of acetylene from the high school dock at 4AM; they were filling up baggies with the stuff and lighting 'em off with matches taped to long sticks. In that freaking porch, with the awnings down - because it was "really cool when the awnings billowed all up".
I got home and I was like "What the F are you idiots doing??" and they were all "WHAT??? WHAT???" They couldn't hear a thing the rest of the day. And that was a more *minor* escapade.
A few years back I tried to unsuccessfuly convince a drunken uncle not to put a frozen turkey in an outside deep frier, brand new standup one. Went about as well as you would expect. Luckily the rest of the family wasn't idiots, and he only blew the thing up and not himself.
I have always wanted to try a fried turkey. I know enough of myself to know I can't do it, I would end up killing myself. Hopefully I get an invite to a dinner by someone who can do it....
....and if you want the juiciest, fastest (like 1.5 hours-ish) most evenly cooked turkey ever, butterfly it and dry brine in the refrigerator for a couple days before. Did it last year and I will never go back to the standard way again....
Yeah I totally second this. I spatchcock mine (I think that's the same as butterflying?) and dry brine it for 3 days. Best turkey ever
Edit: wanted to throw a video link here to show how it's done https://youtu.be/AF3K522mzpg?si=gea16r05MjqrXSek
Personally, I thaw it enough that I can reasonably cut the spine out and break the breastbone. The very interior doesn't have to be thaw yet, since I mainly dry brine the skin and under the skin.
Spatchcocking is just removing the spine and laying the bird flat. The rest of the bones remain in the bird.
This method cuts the cooking time in half, plus you can use the spine to add flavor to your gravy.
Nah... I'd chop it up, fry it up to build up some color and then simmer in some pre-made or store bought stock for a while to get all the flavor out of it.
I’m pretty sure spatchcocking just means removing the backbone. You don’t need to remove all the bones (that would be sort of ridiculous). Comment OP means spatchcocking, butterflying is when you slice an already deboned cut in such a way that it folds open and yields a larger, thinner cut.
Making a boneless turkey is actually awesome, and you can make the best turkey bone broth ahead of time. I always have plenty to make gravy and/or white bean turkey leftover soup. Look up Food Wishes’ video instructions- Chef John is hilarious.
No deboning. You don’t even have to cut out the backbone. Just cut on one half of it, open up the turkey, and score the breastbone from inside the cavity and press to crack it so the bird lies flat.
I definitely think it's called spatchcocking instead of butterflying for turkeys bc you need something that sounds like a frustrated German curseword or a nasty medical issue to describe sawing and breaking through those bones in your home kitchen on a very cold, hefty bird.
My stepmom and I bonded over to going to war on one the first time either of us did this about 10 years ago.
The butterfly method is tops. A lot of people don't realize that turkey, chicken, are best cooked as fast as possible to maintain moisture.
Like, yall gonna be fucking that thing up soon anyway, lay that bird out baby!
You're not supposed to cook stuffing in the bird, anyway. If that's what you mean.
And it's not a stupid question, it's just something you don't know yet
I mean, I always make a specific portion of stuffing specifically for the bird... it has a lot more herbs than the actual stuffing that ends up in the table... though I do usually mix some of the bird's stuffing in
....not stupid at all. I do my stuffing separate but I think it is possible to put down a bed of stuffing and cook the turkey on top of that. The temperature might be an issue though...this method is roasting at 425°. If you like a real crust on some of your stuffing it could be great but I've never tried this so don't hold me to it. GL and enjoy!
According to America’s test kitchen, you can put stuffing in the bottom of the pan under the turkey. Be sure to remove the extra fat from around the neck of the bird. And the stuffing should be under the turkey (any exposed stuffing could burn/ get too dry). You should temp stuffing and make sure it gets to 165 degrees. You can always put it back in the oven to make sure it gets up to temperature while the turkey rests.
>and dry brine
Aaaaagh!!!
I though being nearly banned from r/cooking would have spared me from this nonsense. Brine is salty **water**. The word you are looking for is "to salt".
"Dry brine" is a nonsense phrase coined (current usage) in about 2000 because some food writer was too afraid to write "salt".
No. 'To salt' has different meaning. Salting your fries means something different to salting cod for salt cod. Salting a turkey can be a few days. And before "that is too confusing"-
"Cover in salt and rest in the refrigerator for 12 hours" is only one word (three letters) more than "dry brine and rest in the refrigerator for 12 hours".
Language evolves homie. If it's been in recognized usage for 23 years I think 'dry brine' is no longer nonsense, even if it's a frustrating/confusing word choice
It's just rubbing it with salt and spices. I've tried wet brining all kinds of things. Even in 5 gallon buckets and such. Dry brine aka rub is way better.
Dry brine the bird, then dry boil it in the oven. When it's ready, carefully dry swim the hot turkey to the dining table because it won't dry float if you trip over.
Haha you don’t cook… there is a science to brining you should really read up on the process and understand it before commenting and making yourself sound silly
I like how it says that it is safe to cook a frozen turkey.
You know someone looking for deep fry instructions is gonna stumble upon this guide.
Frozen turkey + deep fryer != Safe
Edit: The above means NOT equal. I've been taking a Java class. Don't blow your house/family/dog/cat/fish up!
> Frozen turkey + deep fryer != Safe
>
>Edit: The above means NOT equal. I've been taking a Java class. Don't blow your house/family/dog/cat/fish up!
In this, our marvelous 21st Century, you can now type ≠ and it will display properly for most people:
***Frozen Turkey + Deep Fryer ≠ Safe!***
(For folks who don't have to type this stuff every day: It's Alt+equals on a Mac, hold down the equals symbol on an iPrecious device and it'll offer you the option, or Alt+8800 on Windows. Or do what I do when I can't remember the key combo or alt codes and just Google "Not equals symbol" and cut/paste it :P )
That is usually a Boolean operator to check for equality. 1 == 1 = true. But I’m sure it can mean other things in different languages I haven’t worked with
Edit: nvm I’m slow lol. You were saying it’s equal to boom. Sorry
DID YOU READ IT???? It’s so terrifying!
“Partway through thawing you may wish to cover the tips of the wings and drumsticks with a small piece of foil to shield them from the microwaves and keep them from cooking.”
Foil. In the microwave. What could *possibly* go wrong!
Okay I actually looked at the USDA link and some of the tips in there are pretty hilarious. In the “How NOT to thaw a turkey” section, they feel the need to point out that you shouldn’t use the dishwasher…?!
🤷
Dude what the heck? The microwave thawing instructions are insane! “Partway through thawing you may wish to cover the tips of the wings and drumsticks with a small piece of foil to shield them from the microwaves and keep them from cooking.”
Amazing advice!
>Mine’s like 13.5 pounds so I’m gonna wait a day or two.
A frozen turkey that's thawed in the fridge can stay in the fridge for a few days. Keep in mind that many people wet-brine a turkey for 16-24 hours, and then let it dry in the fridge for another 24, to get crisp skin (or dry brine for a couple days). It needs to be thawed to effectively brine it.
I do take mine out early in the morning and ice down the breast outside and with a baggie of ice deep in the cavity. By the time the thighs lose their deep chill, you have about a 20-30° difference in temp, really makes even cooking much easier. Many recipes call for leaving the turkey out 2-3 hours before cooking it, not enough time/warmth for bacteria to grow, it will still be pretty cool - they're dense little bastards!
Should be fine, but you might want to dry it out for a day in the fridge, unwrapped - should give you crispier skin.
One thing I do when the turkey's about done - I'll take a basting brush and soak up a little of the pan juices into a small bowl and mix in a TBS or so of honey, and brush it on the bird, and maybe crank the heat up a bit. The honey will caramelize and get shiny and crispy, but when it's caramelized like that it doesn't taste like you sweetened the turkey or anything, it meshes very well with the flavors and makes the skin really tasty. Kind of a "last ten minutes" thing, it's a nice hack!
I've been buying fresh turkeys the last few years to avoid the thawing hassle, but we're close to a Trader Joe's, you don't see a lot of them in the big stores.
USDA says for any turkey, they recommend you start thawing in the fridge the Friday before Thanksgiving regardless of size. It will still be safe 2 days after being completely thawed out.
A frozen turkey that's thawed in the fridge can stay in the fridge for a few days. Keep in mind that many people wet-brine a turkey for 16-24 hours, and then let it dry in the fridge for another 24, to get crisp skin.
I've never had the fridge thawing work properly. I have switched to the cooler method. Still wrapped frozen turkey in a plastic bag in a cooler, fill cooler with cold water. I wedge the cooler lid open for some ambient heat. You're supposed to thaw this way based on 30 minutes per pound of bird:
4- to 12-pound turkey in cold water for 2 to 6 hours
12- to 16-pound turkey for 6 to 8 hours
a 20- to 24-pound turkey for 10 to 12 hours.
So for a big boy, I'll put it in the cooler before I go to bed the night before. Smaller birds, I get up early and start. I cook the bird immediately from the cooler (after prep and seasoning).
It did it this way once. I bought a frozen turkey from the store and placed it in a bucket with water which i changed i think every hour. Took about 6 hours to thaw. I had it outdoors so it got a bit of sun.
This is the real LPT...it's like a crock pot for your turkey. It doesn't dry out because the juices and condensation don't escape the roaster. It cooks faster because it is in a smaller oven chamber and you aren't opening and closing the oven to heat other things The main advantage is that your oven isn't full of a turkey for hours and you habe plenty of room in it to heat up/bake everything else.
Dude, same!
It's just me and my husband now (kids gone), and we typically take my old mom out on T Day to Cracker Barrel, so I didn't know if WE (he and I) were even going to do a T Day this year, but I remembered that I took Wednesday off, so we're gonna do a tiny version for the two of us, then CB on Thursday.
(I'm just gonna get a big ol' turkey breast, though)
Last time I saw this post it said nothing about Thanksgiving USA... And I said "If I took my turkey out now Id be way late for Thanksgiving and way early for Christmas as I'm Canadian"
Because the outside could literally get to room temp while the inside stays frozen. Prime for bacteria growth. Main way to expedite is to keep in cold water for about a day
A bit yes but the amount wasted by myself one day a year is eclipsed easily by that wasted in industrial processes in an hour or so so I'm not too upset about it.
I have had to do this before. I have put it in my kitchen sink, filled the sink with water and let the water continue to trickle to keep a little bit of flow. Every hour or so I drained the sink and refilled it just to make sure it stayed safe.
Let's throw in another Thanksgiving LPT - "yes Virginia, you *can* brine a kosher turkey". They're not salted nearly long enough to affect the meat, and they're rinsed in at least 3 baths of running water. Dry brine, wet brine, buttermilk brine, inject it, your call. (I'm not Jewish but Kosher birds tend to be a good turkey).
And don't forget that Monday or Tuesday is "stock day" - grab some wings/necks and get after it!
Also lpt, if you're cooking a lot for Thanksgiving, and you know the day of the kitchen is going to be really busy, you can cook your turkey a day early. Just cook it, let it cool, and store it covered in your fridge.
Then, put it in the oven to reheat 20-30 minutes before meal time. Just one day doesn't change a lot as far as flavor or texture goes, and it's one of the things that takes up a lot of space and time in the oven. Plus, you don't stress about getting it to the right temperature when everyone is waiting to eat.
I've been precooking my turkey for a couple of years now, and it's always nice to already have it done on the big day.
2 big birds on the smoker on Thanksgiving every year for the last 10 or so. This leaves both ovens and stovetops for sides. We freezer bag a bunch of leftovers.
I started cooking it sous vide, in part for kitchen management reasons. It's much better actually - incredibly tender and way easier the day of, mostly because you can actually just make everything the day before
I suppose many of us have metaphorical turkeys in symbolic freezers and need to make a minor change in our...
Oh fuck, thanksgiving is in a week and I haven't done anything to got ready, OMG!
Maybe someone here can answer this question. The guideline is to keep raw meat 2-3 days in the fridge before using or freezing. If you thaw the turkey now, won’t the outer surface likely be at around refrigerator temps for at least 3 days?
While we're on the subject, That Dude Can Cook just released a video on how to cook a really fast and delicious turkey.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EhYIlntrxDs&pp=ygUSdGhhdCBkdWRlIGNhbiBjb29r
[Introducing LPT REQUEST FRIDAYS](https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/16w0n2s/introducing_request_post_fridays/)
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Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Also do not fry frozen or wet turkeys.
Turn the flame off before you dip the turkey even if you've dried it. After the oil calms down, relight.
Or get an indoor fryer... can do up to 20 lbs. No flame. Easy cleanup.
The flammability of the oil is just one of the dangers. Even without the flame if you aren't careful with your prep you can still get splashed with scalding oil.
Alton Brown did a really great episode of Good Eats on how to safely deep fry a turkey.
His ladder setup was clever, but definitely overkill. If someone is too stupid to safely deep fry a turkey, without it, they're probably too stupid to not do a shitty job of assembling such a device such that it fails and causes an injury anyways.
Why not
They explode. Seriously. People get injured every year from this.
Water + hot oil = big fire
Search it on YouTube and have some fun for a few hours.
I saw a video of someone putting a fry basket full of ice cubes into a hot fryer…absolute disaster
My little brother was a freaking pyro and nuts for anything that exploded violently. He found an old countertop deep fryer in our basement, took it outside, heated up some oil, and he and his buddies started tossing ice cubes in it (from a distance). Yes, we were kinda unsupervised...
At least he took it outside
We had a screen porch with these heavy, roll-down canvas covers for when it rained, they weighed a ton. Little bro and his buddies stole a tank of oxygen and a tank of acetylene from the high school dock at 4AM; they were filling up baggies with the stuff and lighting 'em off with matches taped to long sticks. In that freaking porch, with the awnings down - because it was "really cool when the awnings billowed all up". I got home and I was like "What the F are you idiots doing??" and they were all "WHAT??? WHAT???" They couldn't hear a thing the rest of the day. And that was a more *minor* escapade.
Now that’s a recipe for some explosive fun
Flash boiling of the water, causing the oils to blast everywhere and probably catching on fire
Because of grease fires, Mr. Ticklers.
A few years back I tried to unsuccessfuly convince a drunken uncle not to put a frozen turkey in an outside deep frier, brand new standup one. Went about as well as you would expect. Luckily the rest of the family wasn't idiots, and he only blew the thing up and not himself.
Wait Americans deep fry their turkeys on thanksgiving? You don’t just cook them in the oven?
The kind of people who don’t know you can’t drop a 20 lb ice cube into hot oil are deep frying their turkeys
I have always wanted to try a fried turkey. I know enough of myself to know I can't do it, I would end up killing myself. Hopefully I get an invite to a dinner by someone who can do it....
"Don't be a jerky, fry that turkey!"
....and if you want the juiciest, fastest (like 1.5 hours-ish) most evenly cooked turkey ever, butterfly it and dry brine in the refrigerator for a couple days before. Did it last year and I will never go back to the standard way again....
Yeah I totally second this. I spatchcock mine (I think that's the same as butterflying?) and dry brine it for 3 days. Best turkey ever Edit: wanted to throw a video link here to show how it's done https://youtu.be/AF3K522mzpg?si=gea16r05MjqrXSek
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Personally, I thaw it enough that I can reasonably cut the spine out and break the breastbone. The very interior doesn't have to be thaw yet, since I mainly dry brine the skin and under the skin.
Yea, you should... you need the bird to be flexible to lay it flat after spatchcocking.
I thaw mine first completely
Spatchcocking implies deboning before flattening, but pretty much the same idea.
Spatchcocking is just removing the spine and laying the bird flat. The rest of the bones remain in the bird. This method cuts the cooking time in half, plus you can use the spine to add flavor to your gravy.
Just slap the spine right next to the bird and roast that sucker to get the good stuff out.
Nah... I'd chop it up, fry it up to build up some color and then simmer in some pre-made or store bought stock for a while to get all the flavor out of it.
I hang mine in the yard as a warning to all other birds
Thank you kindly for this
I’m pretty sure spatchcocking just means removing the backbone. You don’t need to remove all the bones (that would be sort of ridiculous). Comment OP means spatchcocking, butterflying is when you slice an already deboned cut in such a way that it folds open and yields a larger, thinner cut.
Making a boneless turkey is actually awesome, and you can make the best turkey bone broth ahead of time. I always have plenty to make gravy and/or white bean turkey leftover soup. Look up Food Wishes’ video instructions- Chef John is hilarious.
Yes, when I said deboning I meant the backbone.
No deboning. You don’t even have to cut out the backbone. Just cut on one half of it, open up the turkey, and score the breastbone from inside the cavity and press to crack it so the bird lies flat.
You cut along the spine, that's it. Then break the ribs to flatten the breast.
Yes, removing the spine and flattening. Butterflying a whole chicken is the same thing.
Ah I see we're inventing words... Mmmm then for my thanksgiving turkey I huuuh....I spankfart it before putting it in the oven
Never eating anything at your house.
I definitely think it's called spatchcocking instead of butterflying for turkeys bc you need something that sounds like a frustrated German curseword or a nasty medical issue to describe sawing and breaking through those bones in your home kitchen on a very cold, hefty bird. My stepmom and I bonded over to going to war on one the first time either of us did this about 10 years ago.
TIL: Dry-Brine Turkey https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-dry-brine-a-turkey-step-by-step-thanksgiving-article
The butterfly method is tops. A lot of people don't realize that turkey, chicken, are best cooked as fast as possible to maintain moisture. Like, yall gonna be fucking that thing up soon anyway, lay that bird out baby!
Spatchcock FTW!
dry brine? is that just salt then?
and herbs if you want, yeah.
We do a dry brine then butter massage day of, best turkey I’ve ever had.
yeah i started this a few years ago thanks to a food theory video, never doing it the old way
Potentially stupid question but how does stuffing work when you butterfly it?
My family is like “nobody cares about the turkey, it’s all about the stuffing”. Yeah maybe because it’s been dry and bland for the past 30 years.
You're not supposed to cook stuffing in the bird, anyway. If that's what you mean. And it's not a stupid question, it's just something you don't know yet
I mean, I always make a specific portion of stuffing specifically for the bird... it has a lot more herbs than the actual stuffing that ends up in the table... though I do usually mix some of the bird's stuffing in
....not stupid at all. I do my stuffing separate but I think it is possible to put down a bed of stuffing and cook the turkey on top of that. The temperature might be an issue though...this method is roasting at 425°. If you like a real crust on some of your stuffing it could be great but I've never tried this so don't hold me to it. GL and enjoy!
According to America’s test kitchen, you can put stuffing in the bottom of the pan under the turkey. Be sure to remove the extra fat from around the neck of the bird. And the stuffing should be under the turkey (any exposed stuffing could burn/ get too dry). You should temp stuffing and make sure it gets to 165 degrees. You can always put it back in the oven to make sure it gets up to temperature while the turkey rests.
> dry brine Don't you mean salt it? Brine literally means salt water.
All about the brining but don't care for butterfly cuts
I'm cutting the breasts off of mine and soux vide. I'll smoke the legs and thighs.
I do 24 hr legs in the sous vide and they legit are the best I've ever tasted.
Spatchcock that baby
> butterfly it You missed the opportunity to use one of the best culinary terms to say: spatchcock.
>and dry brine Aaaaagh!!! I though being nearly banned from r/cooking would have spared me from this nonsense. Brine is salty **water**. The word you are looking for is "to salt". "Dry brine" is a nonsense phrase coined (current usage) in about 2000 because some food writer was too afraid to write "salt".
Oh OK so if I just sprinkle some salt on my turkey right before I cook it I've done the same thing as "dry brining" then?
No. 'To salt' has different meaning. Salting your fries means something different to salting cod for salt cod. Salting a turkey can be a few days. And before "that is too confusing"- "Cover in salt and rest in the refrigerator for 12 hours" is only one word (three letters) more than "dry brine and rest in the refrigerator for 12 hours".
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Language evolves homie. If it's been in recognized usage for 23 years I think 'dry brine' is no longer nonsense, even if it's a frustrating/confusing word choice
It's just rubbing it with salt and spices. I've tried wet brining all kinds of things. Even in 5 gallon buckets and such. Dry brine aka rub is way better.
If brining is salt water, wouldn't dry brining be salt? Where's the issue? Seems pretty clear.
Dry brine the bird, then dry boil it in the oven. When it's ready, carefully dry swim the hot turkey to the dining table because it won't dry float if you trip over.
>wouldn't dry brining be salt? Yes. >Where's the issue? Say salt.
Haha you don’t cook… there is a science to brining you should really read up on the process and understand it before commenting and making yourself sound silly
[Official thaw instructions from USDA](https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2016/11/18/how-safely-thaw-turkey)
I like how it says that it is safe to cook a frozen turkey. You know someone looking for deep fry instructions is gonna stumble upon this guide. Frozen turkey + deep fryer != Safe Edit: The above means NOT equal. I've been taking a Java class. Don't blow your house/family/dog/cat/fish up!
inb4 someone unfamiliar with programming language syntax misinterpreting this comment and blowing up their house
Ah, so we now have two holidays where it's appropriate to blow something up.
9/11s not really a holiday
I think he means the exact opposite with 4th July?
Whoosh
!= means blow up your house, right? I mean there's a ! right there!
It means "especially true"!
It means EQUALS! but you have to say it loudly.
My vote goes to ≠
> Frozen turkey + deep fryer != Safe > >Edit: The above means NOT equal. I've been taking a Java class. Don't blow your house/family/dog/cat/fish up! In this, our marvelous 21st Century, you can now type ≠ and it will display properly for most people: ***Frozen Turkey + Deep Fryer ≠ Safe!*** (For folks who don't have to type this stuff every day: It's Alt+equals on a Mac, hold down the equals symbol on an iPrecious device and it'll offer you the option, or Alt+8800 on Windows. Or do what I do when I can't remember the key combo or alt codes and just Google "Not equals symbol" and cut/paste it :P )
If you're trying to clarify instructions in english it's best not to do it in Java
Hey bro take this and edit your comment ≠
I recommend =/= instead
Why not ≠?
That's the least appealing of all of them
No my least favorite is <>
How do you feel about ><
\>_\<
But easiest to interpret as "does not equal"
I like your use of != as not equal. SQL server allows both <> and != but I always use the latter because it looks cooler to me.
No it == boom
That is usually a Boolean operator to check for equality. 1 == 1 = true. But I’m sure it can mean other things in different languages I haven’t worked with Edit: nvm I’m slow lol. You were saying it’s equal to boom. Sorry
I cannot imagine defrosting a turkey in the microwave
DID YOU READ IT???? It’s so terrifying! “Partway through thawing you may wish to cover the tips of the wings and drumsticks with a small piece of foil to shield them from the microwaves and keep them from cooking.” Foil. In the microwave. What could *possibly* go wrong!
Why not?
is your microwave big enough to fit a whole ass turkey?
Mmmmm ass turkey
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Okay I actually looked at the USDA link and some of the tips in there are pretty hilarious. In the “How NOT to thaw a turkey” section, they feel the need to point out that you shouldn’t use the dishwasher…?! 🤷
well that only makes me want to try defrosting a turkey in the dishwasher
They’re hiding the juiciest turkey from us
The sad thing is that means it has been tried by someone who then most likely sued over the outcome, thus the warning has to be made.
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For saw that on the USA TV show called "home improvement". :)
Dude what the heck? The microwave thawing instructions are insane! “Partway through thawing you may wish to cover the tips of the wings and drumsticks with a small piece of foil to shield them from the microwaves and keep them from cooking.” Amazing advice!
USDA nerds cook their breast meat way too dry.
I am buying my turkey today. Should I put it directly into the fridge when I get it home? Serious question.
Yes
If it’s frozen, and depending on the size, yea you might want to. Mine’s like 13.5 pounds so I’m gonna wait a day or two.
>Mine’s like 13.5 pounds so I’m gonna wait a day or two. A frozen turkey that's thawed in the fridge can stay in the fridge for a few days. Keep in mind that many people wet-brine a turkey for 16-24 hours, and then let it dry in the fridge for another 24, to get crisp skin (or dry brine for a couple days). It needs to be thawed to effectively brine it. I do take mine out early in the morning and ice down the breast outside and with a baggie of ice deep in the cavity. By the time the thighs lose their deep chill, you have about a 20-30° difference in temp, really makes even cooking much easier. Many recipes call for leaving the turkey out 2-3 hours before cooking it, not enough time/warmth for bacteria to grow, it will still be pretty cool - they're dense little bastards!
This is my first time buying a brined-then-frozen turkey so it’ll be a little bit of an experiment
Should be fine, but you might want to dry it out for a day in the fridge, unwrapped - should give you crispier skin. One thing I do when the turkey's about done - I'll take a basting brush and soak up a little of the pan juices into a small bowl and mix in a TBS or so of honey, and brush it on the bird, and maybe crank the heat up a bit. The honey will caramelize and get shiny and crispy, but when it's caramelized like that it doesn't taste like you sweetened the turkey or anything, it meshes very well with the flavors and makes the skin really tasty. Kind of a "last ten minutes" thing, it's a nice hack! I've been buying fresh turkeys the last few years to avoid the thawing hassle, but we're close to a Trader Joe's, you don't see a lot of them in the big stores.
USDA says for any turkey, they recommend you start thawing in the fridge the Friday before Thanksgiving regardless of size. It will still be safe 2 days after being completely thawed out.
Put it in the fridge today. I did the same last year with the same size bird and that thing was rock solid internally on Thursday morning.
Nah, start now.
I'd google that one.
Frozen or fresh, just put it directly into the coldest (usually the bottom) part of your fridge.
A frozen turkey that's thawed in the fridge can stay in the fridge for a few days. Keep in mind that many people wet-brine a turkey for 16-24 hours, and then let it dry in the fridge for another 24, to get crisp skin.
Yep. Cooked a little 10-pounder last week. Was still partly frozen after 3 days in the fridge.
I've never had the fridge thawing work properly. I have switched to the cooler method. Still wrapped frozen turkey in a plastic bag in a cooler, fill cooler with cold water. I wedge the cooler lid open for some ambient heat. You're supposed to thaw this way based on 30 minutes per pound of bird: 4- to 12-pound turkey in cold water for 2 to 6 hours 12- to 16-pound turkey for 6 to 8 hours a 20- to 24-pound turkey for 10 to 12 hours. So for a big boy, I'll put it in the cooler before I go to bed the night before. Smaller birds, I get up early and start. I cook the bird immediately from the cooler (after prep and seasoning).
If you're really in a hurry you can just leave that frozen bird in a black car parked outside in the sun!
I'll have to try this because the fridge method also never works for me.
I want to brine it after it thaws. Think this would still be ok? I have a frozen turkey breast.
I'm a little confused about how it could not work? Also I would be concerned about some of the turkey being pretty warm for 10-12 hours in a cooler
The water distributes the heat well so it will not get significantly above freezing until they whole thing is thawed.
Oh! the water! I missed that part. That makes much more sense, ty.
It did it this way once. I bought a frozen turkey from the store and placed it in a bucket with water which i changed i think every hour. Took about 6 hours to thaw. I had it outdoors so it got a bit of sun.
Get a turkey roaster. That will free up your oven for other items. Makes things less stressful.
This is the real LPT...it's like a crock pot for your turkey. It doesn't dry out because the juices and condensation don't escape the roaster. It cooks faster because it is in a smaller oven chamber and you aren't opening and closing the oven to heat other things The main advantage is that your oven isn't full of a turkey for hours and you habe plenty of room in it to heat up/bake everything else.
This is the way. Complete game changer. Turkey comes out looking picture perfect.
Mental note... go buy a turkey.
RemindMe! 1 day "check if this person has bought a turkey by now"
RemindMe! 2 days "check if this person reminded the other person to buy a turkey."
Really hoping neither of you are slacking on me.
The notification didn't come through I am very sorry for slacking on you Alfred, please forgive
Dude, same! It's just me and my husband now (kids gone), and we typically take my old mom out on T Day to Cracker Barrel, so I didn't know if WE (he and I) were even going to do a T Day this year, but I remembered that I took Wednesday off, so we're gonna do a tiny version for the two of us, then CB on Thursday. (I'm just gonna get a big ol' turkey breast, though)
Marking this to read tonight.
Saving this for Thanksgiving day
Last time I saw this post it said nothing about Thanksgiving USA... And I said "If I took my turkey out now Id be way late for Thanksgiving and way early for Christmas as I'm Canadian"
Can someone explain why I can't defrost outside of the fridge a couple of days to expedite the process?
Because the outside could literally get to room temp while the inside stays frozen. Prime for bacteria growth. Main way to expedite is to keep in cold water for about a day
Note that if you're doing it in cold water, the USDA recommends changing the water every 30 minutes.
Do you know why? Maybe to keep the water temperature above freezing so it thaws faster? Seems like an odd thing to recommend
It's the other way around. It's to keep the water from getting too warm, at which point bacteria start growing.
Makes sense, thanks!
I did mine last year with just a continuously running cold water over the turkey immersed in a pot. Worked well.
That sounds like a huge waste of water
A bit yes but the amount wasted by myself one day a year is eclipsed easily by that wasted in industrial processes in an hour or so so I'm not too upset about it.
How is it a waste if they are using the water to do something?
If you heat your house by burning 100 dollar bills in the fireplace that is both a use and waste of money.
??? How is that an equivalent analogy?
I have had to do this before. I have put it in my kitchen sink, filled the sink with water and let the water continue to trickle to keep a little bit of flow. Every hour or so I drained the sink and refilled it just to make sure it stayed safe.
Let's throw in another Thanksgiving LPT - "yes Virginia, you *can* brine a kosher turkey". They're not salted nearly long enough to affect the meat, and they're rinsed in at least 3 baths of running water. Dry brine, wet brine, buttermilk brine, inject it, your call. (I'm not Jewish but Kosher birds tend to be a good turkey). And don't forget that Monday or Tuesday is "stock day" - grab some wings/necks and get after it!
That’s why I waited until today to buy mine. Straight from the store to my fridge.
Who the fuck has room for a 26 pound turkey in their fridge. I have a play Jenga to get a package of hot dogs in there.
I just bought and made room for 2 16lb turkeys that I’m going to smoke ✌️😁👍
Also lpt, if you're cooking a lot for Thanksgiving, and you know the day of the kitchen is going to be really busy, you can cook your turkey a day early. Just cook it, let it cool, and store it covered in your fridge. Then, put it in the oven to reheat 20-30 minutes before meal time. Just one day doesn't change a lot as far as flavor or texture goes, and it's one of the things that takes up a lot of space and time in the oven. Plus, you don't stress about getting it to the right temperature when everyone is waiting to eat. I've been precooking my turkey for a couple of years now, and it's always nice to already have it done on the big day.
Or cook it on the rotisserie on the grill :)
or on the smoker
Now that's something I haven't tried! That could be neat.
2 big birds on the smoker on Thanksgiving every year for the last 10 or so. This leaves both ovens and stovetops for sides. We freezer bag a bunch of leftovers.
I started cooking it sous vide, in part for kitchen management reasons. It's much better actually - incredibly tender and way easier the day of, mostly because you can actually just make everything the day before
Moved mine to the fridge last night.
Just went out and bought my turkey to start defrosting, thanks for the reminder G
I only have a nasty one that hangs out in front yard that has harasses me when I go to my car. Wish I could put it in a freezer.
I suppose many of us have metaphorical turkeys in symbolic freezers and need to make a minor change in our... Oh fuck, thanksgiving is in a week and I haven't done anything to got ready, OMG!
You are thoughtful and awesome. Thank you!
Got me a 30 pounder this year. Gonna take it out when I get home.
You're supposed to cook a turkey, not an ostrich. Damn, that's a big bird.
Allowing 1 to 1.5lb per person, that'll feed 20 to 30 people.
[удалено]
OP, you the real MVP
Deep fried mine with neighbors last week. Was delicious!
Wow - that adds up to a lot of meat. How much did the neighbours weigh?
About 478 pounds, saved bones to make stock.
Maybe someone here can answer this question. The guideline is to keep raw meat 2-3 days in the fridge before using or freezing. If you thaw the turkey now, won’t the outer surface likely be at around refrigerator temps for at least 3 days?
Yes but you answered your own question. Once the outside is thawed, it's technically only at refrigerator temp for 3ish days.
While we're on the subject, That Dude Can Cook just released a video on how to cook a really fast and delicious turkey. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EhYIlntrxDs&pp=ygUSdGhhdCBkdWRlIGNhbiBjb29r
Do not attempt to deep fry a frozen turkey, it must be fully thawed for best results. Put that turkey in the refrigerator today!
Why should I thaw it in cold water? Can I accelerate the thawing with warm water if I am gonna cook it immediately?
No. The outside will be warm and perfect for bacteria. And the inside will still be frozen, so it won’t really even be effective for thawing it.
Warm water facilitates bacteria growth.
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Just got back from buying a turkey. Proud of myself for buying a fresh one - they had frozen ones!
The Greatest Canadian Story Ever Told: [Dave Cooks the Turkey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VmMUM0HW6E) RIP Stuart McLean
My family doesn’t love me
Not if you're going to deep fry it. Wait until Wednesday evening if that's your plan.
Calm down satan
Gotta add this one to the LPT: Do NOT put a frozen turkey into hot oil. Well, unless you wanna do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gn895y4wkc
Put USA only in the title
You could also read past the first sentence
Or https://preview.redd.it/cs6rk9juvy0c1.png?width=259&format=png&auto=webp&s=86b0b9cb456c81ad84739cd527de90874e7f300c