Do not forget to start thawing your turkey early, it is not fun to wake up on Thanksgiving to find that you forgot to thaw the frozen bird!
There are two methods for thawing turkey. The easiest is to plan ahead and do it in your refrigerator, please see the list below on how long to leave it in your refrigerator for depending on the weight of the bird.
If time is not of the essence the next method is the way to go. Get a large clean bucket or pot and stick your bird in with cold water. It is important to change out the water every 30 minutes to keep the water cold and prevent any food born illness. It takes about 30min of soaking per pound of turkey;consult list below.
Also, below we give a quick chart of general turkey roasting guidelines. Remember not all ovens built the same so a thermometer is always the chefs best friend!
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Thawing turkey in refrigerator:
8 to 12 pounds: 1 to 2 days
12 to 16 pounds: 2 to 3 days
16 to 20 pounds: 3 to 4 days
20 to 24 pounds 4 to 5 days
8 to 12 pounds: 1 to 2 days
12 to 16 pounds: 2 to 3 days
16 to 20 pounds: 3 to 4 days
20 to 24 pounds 4 to 5 days
Thawing turkey in cold water:
8 to 12 pounds: 4 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds: 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds: 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds: 10 to 12 hours
8 to 12 pounds: 4 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds: 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds: 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds: 10 to 12 hours
Turkey Cooking Times
8 to 10 pounds: | 2 hours, 45 minutes to 3 hours, unstuffed; 3 hours to 3 hours, 30 minutes, stuffed. |
12 to 14 pounds: | 3 hours to 3 hours, 45 minutes, unstuffed; 3 hours, 30 minutes to 4 hours, stuffed. |
18 to 20 pounds: | 3 hours, 45 minutes to 4 hours, 15 minutes, unstuffed; 4 hours to 4 hours 15 minutes, stuffed. |
20 to 24 pounds: | 4 hours, 30 minutes to 5 hours, unstuffed; 4 hours, 45 minutes to 5 hours, 15 minutes, stuffed. |
