|
Properly
Thaw Your Holiday Turkey
Auburn, Nov. 25,
2002---After spending time and money buying the perfect turkey
for your holiday meal, make sure you take care of it before and
after cooking.
One of the more
important steps in preparing holiday turkey is thawing it, says Dr.
Evelyn Crayton, a foods and nutrition specialist with the Alabama
Cooperative Extension System. This step takes time and advance
planning.
Turkeys frozen with the
neck and giblets inside the body cavity must be thawed before
cooking. Turkeys purchased already stuffed need to be cooked from
the frozen state, never thawed.
Crayton says there are
two ways to thaw a turkey -- in the refrigerator, or in a microwave.
If you thaw it in the refrigerator, leave the original wrappings on
the bird and don't allow the surface of the turkey to exceed 45 F
while thawing.
A turkey weighing 8 to12
pounds can take two days to thaw in the refrigerator. To determine
thawing time for larger turkeys, add a half day for each additional
4 pounds of turkey, Crayton says.
If you thaw a turkey in
the microwave, place the turkey breast side down in the oven.
Microwave on defrost for one-fourth the suggested thawing time, then
rotate the turkey a half turn and microwave an additional one-fourth
thawing time. Check for warm areas, such as wing tips and legs, and
shield them. Turn breast side up and defrost for another one-fourth
of the time before rotating again and finishing defrosting. A
12-pound turkey takes about 10 to 12 minutes a pound to thaw in a
microwave.
Check your microwave
manual for cooking directions.
If you thaw a turkey in
a microwave, cook it as soon as possible after the thawing process.
SOURCE: Dr. Evelyn
Crayton, Foods and Nutrition Specialist, Alabama Cooperative
Extension System (334) 844-2224.
|
