Nothing beats the taste of farm-to-table turkey. You can save yourself the last-minute trip to the grocery store when you’re getting ready to host friends and family by purchasing a frozen turkey. Freezing preserves a turkey’s freshness and delays spoilage. However, before stuffing your frozen turkey and cooking it, you have to prepare and thaw it. Here’s everything you need to know if you’ve never cooked with a frozen turkey so you can cook one without endangering your family’s safety in the kitchen or damaging your oven or outdoor grill.
Use this calculator to determine how much turkey you’ll need. Number of People = Pounds of Turkey
* Whole turkeys smaller than 8 lbs. are hard to find. Consider a turkey breast for feeding 2-4 people.
The centerpiece of any Thanksgiving feast, the turkey, deserves careful preparation to ensure a juicy, flavorful and perfectly cooked bird. This guide will walk you through every step, from choosing the right turkey to carving it like a pro. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or a Thanksgiving newbie, this comprehensive guide will equip you with the knowledge and confidence to tackle this culinary challenge.
Choosing Your Turkey
The journey to the perfect Thanksgiving turkey begins with selecting the right bird. Consider the following factors:
- Size: A good rule of thumb is to buy 1-1.5 pounds of turkey per person. For example, a 12-pound turkey would feed 8-12 guests.
- Fresh or Frozen: Fresh turkeys are readily available during Thanksgiving season, but frozen turkeys are a good option if you’re planning ahead or want a more budget-friendly choice.
- Basted or Self-Basting: These turkeys come pre-seasoned and injected with a solution that adds moisture but can mask the natural flavor.
- Free-Range/Free-Roaming/Cage-Free: These birds have access to outdoor space, resulting in more robust and flavorful meat.
- Kosher: Kosher turkeys are salted and soaked, leading to denser meat with full flavor.
- Natural: This simply means the meat hasn’t been treated with artificial ingredients.
- Organic: These birds are raised without chemicals, antibiotics, or artificial additives, resulting in the fullest flavor.
Thawing Your Turkey
Thawing a turkey is crucial to ensure even cooking. Plan ahead based on the size of your bird:
- 24 hours per every 5 pounds of turkey: This is the general guideline for thawing. For a 12-pound turkey, you would need 3 days.
- Submerging in cold water: For quicker thawing, submerge the wrapped bird in cold water for 30 minutes per pound, changing the water every 30 minutes.
Brining Your Turkey (Optional)
Brining enhances the turkey’s flavor and keeps it moist. Choose between two main methods:
- Wet Brining: Submerge the turkey in a flavorful salt solution for 12-24 hours.
- Dry Brining: Rub a salt-spice mixture all over the turkey’s skin and refrigerate uncovered for 24-72 hours.
For detailed instructions on both methods, refer to the provided URLs or search for “how to brine a turkey.”
Prepping Your Turkey
Once thawed and optionally brined, prepare your turkey for roasting:
- Pat it dry: Remove excess moisture with paper towels.
- Remove the giblets: They’re usually found in a little sack inside the turkey.
- Let it rest at room temperature: This helps the bird cook more evenly.
Trussing and Seasoning
Trussing helps the turkey cook evenly and gives it a plump shape:
- Place twine around the neck and tie.
- Pin the wings by drawing the twine over them and tying behind the breastplate.
- Cross and tie the legs, wrapping the twine twice.
Season the turkey generously with salt and pepper, inside and out. Consider stuffing the cavity loosely with aromatic vegetables or fresh herbs. Brush the skin with olive oil or melted butter for extra flavor and crispiness.
Roasting Your Turkey
Preheat your oven to 325°F Place the turkey in a roasting pan, breast-side up.
- Tent with foil: This prevents the turkey from burning during the initial cooking phase.
- Roast for 2 hours: Resist the urge to peek, and allow the turkey to cook undisturbed.
- Remove foil and baste: Brush the turkey with olive oil or butter and increase the oven temperature to 425°F for extra crispy skin.
- Cook until juices run clear: This typically takes an additional 45 minutes for an 8-12 pound turkey.
- Rest the turkey: Let it stand for 15-30 minutes before carving, tented with foil.
Carving Your Turkey
After resting. it’s time to carve your masterpiece:
- Place the turkey on a cutting board, breast-side up.
- Remove the legs and thighs, then separate the drumsticks from the thighs.
- Remove the wings.
- Remove the breast meat by slicing along the breastbone and ribs.
- Slice the breast meat into thin slices.
For detailed instructions and visuals, check out the provided URL for “how to carve a turkey” or search for similar resources online.
Making Turkey Gravy
While the turkey rests, make your gravy:
- Pour turkey pan drippings into a fat separator or measuring cup.
- Deglaze the pan with warm stock, scraping up caramelized bits.
- Create a roux by adding turkey fat or butter and flour to the pan in equal amounts, cooking until light brown.
- Gradually whisk in hot stock, scraping the pan bottom to incorporate all the flavors.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened.
- Season with salt, pepper, and your favorite herbs.
- Strain the gravy to remove any fat.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Store leftover turkey in shallow, covered containers for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat only the amount you’ll be eating, submerging it in gravy and gently warming it on the stove until it reaches 165°F.
With this comprehensive guide, you’re well-equipped to prepare a showstopping Thanksgiving turkey that will impress your guests and create lasting memories. Remember to choose the right turkey, thaw it properly, brine if desired, season it generously, and follow the roasting and carving instructions carefully. Don’t forget to make gravy and store leftovers safely. With a little planning and effort, you’ll be the Thanksgiving hero everyone admires.
How to Prepare a Whole Turkey
After thawing your whole turkey, you only have to prepare and cook it. Here’s how to prepare turkey for the oven:
- assemble the ingredients: orange slices, melted butter, salt, onions, black pepper, and aromatic herbs (such as rosemary, bay leaves, thyme, etc.).
- After taking the giblets and neck out of the turkey’s cavity, use paper towels to pat the bird dry.
- Place your orange slices, herbs, and other aromatics inside the turkey.
- Melt the butter and liberally season the body with kosher salt and black pepper.
- To ensure that the turkey cooks evenly, tuck the wings and legs.
- Place the turkey in a pan and wash your hands.
- To allow the spices to seep into the turkey, leave it in the refrigerator for two to three hours.
- After preparing the turkey, you can bake it right away if you don’t have two to three hours to spare.
For the juiciest and tastiest meat, go the extra mile by brining the turkey before cooking.
Prepare Your Turkey for Roasting
You want to thaw your turkey without causing cross-contamination in your kitchen, so here are your best options:
Our recommended method is refrigerator thawing. However, you’ll have to plan ahead because your turkey won’t be ready for cooking same-day. This is due to the fact that it takes around 24 hours to completely thaw four to five pounds of frozen meat, so it will take roughly three days to thaw a ten to fifteen-pound bird.
Follow these steps to thaw your turkey in the fridge safely:
- Set your fridge to 40°F. By doing this, you can protect your turkey from dangerous bacteria.
- The turkey should be kept in its original wrapping and placed with its breasts facing up in a baking pan. While the turkey thaws in the refrigerator, the pan will collect drips and help to keep things tidy.
- After 48 hours, check on the turkey and place the pan in the refrigerator.
After the turkey has thawed, you can leave it in the fridge for up to two days. However, note that refreezing a turkey after refrigerator thawing may lead to some loss of quality.
Refrigerator Thawing Times: 1 to 3 days for 4 to 12 pounds; 3 to 4 days for 12 to 16 pounds; 4 to 5 days for 16 to 20 pounds; 5 to 6 days for 20 to 24 pounds;
If your turkey needs to be cooked the same day, thawing it in cold water is the best option. It can completely thaw a 15-pound turkey within seven to eight hours. This implies that if you plan to cook the turkey for supper, you should begin thawing it in cold water as early as the previous evening, but no later than the cook-day.
Below are the cold water thawing steps:
- After keeping the turkey in its original container, put it in a plastic bag that won’t leak. After the extra air is removed from the leak-proof bag and the turkey is inside, seal it. Doing so will help prevent the turkey from absorbing water.
- Pour ordinary tap water into a large container and add the bagged turkey to it. You must fully submerge the turkey in the water.
- Until the turkey is fully thawed, change the water at least every 30 minutes. Altering the water and submerging the turkey in a warmer solution expedites the thawing process.
- Once the thawing process is finished, you can immediately season and cook the turkey. After the meat has thawed, place it in a baking pan and store it in a refrigerator set to 40°F or lower if you are not ready to use it right away.
Cold Water Thawing Times: 2–6 hours for 4–12 pounds, 6–8 hours for 16–20 pounds, 8–10 hours for 20–24 pounds, and 10–12 hours for 12–16 pounds.
Do not use hot or warm water to thaw your turkey. When the turkey thaws inside the bag, raising its surface temperature above 40 degrees Fahrenheit may encourage the growth of bacteria.