So the weekend went by and you totally forgot to start thawing your Thanksgiving turkey. The experts say you need about 24 hours of fridge thawing for every 4-5 pounds of turkey you have, so if you bought a 16 pound Turkey, you needed to start thawing it Monday morning. And if it was even bigger than that, use this trick!

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This year, speed things up (and allow for more fridge space) by thawing your turkey in cold water! Yep, cold water. Here are the steps to do it!

  1. Keep your bird in its original wrapper or a leak-proof plastic bag. The last thing we want on Thanksgiving is a watered down turkey.
  2. Totally submerge the turkey in cold water. The water should be about 40 degrees and using the sink is a option. This allows you to keep changing the water. Or if sink space is limited you could use a cooler! That will ensure that the water stays warm.
  3. Keep an eye on the temperature. The water shouldn't get over 50 degrees. Keep it right around 40 and if you are "sink thawing" you will probably need to change the water every 30 minutes.
  4. Once the turkey is thawed, cook it as soon as possible!

Wondering when to start water thawing? Here is a run down of weights and times

  • A 10-14 pound bird will take 5-10 hours to thaw
  • A 14-18 pound bird will take 7-14 hours to thaw
  • A 18-22 pound bird will take 9-17 hours to thaw
  • A 22-26 pound bird will take 11-20 hours to thaw

Still faster than keeping it in your fridge all week! Happy Thanksgiving!

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