wrote:

Pete C. wrote:
maxine in ri wrote:

I just finished cleaning out the fridge, and there's still not a lot of
room, so I plan to plug in the spare fridge and stock it with the
ingredients for the big meal next Thursday. I also have to defrost the
16 pound turkey, which I figure I'll give 5 days, so I have time to air
dry the skin and give the spices time to aromate their way in.

Have you considered defrosting it in cold water? That only takes a few
hours and doesn't take up tons of freezer space.


Pete, you took the words right out of my mouth. Off of my keyboard.
Something...

Once upon a time I tried thawing the turkey in the fridge, just like
the wrapper said. I forget how long it was spozed to be in there....
but by the time Thanksgiving Eve rolled around the bird was still
pretty doggone solid. So I did the cold-water thaw Thanksgiving
morning, which worked a treat and saved the day.

Obviously my fridge is colder than most others. Or my turkey was just
being mean. Or something. But since then I've always thawed the
turkey in cold water, it's much more predictable.

Best -- Terry

I think that the air circulation in the refrigerator is the biggest
factor. Most people's refrigerators would be 35-38 degrees or so, but
the air circulation would vary greatly. No air circulation and the
turkey would not thaw at anywhere near the predicted rate.

Pete C.