How To Quickly Defrost a Turkey for Thanksgiving

There you stand in the middle of the kitchen surveying all of your Thanksgiving goodies. You're proud of yourself for all the food and treats you've purchased and prepared. Not to mention, you only spent $250 throwing it all together. Pies, candied yams, mashed potatoes, fresh bread, cookies, deviled eggs, stuffing, turkey....wait...turkey? Uh, oh, it's noon the day before Thanksgiving and your forgot to thaw the turkey! That bugger is 25 lbs....it will NEVER thaw in time! Yes it will! Here are some tips to get that turkey ready to go by Thanksgiving.

If you have a large turkey, you can drag out one of the coolers that you take on camping trips. Make sure your cooler is clean and free of camping debris! Keep turkey in its original package and put it in the cooler. Get out your garden hose and fill the cooler enough to cover your turkey. Every couple of hours, drain the water out of the spout in the cooler and recover the turkey with water. When your turkey thaws, refrigerate it until you're ready to use it.

You can put your bird in the kitchen sink to thaw. Every couple of hours, do the same as above. Change the water and make sure the turkey is always covered. If you need your kitchen sink during those hours and your turkey will fit in a pot or other container, you can use that. Just make sure the turkey stays covered in water.

Once your turkey has thawed for a few hours, remove the wrapping and take out the innards. It will make for a faster thaw if those little bags of organ ice are packed inside. Also, with the wrapping now off, it will insure that the inside of the turkey is completely thawed and your turkey will cook more evenly.

Submerged in water, it will take a 22 lb. turkey about six hours to thaw. Happy Turkey Day!

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