Can You Safely Thaw A Turkey At Room Temperature

This method takes some time so allow one day for each 4 5 pounds of weight.

Can you safely thaw a turkey at room temperature.

Raw poultry can contaminate anything it touches with harmful bacteria. Thorough cooking would kill microbes but not necessarily all the toxins they may have produced. The laws of physics are apparently different north of the 49th parallel and poultry is required to reach 180f. If the turkey is fresh leave it in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it.

If the turkey is frozen there are safe ways to thaw it. I wouldn t eat a large turkey that had been thawed at room temperature. When the turkey is left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours its temperature becomes unsafe. A package of frozen meat or poultry left thawing on the counter more than 2 hours is not at a safe temperature.

However you thaw your turkey use a digital tip sensitive thermometer to ensure it has reached an internal temperature of 165f. When frozen food gets warmer than 40 degrees or is at room temperature for more than 2 hours it s in the danger zone where bacteria multiply quickly. Besides the fact that it is let us say unseemly to defrost a thanksgiving turkey in some random bedroom to say nothing of the bathroom thawing a turkey at room temperature is a terrible practice. Handle your turkey the right way.

Uncooked meat or poultry including frozen shouldn t be left at room temperature for more than two hours. If your turkey weighs 16 pounds it will take about four days to thaw. Turkeys must be kept at a safe temperature during the big thaw while frozen a turkey is safe indefinitely. When you thaw chicken at room temperature the outer edges can begin breeding bacteria before the middle begins to thaw.

That s why you never thaw a frozen turkey at room temperature on your kitchen counter or in hot water. However as soon as it begins to thaw any bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to grow again. No safety issues as long as you thaw it cold. A thawing turkey must defrost at a safe temperature.

We cannot over emphasize food safety when it comes to thawing turkey. Bacteria can grow rapidly in the danger zone between 40 f and 140 f. You can defrost a turkey in the. Once thawed the turkey is safe for another two days so you can start thawing it six days before thanksgiving the friday before thanksgiving.

It s important to keep the whole turkey at a safe temperature throughout the thawing process to prevent bacterial growth that can lead to foodborne illness. A year frozen turkey will probably have suffered freezer burn and developed off flavors.