Thanksgiving may still be a few days away, but your turkey is ready to come out of deep freeze.
A larger bird can take three to four full days to thaw safely in the fridge, according to food safety experts. So if it’s still rock-solid in your freezer, consider this your friendly nudge: It’s time for the fridge.
The director of Environmental Health at Lorain County Public Health Greg Putka said rushing the thaw is one of the biggest mistakes people make around the Thanksgiving holiday.
“So you have a maybe 12, 16, 18, 20 pound turkey. You want to make sure that you thaw it out properly," he said. "A lot of times people try to cut corners when they thaw things out.”
No, you can't just leave it on the counter
Putka said it's not safe to let your turkey thaw at room temperature on the kitchen counter.
“When you keep something out on the countertop, it's potentially getting into that danger zone. That's when you start to see other bacteria start to grow and that's the potential for foodborne illness," he said.
If you need a quicker thaw, he said the cold-water method can work — if done properly.
“The key with this one though is you want to make sure that the turkey is fully submerged in water, and then you want to change that water every 30 minutes," he said.
It takes 30 minutes per pound of turkey to defrost this way, Putka said.
Cross-contamination is another major risk in busy holiday kitchens. Putka said raw turkey juices should be kept away from foods that are ready to eat. Handwashing is essential, he said, because of the potential for accidently contaminating other foods.
Once the meal is over, leftovers shouldn’t sit out too long. The bacteria that cause foodborne illness multiply rapidly at room temperature. Putka advised following the two-hour rule — i.e., refrigerate before two hours have passed.
“If you leave your food out too long, you have that potential for the bacteria to start to grow and multiply," he said.
Refrigerating food promptly helps prevent that.
Putka said Thanksgiving food safety comes down to planning, proper temperatures and knowing when to throw something away. He said to keep the age-old mantra in mind: “When in doubt, throw it out.”
