Everything You Need to Know About Thawing Your Thanksgiving Turkey

For the vast majority of us, the turkey we buy for Thanksgiving and other holidays will be frozen when we bring it home. And good golly, is that turkey frozen solid. Unfortunately, many of us have heard stories about the turkey still being frozen on Thanksgiving morning (although you can actually cook it frozen!), but with a little know-how you can easily avoid that situation (and cope with it if you find yourself in it). Here’s how to thaw a turkey and still be on-schedule for your holiday meal.

A note on brining: If you’re planning to brine your turkey, either in a brine solution or with a dry-brine, you can start this while it’s still partially frozen.

If you’re running short on time, you can speed up the thawing process with the cold water method: Simply submerge the frozen turkey, still in its packaging, in cold tap water, allowing about 30 minutes for every pound of turkey. Here’s how to do it.

You should never leave your turkey on the counter to thaw, or try thawing your turkey in warm water, or heating it with a hair dryer, or any other shortcuts, per the USDA. All of these methods bring the turkey’s temperature to the “danger zone” of 40°F to 140°F, which drastically increases your risk of food poisoning.