Defrosting turkey

rachbc

There are fresh turkeys with bb dates of 26th in the shops now so i wouldn't freeze it only to take out 1 day or 2 later

ganache

Having had a few issues in the past with defrosting meat in the fridge, it was against my better instincts that I choose to follow the recommended advice in an article to defrost a whole duck.

I started defrosting it yesterday at about 12pm and it is still hard and frozen. My mom with many years of defrosting meat behind her disagreed with the article and claimed she had always left frozen meat out to defrost including large turkeys. But what got me was that the article stated that counter top defrosting was not only not an ideal method but an "awful" one and the clincher was that I would be "begging for a case of food poisoning".

If there was anything that was going to persuade me it was that last point.

And I thought it sounded plausible due to the fact that with a large piece of meat the outside would defrost at a quicker rate than the rest and remain at room temp for longer.

How long does it take everyone else to successfully defrost large joints/whole birds in the fridge? The duck I have is just over 2.8 kg. I put the fridge temp down to 2.5 (it goes all the way to 6) to make it even easier but it seems to have made barely any difference. How much longer do I have to wait!

happy35

i tend to leave meat out to defrost on the bench for a few hours before defrosting in the fridge, I find it takes about 36 hours this way

I have tried to defrost chicken in the way you have done your duck but it was frozen solid after 36 hours

I think if you dont have heating on in this weather then yor meat wint go off defrosting on your bench, but that is my opinion only

WantToBeSE

I never defrost meat in the fridge, it takes way too long. I always put it in the oven (turned off, obviously) in a pyrex dish overnight.

The only reason i put it in the oven is so that the cat doesnt eat it!

sooty&sweep

Hi

I tend to leave larger joints etc in the oven / microwave to defrost because it would take days to defrost in the fridge. If its nearly defrosted and Im not about to cook I would put it in the fridge as I wouldn't leave fully defrosted meat hanging around at room temperature for long amounts of time.
The only time I wouldn't was if it was a particularly hot weather.
Jen

MrsAtobe

WantToBeSE wrote: »

I never defrost meat in the fridge, it takes way too long. I always put it in the oven (turned off, obviously) in a pyrex dish overnight.

The only reason i put it in the oven is so that the cat doesnt eat it!

We use the microwave in the same way so that the dog doesn't get it, he hasn't learnt how to open it yet. It's only a matter of time though, he's sussed how the bin opens, he just hasn't worked out that he needs to use a paw rather than his head - it's a touch top bin

sooty&sweep

If its got giblets etc inside you can speed up defrosting by removing them
Jen

Gigervamp

I made the mistake once of trying to defrost something in the fridge. It took about 2-3 days. Now I do as others do and bung it in the microwave (to keep it away from the cats) overnight.

Lilyplonk

I always defrost meat overnight on the counter top or inside the microwave - especially in the winter months. But I wouldn't dream of having the heating on in the kitchen.

I will defrost meat during the day on the counter top in the summer months, but you need to keep a check for when it's reached the 'point of defrost'. Immediately you need to either cook it OR put it into the fridge.

ganache

happy35 wrote: »

i tend to leave meat out to defrost on the bench for a few hours before defrosting in the fridge, I find it takes about 36 hours this way

I have tried to defrost chicken in the way you have done your duck but it was frozen solid after 36 hours

I think if you dont have heating on in this weather then yor meat wint go off defrosting on your bench, but that is my opinion only

I left it out on the counter for an hour yesterday before I put it in the fridge, should have left it longer...I'm gonna take it out again now for a couple of hours or maybe more and see how it does.