Help - thawed turkey too early!

Legacy_user

I have a 1.4kg crown and I for some silly reason defrosted it in the basis of 24 hours per kilo when it should have been 12 hours. I put it in the fridge on Wednesday night and it has now fully defrosted this morning (I checked last night and it hadn't).

According to guidance it can only be kept in the fridge after thawing for 2 days but I will have it there for 3+ days. Can it be saved? Can I freeze it again until tomorrow morning and then defrost it again?

windup

don't re-freeze it, that's a no-no unless it's cooked first.

if it's been defrosted in a fridge it should be fine.

You could just cook it a day early, rest it then wrap in foil in the fridge, and cut and microwave (minus foil) when needed, no-one will know

jackyann

The usual guide is 3 days after de-frosting, so I think that the distributors are covering themselves!
Personally I would leave it firmly in the fridge until Sunday (it may have defrosted but it is still very cold)
If you are worried, I'd follow windup's advice with the following caveats:
Only microwave sliced meat (so it is thoroughly heated through) and do so in gravy so it remains moist
As you can only re-heat ONCE after cooking, only microwave what is going to be eaten, either immediately or cold.
I've never done Xmas dinner without some anxiety or other!

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Don't eat it. pm me and I will test it for your for free. Unfortunately I cannot return it. So There!!

Tigsteroonie

Cook it early and look on the bright side - you won't have the faff of cooking it on Christmas Day along with all the trimmings. In previous years of having turkey, I've been known to cook it on Christmas Eve simply to ease the Christmas Day workload.

System

Thanks for the replies

OK so I think I am losing my mind

It is Friday today and last night when I checked there were ice crystals so it has fully defrosted at some point over night. So 48 hours from this morning would be Sunday morning so I am actually ok?

On the other hand I have been reading about tips to cook on Christmas Eve so am very tempted to just go ahead tomorrow and get it out of the way!

suki1964

My goose was perfectly defrosted by yesterday as well, as I intended it to be

Last night I removed it from the bag, removed the giblets, rinsed and put in a bowl, rinsed the goose and placed in a clean roasting tin back in the fridge where it will sit happily until Christmas morning

I would suggest you remove the crown from any packaging, place on a clean plate and cover with fresh film. It's the packaging that makes poultry and meat start to smell. It won't go off as long as you keep it in the fridge and will be fine to eat Sunday

[Deleted User]

I always used to cook the turkey breast early, sliced it when cold, then on Christmas Day lined a largetin with foil, put in enough turkey breast for the number eating, add enough gravy to cover the meat and put it in the bottom of the cooker for an hour. Make sure the turkey is really hot and serve as normal.

You.can of course serve the turkey meat cold if you want with the rest of the trimmings.

DigForVictory

Definitely cook early to avoid anxiety & give yourself more mental elbow room On The Day.

Just resist the temptations (a) to wind up anyone who thinks's they've confused the day & (b) to nibble at it early...

May your days be merry & bright!

maman

My mother always cooked the turkey on Christmas Eve and it was traditional for my dad to have some leg meat for his supper. The kitchen smelled glorious and we really felt Christmas was starting.


Reading this has reminded me I need to get my turkey out of the freezer. Anyone remember Adrian Mole's mother defrosting theirs in the bath on Christmas morning? I don't want that to happen here.

PasturesNew

NEVER refreeze.

To leave it and cook it when you want it is pushing the bounds .... especially since your fridge is possibly more full than usual and the door's being opened more often than usual.

If you can bear it ... cook it earlier and keep/reheat the cooked bird as others have indicated above. NOTE: Do NOT be tempted to keep the tray and think "I can stick it back in there"... NO, you can't. Use a fresh/clean container once it's cooked. Bin the existing container (unless you fully disinfect and neutralise it to within an inch of its life). If you re-use the tray just because "that's handy" then you have to be aware of the cross-contamination between cooked and raw food....