How long can you keep a turkey frozen

Cooking your Thanksgiving turkey doesn't have to be a stressful ordeal. Preparing as much as you can ahead of the big day is key and one of the most important basics is defrosting your turkey properly.

The National Turkey Federation (NTF) says: "While it may sound obvious, forgetting to thaw the turkey is one of the most common Thanksgiving mishaps. Thawing your turkey correctly can help keep your family healthy and save you the trouble of last-minute improvisation at mealtime."

How Long Can You Keep a Frozen Turkey?

A turkey can be kept in the freezer indefinitely. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises it should be cooked within a year "for best quality."

Once you begin defrosting the turkey, the bird is at risk of bacterial growth. The federal body explains: "While frozen, a turkey is safe indefinitely. As soon as it begins to thaw, bacteria that may have been present before freezing will begin to grow again."

How to Defrost a Turkey

There are three safe ways to defrost a turkey, as outlined by the USDA.

Refrigerator

This method involves leaving the turkey in its wrapping, putting it in a large tray or pan (to prevent any juices that could possibly leak) and placing it on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator, the NTF explains.

The USDA recommends defrosting your turkey in the refrigerator. "This is the safest method because the turkey will thaw at a consistent, safe temperature," the federal body advises.

This method also allows you to safely store the turkey for another day or two day in the refrigerator. A turkey that's been properly defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen if necessary, the USDA says.

Thawing by refrigerator does take time and the exact timing depends on the weight of your frozen turkey. You'll need to allow about a day (24 hours) of defrosting for every four to five pounds of turkey.

Cold Water

This method should be used on the morning of Thanksgiving or later, as once the turkey has thawed, you'll need to cook the bird immediately, the USDA says.

This thawing method involves submerging the turkey in a container full of cold water. The water must be cold to ensure the turkey is kept at a safe temperature. The water should be changed every half hour, replacing it with fresh water.

The cold water method requires 30 minutes of thawing for every pound of turkey. So you may need to start quite early in the morning in order to serve it in the afternoon.

Do not refreeze turkey that's been defrosted in cold water, the USDA warns.

Microwave

This method will also require you to cook the turkey immediately after it's been defrosted. So it should only be done on the morning of Thanksgiving or later.

Before throwing your bird into the microwave oven, the USDA warns you should check the device manual to confirm the exact size of turkey that will fit in your microwave as well as the minutes per pound and power level to use for defrosting a turkey.

"As a general rule, allow six minutes per pound when thawing a turkey in the microwave," the federal body says.

Once you're ready to thaw, remove the outside wrapping of the turkey and put in a microwave-safe dish to catch any juices that may leak. Apply the device's defrost function according to weight.

You'll want to rotate the turkey several times as well as flip it during the thawing process. If you notice the turkey is actually starting to get cooked instead of just thawing, let it rest for around five minutes before you resume defrosting.

"Do not refreeze or refrigerate your turkey after thawing in the microwave oven," the USDA says.

The graphic below, produced by Statista, illustrates the impact of inflation on Thanksgiving dinners.

The graphic below, produced by Statista, illustrates the change in the number of Americans traveling for Thanksgiving in 2020 and 2021, compared with 2019.

UPDATE 11/24/21 12:32 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include graphs from Statista.

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