how long is a frozen turkey good for

Cooking your Thanksgiving turkey doesn't have to be a stressful ordeal. Preparing as much as y'all can ahead of the big twenty-four hours is primal and one of the most important nuts is defrosting your turkey properly.

The National Turkey Federation (NTF) says: "While it may sound obvious, forgetting to thaw the turkey is 1 of the about common Thanksgiving mishaps. Thawing your turkey correctly can help keep your family healthy and save you lot 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. Just the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises it should exist cooked within a yr "for best quality."

One time y'all begin defrosting the turkey, the bird is at risk of bacterial growth. The federal torso explains: "While frozen, a turkey is prophylactic indefinitely. Equally shortly equally it begins to thaw, bacteria that may have been present before freezing volition begin to abound once again."

A whole roasted turkey on a table. — A whole roasted turkey seen on a table spread. iStock/Getty Images Plus

How to Defrost a Turkey

There are 3 safe ways to defrost a turkey, as outlined by the USDA.

Refrigerator

This method involves leaving the turkey in its wrapping, putting information technology in a large tray or pan (to prevent any juices that could possibly leak) and placing it on the everyman 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 consequent, prophylactic temperature," the federal trunk advises.

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

Thawing past refrigerator does take time and the verbal timing depends on the weight of your frozen turkey. You'll need to allow almost a mean solar day (24 hours) of defrosting for every iv to five pounds of turkey.

Cold Water

This method should exist used on the forenoon of Thanksgiving or later on, equally 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 h2o. The h2o must exist cold to ensure the turkey is kept at a safe temperature. The water should be inverse every half hour, replacing it with fresh water.

The cold water method requires thirty minutes of thawing for every pound of turkey. So you may need to outset quite early on in the morning in order to serve information technology in the afternoon.

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

A raw whole turkey inside a fridge. — A raw whole turkey on a plate seen inside a refrigerator. The USDA recommends thawing your turkey inside a refrigerator is the safest method equally it the bird will thaw at a consequent, rubber temperature. iStock/Getty Images Plus

Microwave

This method will too crave y'all to cook the turkey immediately after it'due south been defrosted. So information technology should only be done on the morning time of Thanksgiving or later.

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

"As a full 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 whatsoever juices that may leak. Apply the device'due south defrost function according to weight.

You lot'll want to rotate the turkey several times likewise every bit flip it during the thawing procedure. If you observe the turkey is really starting to get cooked instead of just thawing, let information technology rest for around five minutes before yous resume defrosting.

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

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

Graphic showing inflation impact on Thanksgiving. — STATISTA

The graphic beneath, produced past Statista, illustrates the change in the number of Americans traveling for Thanksgiving in 2022 and 2022, compared with 2022.