From Deseret News archives:
You don't need to thaw turkey before roasting
As we're nearing Thanksgiving, I've gotten a few requests from those who want the directions again. The original advice came from Charlotte Brennand, Utah State University Extension's food safety specialist.
Just to make sure it worked, I tried it myself on Sunday I placed a solidly frozen turkey in a roasting pan and didn't do anything except take off the plastic wrapper. (This bird didn't come with its legs trussed together in a plastic ring, so I didn't have to worry about that.)
I just covered it with a foil tent, set the oven at 325 degrees, and let it cook. The turkey tasted fine my family didn't notice any difference from the other turkeys I've thawed before cooking.
But I noticed one difference the plastic bags that hold the neck and gizzards. I removed them before anyone else saw them and lost their appetite.
Yes, your turkey has to be in the oven a few hours longer, but that's a minor inconvenience compared to tying up your refrigerator for several days to let your turkey thaw.
In a project funded by a poultry company about 14 years ago, Brennand and a colleague conducted cooking experiments with frozen turkeys to see if there were easier ways of preparing them. They cooked 132 birds in all, using four different methods, and let a group of panelists taste them.
Birds tented loosely with foil and placed in the oven while completely frozen came out comparable with those cooked the regular way. Microwaved turkeys fared the worst.
But what about food poisoning? Some of the turkeys (not those tasted by the panelists) were dipped in a broth containing a high salmonella concentration before cooking. The microbe testing came out as safe, with either no salmonella or a trivial amount left, Brennand said.
Turkey hot lines usually advise against cooking a frozen turkey, "because the bacteria is in the incubation zone longer," Brennand said. "But, it's also in the death period longer."
Recent comments
Thanks for the common-sense article!!
We defrosted our 12 lb...
turkey roaster | Nov. 26, 2009 at 1:06 p.m.
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