Thawed turkey

Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52

added 7 months ago

It will depend on a few factors, including how cold your fridge is, and how fresh the turkey was when it was frozen (presumably pretty fresh). At that size, it should have taken about 5-6 days to thaw in the fridge. It may be fine, or it may not -- good news is: you'll know it's bad if it smells off. I would unwrap it tomorrow, leaving yourself enough time to replace it or go to plan B if it smells bad.

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ChefOno added 7 months ago

Voted the Best Answer!

Remember there are two types of bacteria, spoilage bacteria, which can smell, and pathogenic bacteria which do not. As a general rule, you should cook a turkey as soon as it thaws (or even a bit sooner if desired). USDA guidelines recommend cooking within 2 days of thawing so if I understand correctly, your schedule is seriously pushing it. That bird should have been in the oven no later than yesterday.

Now it is true that by cooking to 165F, salmonella et al should be killed and if the bird hasn't ripened too much, it should be tasty. Your call.

www.fsis.usda.gov/FACTSheets...

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We lived and no one became ill. Whew!

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