Expert: Carol Schlitt - 11/16/2007

Question
My cousin purchased a 22 lb turkey November 14th and is prepared to cook it on November 27th She has it in the refrigerator defrosting.  I had read where it is OK to keep a turkey defrosting for 1 day per 5 lbs.  She is exceeding that.  Is it safe to cook and eat?

Answer
Hi Kathy,

The general rule of thumb is that it will take 1 day in the refrigerator for every 5 pounds of turkey to defrost.  So, a 22 pound turkey will take approximately 5 days to completely defrost in a refrigerator.  Since you say she placed the turkey in the refrigerator on the 14th, this would mean the turkey should be completely defrosted on the 19th or 20th.  Once defrosted, the turkey should be cooked within 1-2 days. This means the window for safely cooking the bird is November 22nd.  Since she wants to cook it on the 27th this is 5 days past the recommended safety window.

She should have kept the bird frozen until November 20th to keep within the safely window.

All is not lost....she could place the bird back in the freezer until the 20th (the bird is not defrosted at this point and is safe to refreeze)and remove it to defrost in the refrigerator at that time. This would be the same advice given if a freezer had stopped containing the turkey. If the turkey still has ice crystals it could be safely refrozen.

Please advise your cousin to stick the bird in the freezer until the 20th -- then proceed with defrosting and cooking.  The other option is to cook the bird when defrosted on the 22nd, slice the meat and freeze it until the 27th when she could defrost and reheat.

Happy Holidays.

Carol