The Best Way to Defrost Turkey, According to Food Safety Experts

If you’ve ever cooked a whole turkey for Thanksgiving or another holiday, you know how stressful dealing with a frozen turkey can be. While a frozen bird is typically the most widely available, convenient, and affordable option, having a still-frozen turkey on Thanksgiving morning is the stuff of nightmares for many. And not only do you have to thaw the thing—you also have to do it safely, lest you poison a dozen family members and friends. Fortunately, it’s really not that hard to properly and safely defrost a turkey. For guidance, we spoke to two food safety experts and a chef to find out the best way to defrost turkey—and which methods home cooks should avoid. 

Why It’s Important to Defrost Turkey Correctly

In the US, Thanksgiving turkeys typically range from 12 to 16 pounds, with some even exceeding 20 pounds. Because of the bird’s large size, defrosting it well—and safely—can be challenging. Depending on the weight of your bird and the method you choose, it can take up to five days for your turkey to fully thaw. And though it may be tempting to let your turkey sit out at room temperature or in a bucket of warm water, this can result in uneven thawing, with some parts of the bird hitting the temperature danger zone (40 to 140ºF; 4.5 to 60ºC), the temperature at which harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, clostridium, or campylobacter can multiply quickly and increase your risk of food poisoning. 

How you defrost your turkey matters, and to prevent foodborne illnesses, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has strict guidelines on how to safely thaw turkey. There are only three methods the organization recommends for defrosting turkey: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. Below, we’ll explore each of these methods in detail so you can thaw your turkey safely and in a way that sets you up for cooking a juicy, succulent centerpiece of a bird.

How Long Does It Take to Defrost Turkey?

The time it takes to defrost your turkey will depend on its size. The USDA estimates that you’ll need 24 hours in the fridge for every four to five pounds of turkey you’re defrosting, but many factors can impact thawing time, including the temperature of your fridge and how crowded the fridge is. Beyond the turkey’s size, the cut and shape of your turkey will also impact how long it takes to defrost. Jessica Pryles, chef and author of Hardcore Carnivore, says a whole turkey is essentially a “big, round, frozen ball,” and its density means it’s not conducive to quick defrosting. While not commonly found at traditional grocery stores, spatchcocked turkeys will both freeze and defrost faster than an intact bird. Whole turkeys that have been separated into parts and then frozen flat will also thaw faster than a whole bird.

To give yourself plenty of time to properly thaw and brine your turkey, it’s best to begin defrosting the bird at least five days before you plan to cook and serve it. (As Kenji has noted previously, there’s no need to brine birds that are labeled as kosher, enhanced, or self-basting, as these have already been treated with salt.)

The Most Common Methods for Thawing Turkey

How to Defrost Turkey in the Refrigerator

According to Meredith Carothers, a food safety specialist with the USDA, and Catherine Nettles Cutter, a professor and food safety specialist in Penn State University’s food science department, defrosting your turkey in the fridge is the best way to thaw it. “It’s the easiest and the safest,” says Carothers, who explains that a fridge set to maintain a temperature below 40ºF (4ºC) ensures that your turkey will never hit the danger zone, reducing the risk of food-borne pathogens.

To thaw your turkey in the fridge, Carothers and Cutter recommend keeping your turkey wrapped and storing it on a large platter or tray, such as a rimmed sheet pan, to collect any juices that may leak. You’ll also want to place it at the lowest possible point in your fridge to keep any rogue raw poultry juices not caught by the platter from contaminating anything else in your fridge. 

This method is the only one the USDA recommends using if you plan on dry brining your turkey, as the other two USDA-approved methods—thawing in the microwave and in cold water—are considered “rapid” and require you to cook the bird immediately after it thaws. Thawing in the fridge comes with two trade-offs, though: time and space. A 20-pound bird will need about five days to defrost, taking up precious fridge space you could otherwise use to store other Thanksgiving ingredients. Still, it’s the most hands-off method and is the safest approach, as it is the only one that guarantees your turkey will be held at a food-safe temperature the entire time it thaws. (We recommend using a refrigerator thermometer to ensure your fridge is at the right temperature.)

TL;DR: Defrosting turkey in the fridge is the safest and most hands-off method, and is the only USDA-recommended method if you plan on dry brining your turkey. It is also the slowest method and requires you to have significant fridge space.

How to Defrost a Turkey in Cold Water

If you’re running behind schedule and need to speed up the defrosting time of your bird, submerging it in cool water will do the trick. (We recommend keeping the turkey in its original packaging to prevent the meat from becoming waterlogged.) With this method, it takes about 30 minutes to defrost per pound of turkey, Pryles says. A 10-pound bird will defrost in about five hours, rather than the two to three days it would require in the fridge.

Because cold water conducts heat better than air, this method is faster than thawing in the fridge. This method, however, is a bit more hands-on than thawing turkey in the fridge. As I wrote in my guide to defrosting chicken, the USDA says this method is fine as long as your tap releases water in the 55 to 65ºF (12.7 to 18.3ºC) range. You’ll also have to change the water every 30 minutes or so to ensure the water remains in the recommended range; as the frozen turkey defrosts, the water around it becomes cooler, and eventually becomes cold enough to prevent the bird from adequately thawing.

The other problem with this method is finding a container large enough to hold your turkey. Kenji has recommended using a large cooler or tub and changing out the water every hour or so. A cooler, Pryles says, will also help keep the temperature more consistent and potentially reduce the number of times you need to refill it. Many coolers have spigots at the bottom, making it easy to drain when you’re done defrosting. If you don’t have a large enough cooler, Pryles suggests using a five-gallon bucket. “You just want to make sure that there’s plenty of room between the actual turkey and the side of the bucket so it can actually be immersed in the cold water,” she says, which will help thaw the bird evenly.

If you have neither a cooler or five-gallon bucket, defrosting your turkey in a clean kitchen sink or even your bathtub is also an option. If you plan on defrosting your turkey in the sink or tub, be sure to thoroughly clean them to prevent any dirt, bacteria, or dish detergent and residues from bathing or cleaning products from contaminating your poultry. (Although we recommend keeping your turkey in the packaging, there is a chance of it being breached.)

Because defrosting via cold water is considered a rapid-defrost method, the USDA recommends you cook food defrosted this way immediately once it’s thawed, which unfortunately means you won’t be able to dry brine a turkey defrosted this way.

TL;DR: Defrosting a turkey in cold water is faster than thawing in the fridge, but it is slightly more hands-on as it requires you to change the water frequently to maintain a temperature of 40ºF (4ºC) or below. You will also need a large vessel, such as a cooler or five-gallon bucket, for thawing the turkey. A turkey defrosted this way must be cooked immediately after thawing, which means you won’t be able to dry brine it.

What About Defrosting a Turkey in the Microwave?

Despite being endorsed by the USDA, defrosting a whole turkey in the microwave is simply not realistic for most people, as most turkeys are too big to fit in a standard microwave. This method is more suitable for thawing smaller cuts like drumsticks or wings quickly, though we do not recommend it unless it is the only option available. As I found in my research and testing on how to best defrost chicken, this method results in unevenly thawed meat; because the microwave jumpstarts the cooking process, the outer edges of the poultry may be fully cooked by the time the center of the bird is defrosted. The texture of the meat is also dry and unpleasant to eat. 

If you insist on thawing cuts of turkey in the microwave, the USDA recommends using your microwave’s poultry defrost setting to do so, and planning on it taking about six minutes per pound. You should also rotate and flip the pieces throughout the process to make sure it’s defrosting evenly. Because this is another rapid defrosting method, the turkey should be cooked immediately after it has thawed.  

TL;DR: Most turkeys are too big to fit in a standard microwave; this method is best for thawing smaller cuts of turkey like thighs or wings. Turkey defrosted this way will have a drier texture, and we do not recommend using this method unless it is the only one available. Because the microwave is a rapid defrosting method, the turkey must be cooked immediately after it has thawed.

Why You Should Never Defrost a Turkey at Room Temperature

Leaving a whole frozen turkey out at room temperature is the riskiest defrosting method, and the USDA does not recommend thawing turkey this way, nor do we. Think about it: Even weeknight-friendly cuts of poultry like chicken breasts, which typically weigh about one to two pounds, can take several hours to thaw at room temperature. A whole turkey—which is more than triple the size of those cuts—will take much longer. As the turkey sits at room temperature, its exterior will thaw first, and likely hit the temperature danger zone while the interior has yet to fully thaw, making it prone to bacterial growth.

Pryles notes that if you live in a cold climate where the outside temperature is consistently below 40ºF (4ºC), you could safely defrost the turkey outside in your yard or your porch. The USDA, however, does not recommend thawing turkey this way, regardless of the outside temperature. If the turkey happens to be in direct sunlight or if the temperature fluctuates throughout the day above 40ºF (4ºC), Carothers says, you’re putting your guests at risk. She also warns that a porch isn’t as sterilized as your kitchen, and the thawing turkey could attract unwanted Thanksgiving guests in the form of local wildlife and neighborhood pets. For those reasons, we don’t recommend this method either. 

TL;DR: Thawing your turkey at room temperature is the riskiest defrosting method. We do not recommend using this method.

Can You Cook Frozen Turkey?

Unless you are deep-frying your turkey—in which case the bird needs to be 100% thawed and thoroughly dried before taking a dip in the oil—you can technically cook a turkey from frozen and it will still be food safe according to the USDA. From a culinary standpoint, we don’t recommend it; a bird you’ve thawed in the fridge and dry brined is always going to be more flavorful and juicy. But if it’s Thanksgiving day and your turkey is still a block of ice and cooking it frozen is the only option left, you can, indeed, do this. Just keep in mind that a frozen turkey will take at least 50% longer to cook than a thawed turkey, and just tossing a frozen bird in the oven will certainly not result in a perfectly cooked, moist bird with crisp skin. We aren’t going to offer instructions for it here, but you can head on over to Thermoworks, where there is a thorough guide on how to cook a frozen turkey.

The Takeaway

For defrosting a whole turkey, our top choice is the refrigerator. Be sure to start defrosting at least five days before you plan on cooking the turkey, and calculate that it will need 24 hours in the fridge for every four to five pounds of turkey you’re defrosting, possibly longer. Be sure to build in time for prep methods, like dry brining.