The question is old, with an upvoted, accepted answer, but I still want to put in my two cents. Turkey that has been thawed on the counter or left out for long periods shouldn't be refrozen. If it stinks, its a goner. Cooking times external icon will vary depending on the weight of the turkey. How to tell if raw ground turkey is bad? Personally, I like this method the best if my turkey has already done some thawing in the fridge but is still partially frozen. This is the quickest way that I know of to court disaster in the form of some nasty food borne illness. You'll need to give yourself about 24 hours to thaw every 4 pounds of frozen turkey, so you might need to make room in the fridge a full week before Thanksgiving. It lasts as long as it still resembles thawed, uncooked turkey breast. It does take up room in the fridge, but it's the safest way to keep the turkey at a safe temperature for the entire thawing time. This is the safest method because the turkey will thaw at a consistent, safe temperature. And once the turkey has thawed, make sure it stays refrigerated until it’s time to cook: A thawed turkey can be kept for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, Butterball says, but should never be kept at room temperature, lest bacteria begin to grow. I thawed about four of them in the fridge and ate three of them with in the next four or five days. A: A whole frozen turkey in its original packaging may be stored at 0 degrees F. for up to one year before the quality begins to deteriorate. Thawing a turkey is a critical first step in roasting your Thanksgiving turkey. It will last up to 1 year in the freezer. The USDA recommends this method, and it's even safe enough that you could re-freeze the thawed turkey if you want to. That was only 3 days ago. Leave the turkey in its original packaging to avoid exposing it to bacteria. A thawed turkey (uncooked) may be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of two days before cooking. Your refrigerator should be set to 40 degrees F (4.4 degrees C) or below. The breasts I've seen in the store all seem to have a "cook or freeze by" date of 12/27/17. If not, it is perfectly safe to cook now. This can take a while for a large turkey, so be sure to plan the rest of your meal — and the dinner bell — accordingly. A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days before cooking. Rough estimate, your bird wasn't completely thawed until after 4 days. Foods thawed in the refrigerator can be refrozen without cooking but there may be some loss of quality. A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. The best way is to smell and look at the ground turkey: signs of bad ground turkey are a sour smell, dull color and slimy texture; discard any ground turkey … It takes approximately 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds of whole turkey to thaw in the refrigerator. Plan to thaw the turkey in the water for an hour for every two pounds. Allow at least 1 day of thawing for every 4 lbs of turkey. Properly thawed frozen turkeys can be refrigerated in their original packaging from 1 to 5 days before cooking. 2: You should cool your turkey to room temperature for a while before putting it in the fridge. Thawed this way in cold water, estimate roughly 30 minutes for every pound of turkey. Birds weighing 12 to 16 pounds should be in the fridge starting the Sunday of Thanksgiving week. Refrigerator Thawing (Recommended) The USDA recommends thawing your turkey in the refrigerator. Place it on a tray or in a pan to catch any juices that may leak. Repeat the water-replacement cycle every 30 minutes until the turkey is thawed. Defrosting in cold water: Keep the turkey in its original wrapping and then cover it with a leak-proof bag Open the package and smell. How long is raw ground beef good for in the fridge? Turkey left in fridge for a week. You should allow a minimum of three days for a standard 12- to 15-pound bird to thaw. You can also freeze chicken that’s already been cooked, but they won’t last quite as long. If your turkey weighs 16 pounds, it will take about four days to thaw. FACT: Decades ago, when people plopped a hot turkey … Refrigerator thawing is the number one most recommended way to thaw a turkey. Depending on the size of what you’re thawing, this method can take a full day. Yesterday I ate the last one after being in the fridge thawing for a week. Both can be frozen for a month, and some sausage can be frozen for twice as long. If it's a local, unpackaged fresh turkey, you should only keep it 1-2 days in the fridge. The one thing you don’t want to do is to leave the bird on the counter overnight or in the sink without water. For fans of giblets, the FDA claims those will also last a couple days in a fridge and three to four months in a freezer. Turkeys thawed in … If raw frozen turkey is thawed in the refrigerator, the defrosted turkey can last in the fridge for 1–2 days before it needs to be cooked or refrozen. How long can a thawed Butterball Turkey stay in the fridge? Leave the turkey in the water for 30 minutes, then replace the water with more cold water (and ice if necessary). Use turkey within 4 days after thawing. The USDA site below offers step by step instructions for thawing and cooking times. If necessary, a turkey that has been properly thawed in the refrigerator may be refrozen. However, other factors, like the temperature of your fridge and your turkey’s location in that fridge, will affect how long it takes your turkey to actually thaw. This method takes some time, so allow one day for each 4 - 5 pounds of weight. Defrosting in the fridge is the safest way as there is a controlled temperature and you can leave it until it is completely thawed. For more information about thawing a turkey, go to Turkey Basics: Safe Thawing. You lose some of benefits of having a fresh turkey, but at least it will be safe to eat. From doing a quick search online, most places recommend leaving a fresh turkey breast in the fridge a maximum of 1-2 days before cooking or freezing. Keep turkey in original wrapper and place on tray. Even the biggest turkey will be thawed in a few hours. Bacon is safe to eat for up to a week in the fridge—but raw sausage should be eaten within two days. One you buy at the local grocery store that is packaged - and assuming you keep the packaging intact, will last 3-5 days. Cook Your Turkey Thoroughly. Use a food thermometer to make sure the turkey has reached a safe internal temperature of 165°F. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, that means it needs to have been thawed in the refrigerator and it can't have been left out at room temperature for more than two hours at any time. BUT do it today. Place the completely thawed turkey in a roasting pan that is 2 to 2-1/2 inches deep. Christmas turkey: A thawed turkey should be stored ideally at no more than 4.4 degrees C (Image: GETTY) Once your turkey is cooked you can leave it out of the oven safety for two hours. How to defrost a turkey in the fridge. MYTH No. A fridge-thawed turkey … No point in wasting an entire turkey. The best temperature for your refrigerator is 34-38 degrees F (1-3 degrees C). Thaw turkey breast side up, in an unopened wrapper on a tray in the fridge (40 degrees F or below). Well the Turkey was in the fridge and was fully thawed and soft. In fact, it shouldn't be eaten at all. Once the turkey is thawed, you can keep it in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 additional days before cooking. Store the turkey in the freezer within 2 days of it thawing. A lasrge 20 pound turkey may take up to a week in the refrigerator to thaw, but perhaps your garage unit is set very low, in which case the turkey is not thawing. She had put it in the fridge from frozen last Friday. Cooked ground turkey will usually stay good for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and 4 months in the freezer. For smaller birds - four to 12 pounds, you should start fridge thawing on Monday. Set the oven temperature to at least 325°F. If you’re in a hurry to thaw your turkey, there’s a faster method you can use. You want to allow 1 day in the fridge for every 4 pounds of turkey, so refrigerate a 12-pound bird for 3 days, a 20-pound bird for 5 days, and so on. Hi my sister was supposed to cook the turkey for thanksgiving and I went by to take it out of the freezer because I figured she would forget. Keep the turkey in its original wrapper. Bacon can last seven days in the fridge and one month in the freezer. Cold Water Thawing 4. Do not store thawed or poultry in the fridge for a week or more as the uncooked meat becomes unsafe for human consumption. The steak was frozen for a week, and was already cooked medium well. Yes, I recommend the cold water thaw method at this point , followed by immediate roasting. Personally, I wouldn't be concerned about a turkey I kept refrigerated and planned to serve 2 days before the sell-by date (which still allows for more time before the bird is expected to be cooked), but that's just me. 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