Defrosting a Turkey
Aimee HerringIt seems like it might be tricky to figure out how long to defrost a turkey, but Dwayne LiPuma of The Culinary Institute of America says there's a simple formula that takes away the guesswork.

Tips on Defrosting a Turkey

For every four pounds of turkey, allow one day for defrosting. So, if you have a 12 pound turkey, you'll need three full days to defrost it. The key is to allow enough time, and to make sure to put the (still-packaged) frozen turkey in a large bowl or platter, because it's common for the packaging to leak. You also want to put the turkey on the lowest shelf possible, so if it does leak, it doesn't drip all over other foods in the fridge.

For 60 years, The Culinary Institute of America has been setting the standard for excellence in professional culinary education. In this video series, experienced chefs and educators show you how to tackle essential cooking techniques.

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Video Transcript

I'm Chef Dwayne LiPuma, from the Culinary Institute of America, and today I'm going to show you this kitchen basic: how to defrost a turkey.

Defrosting a turkey is very, very simple. The most important thing to remember is just to think a little bit forward. On average it takes one day for every four pounds of turkey. So if you do the math, if you have a twelve pound turkey, like we have here, it'll take about three days to defrost. So it is so important for you to think ahead. When you want to defrost this, take it straight from the freezer to the refrigerator, remembering that it takes one day for every four pounds.

Always remember that it is so important that you leave it in its casing. This is not totally airtight and the juices can leak outside, so the rule of thumb in any kitchen is always to put poultry in the bottom part of your refrigerator, so there is nothing at all this can drip on.

That's how you defrost a turkey. For more great tips, log on to kitchendaily.com!