Page 48 - Turkey Book from Meathead

o thaw a frozen turkey, place the bird, still in its
plastic shipping bag, in a large roasting pan in the refrigerator. You need the pan because the bags often leak. Allow 24 hours in the fridge for every 4 pounds. If you don't want to do the math, just put it in the fridge 7 days before the day you will eat it. That's a bit more time than needed, but hey, when you want to catch a train, you get to the station before the train, right? Most turkey disasters we hear about are because the bird has not defrosted properly. There are faster ways to defrost a bird discussed in our article on thawing.
A day before cooking, strip o the plastic bag and remove the organs and neck from both the front and rear cavities. That's the deep center and the last part to thaw, so removing them will help ensure that the interior isn’t still frozen. Just leave the neck and giblets in the pan. We'll use them later.
T YEKRUT GNIWAHT