South Dakota, This is When to Start Thawing Your Thanksgiving Turkey

When it comes to preparing a turkey for your Thanksgiving guests, it's always good to have a plan. 

All around America,thoughts of turkey and dressing/stuffing are circling through the minds of many.  Over half of those preparing for the holiday get-together go with a frozen turkey. Anytime you add frozen to the list of challenges, you have to prepare a bit more!

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There are quite a few ways to thaw your turkey. One way the experts say not to thaw the bird is simply thawing out your bird at room temperature.

You can go with the ice water bath, yes I've heard of cooks utilizing the bathtub and setting up the bird in an ice bath to prep it for the oven. If you go with the ice water bath they suggest turning every 30 minutes or so. Once it's thawed it can go in the fridge.

How about if you're just going to thaw it in the fridge? The rule of thumb is 4 days in the refrigerator, but We're close enough to Thanksgiving now that f you have a big bird, put it in the refrigerator when you get home from the store.

Butterball recommends thawing a turkey in one of two ways: either in the refrigerator, or in cold water. While refrigerator thawing is preferred, it requires more time, Butterball said.

On the other hand, cold water thawing takes less time, but requires more attention, according to Butterball.

If your thawing your bird in water, they suggest breast down, wrapper on. And it's gonna take a while. The rule of thumb is 30 minutes per pound.

If you've already picked it up at the store, it's time to start making plans now.

How about you? Do you have a routine? If you do, we'd love it if you would share them with us in the comments!

Thank you for sharing this story with your Turkey Loving friends!