How long does it take to defrost a turkey?

By Lady of the World (Guest Post)

I just defrosted my 20 lb turkey for Thanksgiving and I put it still wrapped in my kitchen sink and covered it with cold water. I changed the water every 30 mins. and it only took 2 hours to defrost.

By

Andjerm

I would leave it in the refridgerator for like 5 days. I know a 12 pound turkey took 3 days and was still a little frozen when removing giblets. I would say 5 should do it. Besides, if it defrosts in only 4 days one extra day in the fridge will not harm the turkey. Also, if you are in a pinch for time and need to defrost quickly you can place it in a CLEAN sink with water and keep changing out the water frequently. Hope that helps!

By Rina (Guest Post)

Hello! I'm not so familiar with american measures (I just live in Poland. :) ), but from my experience, a turkey- about 3.5 - -4.0 kg, (7-8 lbs.) needs around 6 hours to be defrosted. Usually it's better to left it for all night outside of refrigerator, but in fact, I prefer to buy the turkey just one day before I'll prepare it...

I know - it's really a big difference between our countries, but hope this helps. :)