Alton Brown shared on social media his hack for thawing a frozen hen in two hours.We tried Brown’s hack, which requires an aquarium pump, thermometer and a cooler, on a frozen turkey.Whereas the turkey thawed in underneath seven hours, the tactic had its challenges.

Of all of the mishaps when internet hosting Thanksgiving, forgetting to thaw the turkey is probably essentially the most detrimental. The overwhelming majority of turkeys for the massive vacation are bought frozen, and these birds require some critical thaw time. This implies that you must plan properly upfront, particularly if you wish to dry-brine or marinate the hen.

Thawing any poultry, whether or not hen or turkey, takes cautious consideration to keep away from the unfold of micro organism. In accordance with the Division of Agriculture, thawing frozen meat or poultry on the counter for greater than two hours is unsafe as a result of “the outer layer of the meals is within the ‘Hazard Zone’ between 40 and 140°F—at a temperature the place foodborne micro organism multiply quickly.” Thawing an entire turkey within the fridge can take three to 6 days, relying on the dimensions, and as soon as thawed, the USDA recommends cooking the turkey inside two days.

This Viral Thawing Hack Caught My Consideration
Should you don’t have a number of days to thaw your turkey, there may be one other methodology. You may place your frozen hen in a big container and canopy it with water. That is referred to as cold-water thawing, and it’s a fantastic methodology for rapidly thawing meat and seafood, particularly shrimp and Cryovac-sealed parts of fish. The problem with this methodology for a turkey is that that you must maintain the water chilly—under 40°F—to keep away from spoilage, and also you want a large container to carry the massive hen.

After I noticed this video from movie star chef Alton Brown explaining how he rapidly thaws complete chickens with an aquarium pump, I needed to see if it might work for a frozen turkey. In his video, Brown locations a reasonable aquarium pump in a small journey cooler, alongside together with his frozen hen, and fills the entire thing with water. He then activates the pump to flow into water, closes the cooler, and his hen is thawed in two hours. That’s spectacular contemplating it might take 12 hours or extra to thaw within the fridge, however does the identical method work for turkeys?

The Science Behind the Hack
“Alton Brown’s methodology for rapidly defrosting a hen is intelligent,” says Jessica Gavin, an authorized meals and culinary scientist. “It makes use of water circulation to hurry up thawing. Scientifically, it really works by way of convection, or the motion of water molecules, which transfers warmth far more effectively than nonetheless air and helps the poultry thaw evenly.”

You may truly get an identical impact with smaller packages of meat, like shrimp or hen breasts, by inserting them in a bowl in your sink and letting the tap drip chilly water into the bowl. Only a small drip of water will flow into, and the shrimp can thaw in about an hour, whereas the hen breasts could take nearer to 2 hours.

However an entire turkey is huge in comparison with shrimp, hen breasts and even an entire hen. It appeared to me like Brown’s methodology could be finest for smaller packages of meat, however I needed to see if it might work on my turkey.

Testing the Hack with Frozen Turkey
I picked up an aquarium pump at an area pet retailer and grabbed a 17-pound frozen turkey from the grocery retailer. I used my massive Coleman hard-sided cooler to carry the turkey. I stuffed it with water from a backyard hose, added the pump and positioned the entire thing in my shed. The turkey needed to drift to the highest, so I closed the lid and put a small weight on prime, which did the job simply effective (plus it stored water from forking out and making a large number).

It must be famous that the air temperature right here in Vermont was fairly chilly, simply above freezing. Regardless of the chilly ambient air, the water temperature reached 44°F after a few hours. I added sufficient ice to decrease the temperature and had to take action a number of instances all through the check.

“The hot button is to maintain the water under 40°F (4°C) to remain out of the bacterial ‘hazard zone,’” Gavin explains. “As soon as the floor of the turkey rises above that time, micro organism like Salmonella can multiply rapidly. Should you attempt Alton’s method, use a digital thermometer to observe the temperature, and maintain the turkey sealed in its authentic packaging to forestall cross-contamination.”

My Tackle This Hack
The excellent news is the turkey thawed comparatively rapidly, however it nonetheless took about 6.5 hours. So, sure, you should use this hack to thaw your turkey, however I can’t truly suggest it over fridge thawing. It requires a good quantity of planning forward, guaranteeing you will have a cooler or container massive sufficient to carry the turkey and, after all, an aquarium pump. However even in case you have all these issues, it nonetheless has its challenges.

My greatest frustration with this methodology was the necessity to add ice to the container to drop the water temperature. Each half-hour or so, I needed to go examine the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. And including all that ice elevated the quantity of liquid within the cooler, so I needed to drain off water periodically (fortunately, the cooler has a spout on the backside for simply this goal). Plus, on the finish of the check, I spent a good period of time disinfecting the cooler and the pump.

This is a wonderful hack for complete chickens and smaller parts of meat and seafood, however I felt it took an excessive amount of babysitting for a turkey. Having stated that, if you happen to occur to have forgotten to thaw your hen forward of time, and you’ve got the house and tools, you need to completely use this methodology to (comparatively) rapidly and safely thaw your turkey. Simply remember that it’ll take a minimum of six hours and wishes some common consideration.

“You’ll want to sanitize the cooler or tank earlier than and after use,” Gavin says. “When you have time to plan forward, the standard fridge thawing methodology stays the most secure and most constant possibility.”

The Backside Line
Forgetting to thaw a frozen turkey earlier than Thanksgiving can really throw off the massive meal. It will probably take almost per week to soundly thaw a big hen within the fridge, which is why cold-water thawing is so interesting—it may well take about half-hour per pound. And utilizing Brown’s methodology of including an aquarium pump to flow into the water, including a component of convection, is a intelligent option to thaw the turkey rapidly.

Nevertheless, it has some critical disadvantages. You’ll want a big container to carry the hen, house to maintain it and the power so as to add ice and take away extra water to maintain the water at a continuing 40°F and stop the unfold of dangerous micro organism. Nonetheless, as long as you realize what you might be getting your self into, it’s a a lot quicker option to thaw a turkey than the fridge and safer than merely leaving the hen in a giant container of water, which could be harmful. I like to recommend planning forward as an alternative to thaw your hen safely within the fridge—and saving Brown’s hack for complete chickens and smaller packages of meat.



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