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Ok lets be honest here, who hasn't run some hot/ warm water over the turkey to speed up the thawing and then thrown it back in the fridge(in this case bird was in fridge for a day, still frozen so it had warm water running over it for about an hour then back in fridge- its a small 11 lb bird)....
My question is now that I have done that, should I salt the bird to cut down on the bacteria before I cook it thursday am (its supposed to sit uncovered to dry out the skin for optimal crispness, right?)
(My ex used to just sit the bird out on the counter for 20 hours and then just roast and baste it- I have never had food poisoning on thanksgiving that I remember, and its been quite a few)....
Last edited by CAjerseychick; 11-22-2017 at 03:11 AM..
Reason: more info
Done both ways and I am still alive
Never had food poisening.
I would season the bird as soon the skin was soft enough to absorb the seasoning - not to prevent food poisening, but to prepare it for roasting.
Yes, rub inside and out with salt, let sit, rinse ...I do this with every chicken, too...learned
it from kosher Jews.
I'm going to say, no, I would never run hot/warm water. Sorry, I have had food poisoning 4 times
and it just is not worth it. The temp of the poultry must be cold...it is shocking to me
how fast one can thaw in a tub of cold water...I did it once just to see what this was all about.
I'm glad people have run hot water and didn't get sick ...for me I wouldn't risk it and I listen to the professionals that really know. 20 min at the wrong temp and bacteria grow.
I never got sick either eating stuffing from inside the bird and having leftovers from the inside. But people have.
I would never chance it now cuz, one mistake 'isn't worth it'.
Ugh, the thought of my different poisonings that were all reported to the Health Dept to save others.
(They get back to you in exactly 2 weeks to tell you what it was and that sure enuf their
procedure's were off and are now corrected...one was clam chowder..one time eggs in Huevos Rancheros.)
Danger zone is 40*-140*. can be in that zone but no longer than 4 hours... then that is when the risk is.
Just salt as you normally would.
I usually thaw all my meat out in cold water and never in fridge. I've had burger meat in water over night, no problems. But it was cold water and in a cool place.
Ok lets be honest here, who hasn't run some hot/ warm water over the turkey to speed up the thawing and then thrown it back in the fridge(in this case bird was in fridge for a day, still frozen so it had warm water running over it for about an hour then back in fridge- its a small 11 lb bird)....<>
Hmmm. rule of thumb is 1 hour per pound? Never wash a turkey or a chicken, that just spreads the bacteria around the kitchen and you have to cleanup with bleach. The oven will kill any germs on or in the bird.
Rachael Ray had a great lesson on turkey yesterday, maybe it's on her website?
Come to think of it, so did Rick Steves. https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/turkey
My work gives me a 15-20lb frozen turkey today (the day before thanksgiving) around 5pm. It'd be nice if they gave it to us a few days sooner.
We would get ours on the Tuesday before. That was still too late to use for the holiday.
I would toss it in my trunk and take it to my MIL and slip it into her freezer and let her find it. Eventually, she caught me red handed. The year that I was in charge of it, they were distributed on Friday with the prior week's paycheck.
NEVER use hot water! Cold water thaws fast, and won't allow bacteria to grow..turkeys are famous for salmonella and other illness inducing things....you don't want to give a head start to the growth of something that will make everyone ill.
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...for me I wouldn't risk it and I listen to the professionals that really know. 20 min at the wrong temp and bacteria grow. 
