frozen turkey - would you do this?

[Dulce Domem]

My husband has his heart set on frying a turkey.  However, he bought a 22 pound frozen turkey, which will not work for frying (way too big).  He had started defrosting it in the fridge on Sunday.  It is barely defrosted on the outside.

 

I am headed to the store to buy a much smaller turkey to fry.  Would it be safe to toss the huge turkey back in the freezer until later (Christmas?).  It's definitely not defrosted yet, but just barely soft to the touch (although obviously still frozen rock hard for most of it).  Or am I stuck with cooking two turkeys this weekend?

 

What would you do?

[kiana]

It'll degrade the quality of the meat but it won't be dangerous. 

 

http://food.unl.edu/it-safe-refreeze-raw-meat-and-poultry-has-thawed

[SparklyUnicorn]

It is generally not recommended, but I'd do it and not bat a lash.

 

 

[shawthorne44]

Can't you chop it up into smaller pieces.  Will also defrost faster.  

[Bluegoat]

You really need to read (or listen to) the story, Dave Cooks the Christmas Turkey.  There are free audio versions on the internet, but where you are depends on what you can listen to, so I won't try to link it.

 

 

[carriede]

Personally, I would pop it back in the freezer without even thinking about it. But I'm no expert.

[sarasue7272]

Is your turkey fryer not very big? I was told to get the biggest I could up to 24lbs. My fil fries it though.

I would be fine sticking it back in the freezer. Fil defrosted the turkey today in warm water. We are feasting tomorrow. It is very important that the turkey is completely defrosted before you fry it!

[Katy]

I wouldn't.  But my mom drilled into me that if meat thaws out it must be cooked before being frozen again.  And this is a woman who defrosted things by leaving them out on the counter all day or even overnight.  I've never looked into the science of it.

[Word Nerd]

Just put it back in the freezer. It's a myth that you shouldn't refreeze food that has been thawed in a refrigerator. (That wouldn't be the case for food thawed at room temperature, which isn't a safe practice itself.)

 

From the USDA FSIS:

Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I'd put it back in the freezer but expect some freezer burn. 

[TammyS]

I'd throw that sucker in the freezer in a heartbeat (maaayyyybe you will lose a little quality on the thawed outer edge, but I doubt it).

 

If you really can't stomach that idea, then go ahead and cook it, then butcher the cooked meat for the freezer, in whatever sizes make sense for you (I would do a pack with drum sticks and wings, 1 pack each with a whole breast, and another pack with "bits" of meat that are ready to go in soup).  Then you'll have prepared meat in the freezer for when you get busy.