cooking a turkey from frozen?

[prairiewindmomma]

Has anyone done this successfully?  I'm supposed to pull my turkey out to thaw tomorrow morning, but my fridge is full. Normally I would have an empty fridge, but 2020, grocery store craziness, etc. and we are shopping only every 1-2 weeks now. 

Can this be done? I'm totally willing to get up at 3:00 am to stick the bird in and cook it low and slow for hours....but if it can't be done, then I need to convince my teen boys to do their best to eat all of the things in the next 18 hours. 🙂

[Forget-Me-Not]

No, I don't think you can't cook a turkey frozen.  

I put mine in a big stockpot or bucket full of cold water about 36-48 hours before (depending on size).  I keep it in a bathtub so it's easy to change the water frequently.  Then I brine for about 12 hours before baking.  That way I don't have a huge turkey taking up space in my fridge all week.  

https://www.butterball.com/how-to/thaw-a-turkey

Edited November 21, 2020 by Forget-Me-Not

[forty-two]

Never cooked a turkey frozen, but we have defrosted in the sink in water the morning of cooking day.  Usually takes 4 hours or so - makes a big difference to pull out the innards as soon as its defrosted enough to pry them loose, goes a lot faster at that point; we also switch out the water occasionally.  Many years we do a combination of fridge defrosting and sink defrosting, if we don't get it into the fridge in time for it to defrost fully - just finish up defrosting in the sink in the morning before cooking.  So if you take 2-3 days to clear space, you can still get it partly defrosted in the fridge and then finish it up in the sink - every little bit of fridge defrosting helps.

Edited November 21, 2020 by forty-two

[cjzimmer1]

I've always heard you shouldn't cook it from frozen but I don't have any scientific data for that.  Depending on your risk level, I would wait another day or two and on Sunday stick it in a tub of water overnight and then in the Fridge on Monday (I'm assuming you will have a better handle on fridge space by then) or pull it out lay it on the counter on Monday and then in the fridge Monday night.  Either way check it Tuesday night and see how thawed it is.  Stick it  water on Wednesday if more thawing needed.  

[marbel]

I was aghast at the idea of cooking a frozen turkey but a quick google brought up several results. I think this site is reliable as far as cooking advice, and says yes, you can do it: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-a-completely-frozen-turkey-for-thanksgiving-225796

ETA: The Mayo Clinic says yes:  https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/thanksgiving-turkey/faq-20058301

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by marbel

[J-rap]

I've never cooked a turkey (my mother always did!), and still won't this year (I have an already fully-cooked turkey roulade.)  BUT, I remember my mother always taking it out of the freezer several days ahead of time.  

However, because we live in a very cold climate, she was able to put it in on a table in the garage.  Would you be able to do that?