Thawing a frozen turkey (how, how long, when?)

[velveeta]

Purchased an 18 lb frozen turkey yesterday, Nov 19. I am thawing it in the bottom shelf of the spare fridge (kept very cold).

Is this too early for Thanksgiving (Nov 26)? It should thaw in less than 5 days, then it will sit in fridge for another 2 days before cooking.

I noticed there were many fresh turkeys in the grocery store that said sell by Dec 2. It seems to me that the frozen will stay fresher than a fresh that is allowed to sit around that long. I opted for a frozen for this reason, even though a fresh sounds better.

Is a quicker thaw in a tub of water better than the long refrigerator thaw?

Advice or comments on this subject? Am I in the right window or should I pop it back into the freezer for a few days?

[John Rosevear]

I think you're in the right window -- I have been planning on moving mine (a bit under 17 lb) from the freezer to the refrigerator tomorrow (edit: Saturday 21 November) morning.

Edited November 21, 2009 by John Rosevear (log)

[snowangel]

I had a 13+ pounder that took 5 days to thaw in my regular fridge (it was in the coldest part of the fridge, but that fridge is opened many, many times during the day), so I think you'll be just fine.