Buying and Cooking a Frozen Whole Turkey Bird

Christmas Ordering Choice of Frozen Turkey Whole Birds for Roasting

Nov 1, 2008 Susan Morris

Cooking a traditional roast turkey with herb or nut stuffing, rich meaty gravy and roasted vegetables can be central to Christmas. Here's how to buy and cook turkey.

Good health and food safety guidelines try to prevent some old-style ways of roasting a Christmas turkey. Cooks have been warned against the habit of starting to cook the turkey on Christmas Eve on a low heat so that a roasted turkey aroma greets family and friends on Christmas morning. Before a whole turkey bird is prepared for roasting in the oven on Christmas day, cooks need to order their turkey ready for Christmas.

Buying a Frozen Whole Turkey Bird For Christmas

Frozen turkey can be bought from supermarkets and freezer stores practically all the months of the year. Availability will become scarce as the days near Christmas Day although expect a steady flow of whole turkey birds available in early December.

Cooks may decide to buy a frozen whole turkey bird for the convenience of knowing that they have bought a turkey as the key ingredient to their cooking on Christmas Day and / or because frozen whole turkey birds can be bought at a competitive cost.

Frozen whole turkey birds for Christmas will be available online, in supermarkets and in freezer stores at different prices depending on overall weight, organic and free range credentials and the type of freezing procedures used.

The main types of frozen whole turkey bird available for Christmas ordering are:

• Frozen free range and organic whole turkey, birds which are air frozen by a quick freeze process that does not involve adding water.
• Air frozen standard whole turkey, birds which are quickly frozen without adding water.
• Frozen standard whole turkey, birds which are fully immersed in salt water and frozen in their packaging.
• Frozen ready basted whole turkey, birds which are prepared to have moistened meat using herb butter, oil or stock ready for roasting and frozen in fresh water.

Defrosting a Frozen Whole Turkey Bird before Cooking for Christmas Day

Buying a frozen whole turkey bird for Christmas needs to allow enough time for defrosting thoroughly before cooking. Cooks should allow plenty of time for defrosting a frozen whole turkey bird and follow the instructions on the wrapper of the individual whole turkey bought from a supermarket, freezer store or online supplier.

Defrosting a frozen whole turkey bird is the first step in preparing a roast turkey for cooking at Christmas. Giving the size of many frozen whole turkeys bought for cooking at Christmas, defrosting may take anywhere from 16 hours to 48 hours.

Food safety experts recommend that a frozen whole turkey is left to defrost gradually at room temperature or if time allows in a refrigerator. Defrost settings on ovens and microwave ovens are not recommended by food safety experts for defrosting a frozen whole turkey bird.

Instructions, usually printed on the outside of the turkey wrapping, for cooking the frozen Christmas turkey bird should be strictly followed to prevent cases of food poisoning from undercooked turkey at Christmas meals.

The copyright of the article Buying and Cooking a Frozen Whole Turkey Bird in Seasonal Cooking is owned by Susan Morris. Permission to republish Buying and Cooking a Frozen Whole Turkey Bird in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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