Yes, you can safely cook a frozen turkey in the oven, but it requires more time (about 50% longer) and you must cook it at a moderate temperature (325°F) to ensure the inside cooks thoroughly without burning the outside, using a meat thermometer to reach 165°F internally. You cannot grill, deep-fry, or smoke a frozen turkey, and it's safer to cook from frozen than risk cross-contamination from thawing.
While roughly five hours is a reasonable estimate for cooking a turkey from frozen, it's not a guarantee, and you don't want to be stuck with an underdone bird when it's time to eat. It's much better to give yourself an extra hour or two, or even longer if you're cooking a very large bird of around 15 or 16 pounds.
Yes, if you don't want to run the risk of salmonella poisoning. You should always defrost anything before you cook it (unless it is a prepared meal which specifically states that it can/should be cooked from frozen) and poultry is notorious for harbouring salmonella bacteria and other nasties.
Cook it from the frozen state (NOTE: don't use an oven bag). A frozen turkey will take at least 50% longer to cook than a thawed turkey. It may be tough to get the giblets out, but you can pull out the packet with tongs once the turkey has been baking for 20 to 30 minutes.
“Actually, from a food safety standpoint it's safer to cook the turkey when it's still frozen. A frozen turkey will not spread raw juices around the kitchen, will not waste water as you try to thaw it and will produce an excellent and juicy cooked product.”
Don't leave a turkey out to thaw overnight. It exposes the meat to the “danger zone” (40 °F to 140 °F) where bacteria can multiply rapidly.
You should not thaw OVEN READY™ turkey because it comes wrapped in a cooking bag that allows it to go directly from freezer to oven. If you happen to thaw an OVEN READY™ turkey it is still safe to cook. Turkey is done cooking when your meat thermometer reaches 165°F in the breast and 180°F in the thigh.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says meat is safe to cook without thawing and that it will “take approximately 50% longer than the recommended time for fully thawed or fresh meat and poultry.”
Cold water thawing
One way is to submerge the turkey in cold water. To do this, leave the turkey in the original package and put it in a properly sanitized sink or container full of cold water under 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the timer for 30 minutes. Next, change the water, replacing it with cold water.
If you want to make it even faster, change the water every 30–45 minutes — not for safety, but because the water warms up and a thaw slows down in warm water.
Believe it or not, the process of cooking a frozen turkey is incredibly simple. Remove the wrapping and place your completely frozen turkey breast side up on a roasting pan. Cook on the middle or bottom rack of the oven at 325 degrees. The turkey will take longer to cook (at least 50% longer than thawed).
While cooking at 325°F for a slightly longer period will produce a more tender product, cooking at 350°F will yield a more flavorful bird. If you're smoking the turkey, 325°F is ideal for imparting great flavor while still cooking the bird to a safe temperature in good time.”
Brush skin with vegetable oil to prevent drying. Do not cover or add water. Use of foil or shiny pan can lengthen your cook time from suggested cook times above. Loosely cover the turkey with aluminum foil during last half hour to prevent skin from becoming too dark, if desired.
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The size of your turkey will affect how long it takes to defrost completely, but, as a rough guide, allow about 24hrs for every 2kg of turkey. Most of our turkey recipes call for a 5-6kg turkey, which will take about three full days to defrost in the fridge.
Frozen food, which starts at 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C), will take too long to come up to temperature in the low-heat slow cooker, so frozen meat will sit in the danger zone for bacteria growth for far too long to be considered safe.
Defrost in cold water
Ensure your food is well wrapped and completely sealed – a plastic bag is great – with as little air inside as possible, then place in a sink, or large bowl and submerge in plenty of very cold tap water. Drain every 20 minutes and refill with more cold water.
There's no need for alarm. Our tests proved that you can skip the thawing step altogether and cook the meat directly from the freezer. The steak will turn out juicy, tender, and delicious. Not only that, it will taste even better than a frozen steak you took the time to thaw first.
“Don't leave your turkey out overnight to thaw, and don't leave it on the counter for hours,” Shumaker says. “Thawing the bird at room temperature means the outside of the turkey will get much warmer than the inside of the turkey, which allows microbes to reproduce rapidly.
Defrost food slowly and safely in the fridge or thoroughly in a microwave on the defrost setting. Don't defrost at room temperature. Make sure food has been fully defrosted, as partially defrosted food may not cook evenly. This means that harmful bacteria could survive the cooking process.
Turkey Tips
Refrigerator thawing is preferred and the least labor-intensive but requires more time. Cold water thawing takes less time but requires more attention.
Even though the center of the package may still be frozen, the outer layer of the food is in the "Danger Zone" between 40 and 140 °F — at a temperature where foodborne bacteria multiply rapidly. There are three safe ways to thaw food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave oven.
If your turkey is only partially frozen, remember that it will take a bit longer to cook. Use your food thermometer, and when your bird measures 165˚F in the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing and the thickest part of the breast, it is ready.
Thawing in Cold Water:
Wrap your turkey securely, making sure water is not able to leak through the wrapping. Submerge the wrapped turkey in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook the turkey immediately after it is thawed.