Charlie Velasquez
11-24-2015, 8:27 PM
Help me out understand thawing a turkey.
Background: The USDA and the CDC both say when thawing a turkey and using the cold water method: to fully submerge the bird in cold tap water, then to change the water every thirty minutes till thawed. They suggest about 30 minutes per pound thawing time.
They further state there is a bacteria danger zone of 40*-140*F, and a critical time of 4 hrs at those temps, although any time at those temps should be avoided.
I understand that if a bird were to be left on the counter the outside would thaw first and room air, by nature of being a gas, would be more volatile wrt temperature and would allow the outside surface of the bird to reach temperatures almost to room temps before the inside could thaw. That is why they recommend refrigerators for defrosting. But cold water can speed the process.
Ok....Data:
room temp - 64; initial cold tap water temp -63; cold water temp after 2 minutes of flow -61; cwt after 5min flow= 57
Turkey (wt=13.2 pounds) initial surface temp =+2
I placed a small porcelain bowl in the bottom of a large pot sufficient to completely
submerge the bird.
I placed the bird in a plastic bag and removed as much of the air as possible before sealing.
I placed the bird in the pot, the porcelain bowl ensured there was always an inch or so of water between the bird and the container on the bottom. I wedged small plastic Glad containers on the sides of the bird to ensure a water layer between the bird and the sides of he pot.
I filled the pot with tap water at 57*.
After 30 minutes, the temp of the water was generally 44*, the temp of the pot adjacent to he water was 46*, the temp of the water closest to the bird was 42.
The outside temp of the bird was 28.
It seems to me this is the perfect scenario. The temps closest to the surface of the bird are cold, and this coldness is slowly being distributed to the outside air surface.
Why would I want to remove the 42* water and substitute 57* water? Especially if I did this as the temp of the surface of the bird got closer to the 40* threshold. It just seems it would more likely lead to warmer surface temps.
In fact, we are still thawing the bird and I did not change the water. I am monitoring the surface temps. Someone explain why I shouldn't be doing this.
Background: The USDA and the CDC both say when thawing a turkey and using the cold water method: to fully submerge the bird in cold tap water, then to change the water every thirty minutes till thawed. They suggest about 30 minutes per pound thawing time.
They further state there is a bacteria danger zone of 40*-140*F, and a critical time of 4 hrs at those temps, although any time at those temps should be avoided.
I understand that if a bird were to be left on the counter the outside would thaw first and room air, by nature of being a gas, would be more volatile wrt temperature and would allow the outside surface of the bird to reach temperatures almost to room temps before the inside could thaw. That is why they recommend refrigerators for defrosting. But cold water can speed the process.
Ok....Data:
room temp - 64; initial cold tap water temp -63; cold water temp after 2 minutes of flow -61; cwt after 5min flow= 57
Turkey (wt=13.2 pounds) initial surface temp =+2
I placed a small porcelain bowl in the bottom of a large pot sufficient to completely
submerge the bird.
I placed the bird in a plastic bag and removed as much of the air as possible before sealing.
I placed the bird in the pot, the porcelain bowl ensured there was always an inch or so of water between the bird and the container on the bottom. I wedged small plastic Glad containers on the sides of the bird to ensure a water layer between the bird and the sides of he pot.
I filled the pot with tap water at 57*.
After 30 minutes, the temp of the water was generally 44*, the temp of the pot adjacent to he water was 46*, the temp of the water closest to the bird was 42.
The outside temp of the bird was 28.
It seems to me this is the perfect scenario. The temps closest to the surface of the bird are cold, and this coldness is slowly being distributed to the outside air surface.
Why would I want to remove the 42* water and substitute 57* water? Especially if I did this as the temp of the surface of the bird got closer to the 40* threshold. It just seems it would more likely lead to warmer surface temps.
In fact, we are still thawing the bird and I did not change the water. I am monitoring the surface temps. Someone explain why I shouldn't be doing this.