Defrosting the Bird

Defrosting turkey in the water method.

Defrosting turkey in the water method.

In 35 years of marriage, I have roasted at least some of 35 turkeys and probably 100 whole chickens. So with that said, I have defrosted most of them in either of three ways. The first way, is to take the bird out of the freezer, and place it in the refrigerator so it can defrost totally which typically takes a couple to several days, depending on the size of the bird. The other way is to take it out of the freezer and place it in a tub of cold water, which helps to keep it cold yet defrosts it at the same time. The water is changed often. The third way is to do a combo of both methods. Most times, I do the combo method. This particular story is about defrosting a chicken. I took the chicken out of the freezer, filled up a large pot of water and placed it in it to defrost for the recommended time. Then, I took it out and placed it in the refrigerator as I planned to stuff and roast it for dinner the next day. The next day came, and I unwrapped the chicken. I looked at it with a perplexing look, as it was an odd shape, which I mentioned to DH. Then I went to retrieve the neck and giblets bag out of the breast cavity. The darn thing was still frozen!  So I placed it back in the refrigerator and we went out for burgers. DH told me I planned it that way, so we could go out for dinner. Of course he was just teasing me, so the next day when it came time to prepare the chicken for the oven, I took it out again. And that chicken was still partially frozen! I could see and feel the giblets bag but couldn’t get it out. So, DH said to me, that I should let him try since his Dad had been a butcher originally, before going into poultry sales. DH couldn’t get it out either, so he went to the garage and got pliers and vice drips which he boiled to decontaminate them. Then I held the chicken and he pried it open and he was able to pull everything out. I changed my mind on stuffing it and decided to make a beer can chicken instead. Only then did I realize I had the chicken upside down the whole time. DH had pulled everything out through the neck hole. This story makes me laugh just writing about it. I’d like to say this happened when I was first married which would be a newlywed blunder, but no, it was a couple of years ago. I just do not know, what I was thinking? Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you all don’t have any kitchen antics!

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