Published on Double X (http://www.doublex.com)
Save Water, Defrost Your Turkey Now
The WSJ's Personal Journal recommended that "in a crunch" you should defrost meat—including a 15-pound turkey—under running water. "Figure about an hour per pound," wrote Shivani Vora. That's 1,800 gallons of water to save your Thanksgiving.
By: KJ Dell'Antonia
Posted: November 23, 2009 at 5:55 PM
The WSJ's Personal Journal recommended that "in a crunch" you should defrost meat—including a 15-pound turkey—under running water. "Figure about an hour per pound [1]," wrote Shivani Vora. That's 1,800 gallons of water to save your Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving screw-ups are the stuff of legend in most families. I've never cooked a turkey with the plastic baggie of neck and gizzards still inside or forgotten the defrosting process, but I once cooked up two pumpkin pies without any sugar (not something that whipped cream will cure). This year, I'm doing Thanksgiving with a close friend and her family, and we've already divided the meal according to our interests and abilities: I'm making the stuffing, and she's ordering the rest. There will be no un-defrosted turkeys in our house.
But if you're cooking, act now. Defrosting that 15 -pound turkey should take about three days, so clear some space in the fridge and either pick it up at the grocer (where it's probably in the deep-freeze) or pull it out of the freezer. Wait until Wednesday and you'll be pouring water down the drain. Got any Thanksgiving disaster stories to offer? Please share. And this year, in a crunch, order Chinese.
Links:
[1] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704224004574487693838679688.html