Monday October 10 is Canadian Thanksgiving Day. While we are always grateful for what we have, sometimes we have to wonder if the turkey has a mind of it’s own. Over the years various mishaps have occurred, our oven has blown out, and we had to transport the half cooked turkey up 3 flights of stairs to a friends apartment. And once after 6 1/2 hours in the oven, the bird had to be hacked apart and cooked piece by piece. Each year we start the defrost cycle a day earlier, but our bird still remains stubbornly frozen.
Day 1: Wrench back trying to get perfect sized turkey out of wall cooler at grocery store. Ignore signs of accumulated frost making it look more like a snowman then a turkey. Ask gum popping cashier at check stand if she thinks it might be frostbite. After she removes her ear buds and cracks gum one final time, she cocks her head, and muses. “Huh” she asks. Decide to go ahead anyways.
Day 2: Calculate time needed to defrost turkey in fridge, recalculate, worry, and wonder if you used pounds instead of kilograms would it be any quicker, think about emailing newspaper and telling them that they are wrong about how long it really takes, since your calculations say it takes 10 days. And your turkey is under size. Push back despair, and recall that millions of people all over the world are able to pull together a Thanksgiving dinner without worry and effort. You just happen to be the millionth and unlucky one.
Day 3: Stop poking turkey in plastic wrapping to see if it is defrosting after Husband comments that you are spending more time looking in the fridge then a teenager. Relocate every other unneeded food item in fridge so turkey can have prime real estate in your now too small fridge. Who needs cream for morning coffee anyways.
Day 4: Realize that you will be poking turkey till the cows come home. And it’s still frozen solid. Great, you have the only fridge in the world that keeps food frozen - without a freezer.
Day 5: Consider serving turkey burgers instead.
Day 6: Wake up at midnight, 2 am, and 4 am to secretly poke turkey to see if it is defrosted. Nope, still frozen solid. Read online turkey day horror stories to see if anyone else has this problem. Wonder if they are true. They can’t be, right?
Day 7: Rejoice, turkey gave way slightly when poked. Come to conclusion that it just moved in tray. Give up and prepare frozen turkey for oven. Guests don’t need to eat at dinner time, after all it’s trendy to eat late at night.
Midnight, pull finally cooked, and perfect turkey out of oven. Yes it’s a late night dinner, but guest are understanding. After all, who hasn’t had turkey day trauma.
Day 8: Vow to start defrosting turkey 2 weeks before turkey day. Forget to mark calendar, and repeat.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
That's why I buy a fresh turkey, then I only have to panic about remembering to order it and then timing the pick up from the butcher to beat the rush.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Well, I shouldn't admit it here, but I have spent many a day before Thanksgiving, filled the laundry sink up with water and putting the wrapped turkey in, to speed thaw...it usually works.
ReplyDeleteHey Jen ~ Happy Thanksgiving ~ hey..what's wrong with eating the pumpkin pie first anyway? :)
ReplyDeleteI sure hope your day is a happy one!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of freezers do you all have up there anyway??? YIKES! Wishing you Thanksgiving Blessings (and wonderful turkey leftovers....) Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin
ReplyDeleteI always buy fresh now but the best way to defrost a turkey is in a big picnic cooler.
ReplyDeletePut the frozen turkey, still in its plastic wrapper, in the cooler and cover with cold water.
Close lid.
Your turkey will thaw beautifully and safely because the frozen bird will keep the water chilled just like a fridge but the water seems to help defrost the bird.
Check it several times to make sure it hasn't thawed completely because then it would need to go into the fridge.
.....or like I said....buy fresh.
hey I say if you have company ...they are probably so happy to be invited over...12 isn't that late!
ReplyDeleteI woulda waited for your midnight dinner! Perhaps you should just go out for dinner:)
ReplyDeleteI've had my turkey dinner nightmares, too. I finally found that the fastest and best way to thaw a turkey is to submerge it in cold water. Works really well.
ReplyDeleteAren't we glad that we roast turkey only once a year? Yes, I know that to safely defrost the turkey, it must be defrosted in the fridge to keep it from spoiling; however, we have defrosted ours in a sink of cold water over night. Or, while they are more expensive, but hopefully better, I order fresh birds for the market so that I don't have to through the stress of defrosting or worrying that my turkey doesn't spoil. happy thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteOMG LOL Jen! I love love the way you told that story. Pardon my australian ignorance, but is there a reason why you have to eat Turkey on thanksgiving? I don't even cook a chicken, let alone a turkey. That's why supermarket delicatessans were invented. You pre-order your 'bird' and tell them what time you will be there to collect it! Jane x
ReplyDeletePS. thanks for following me too. i feel happy to have crossed paths with you.
Smiling over this post, Jen. I only do turkey once a year for this very reason...TOO MUCH STRESSSSS!
ReplyDeleteI agree so much stress when we want to be thankful and peaceful for a day...sigh...maybe its time for a fresh turkey?? Happy Thanksgiving!!
ReplyDelete