I have a confession to make. I have never cooked Thanksgiving dinner... ever. I've never had to, especially with two families clamoring for our time.
How funny is it that I had to move the England (which is hello, the country the pilgrims were escaping from in first place) in order to prepare my very first Thanksgiving?
As with most ridiculously complicated endeavors, I've been looking forward to the challenge, but putting off the planning.
Honestly, I have an excuse. It's not like I don't have things like deportation and unemployment on the brain. With less than a week to go to "T Day", I finally had to say, "Uncertainty be damned, I'm going to learn how to cook a turkey".
Step one: Find one.
I went to my local grocery store and was told they were out of fresh turkeys. In fact, all delivery of fresh turkeys has been SUSPENDED at our local grocery store until after December 1.
I have a feeling I know who's hoarding the world's turkey supply... UH-MER-ICA.
Undaunted I eventually tracked down a frozen turkey and had the store hold it for me, as I have no where to store it in the meantime.
My British fridge fits about four apples and a quart of milk (skimmed), and my freezer is the size of a crisper... drawer. Just one.
I thought I'd just come by for the turkey sometime next week and defrost it on the counter, except... wait! today I learned that that's WRONG!
Seriously?
Where am I supposed to thaw this thing? (See above reference to British fridge... not hyperbole)
What do you think? If if were to...say defrost my bird on the counter top anyway for lack of options, am I going to kill my family like the Internet says I will?
Seriously?
Where am I supposed to thaw this thing? (See above reference to British fridge... not hyperbole)
What do you think? If if were to...say defrost my bird on the counter top anyway for lack of options, am I going to kill my family like the Internet says I will?
6 comments:
I do not know if leaving on the counter to defrost will kill your family or not. Though it does take an awfully long time to defrost and I can see how germs may be an issue. Since the miniature fridge is not an option, how about an ice chest? The ice (and water) would keep it at a good cold temperature while it defrosts. That is assuming you can even find a reasonable size ice chest in London.
Good luck!
isn't there a way to defrost it by running cold water into it? i know that might not be the MOST economical way to do it...but it's better than a weekend of serious food poisoning! yikes! or maybe some of your new british mums have some fridge space they'd lend you? haha - that's a weird request, but it's better than a weekend of serious food poisoning!!!
=)
I have thawed it partially on the counter and no one got sick. The cooler is a great idea. Also a bucket that has ice in it will work too. I brine my turkey that way.
I swear I've heard of putting said turkey in the sink, filling it with cold water around it and every so often changing the water. *shrug* I'm not sure. This is only going to be my second go at a turkey. Good luck. :)
no you can definitely thaw it on the counter. and wow you guys are still surviving with that itty bitty fridge? i would have gone mad by now!
My first Thanksgiving in England, I said pooh pooh to the frozen birds and insisted on the butcher selling me a fresh one. The smallest they had was a twentypounder. I seem to remember feathers as well, but that could be my imagination. Oh--and it was also my first Thanksgiving that I'd cooked in my life. So what did I know about roasting times and the testing of birds. One didn't want to carve too deep!
Post a Comment