Big goof on my end...I took my 13 pound bird out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator on Sunday night. Given that I plan on putting the bird in the brine on Tuesday night, it looks like I have not allowed enough time for the bird to thaw in the refrigerator.
So, a couple of questions...
(1) If I put the partially thawed bird in the brine on Tuesday night (planning on a 24 hr brine, followed by a 12 hour drying in the refrigerator), will the fact that the bird is only partially thawed prohibit the brine from working it's way throughout the meat ?
(2) If it is critical for the bird to be completely thawed prior to going in the brine, any tips for accelerating the thawing process (microwave, placing bird in cold water, etc.) ?
Originally posted by David H: Big goof on my end...I took my 13 pound bird out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator on Sunday night. Given that I plan on putting the bird in the brine on Tuesday night, it looks like I have not allowed enough time for the bird to thaw in the refrigerator.
So, a couple of questions...
(1) If I put the partially thawed bird in the brine on Tuesday night (planning on a 24 hr brine, followed by a 12 hour drying in the refrigerator), will the fact that the bird is only partially thawed prohibit the brine from working it's way throughout the meat ?
(2) If it is critical for the bird to be completely thawed prior to going in the brine, any tips for accelerating the thawing process (microwave, placing bird in cold water, etc.) ?
Thanks in advance for your help !!!
Place the bird in it's wrapper in a sink or bucket full of cold water. Change the water every thirty minutes for 2-3 hours. That should thaw the bird enough to where you can remove the neck and giblets. If the meat is still firm (partially frozen) don't worry about it, go ahead and brine. The main thing you want to do is have an empty cavity in the bird.
Larry Wolfe
Posts: 4095 | Location: Virginia | Registered: April 28, 2004
A little bit thawed is partially, and almost thawed is partially ... which end of it are you at?
If it's almost thawed just brine as you were planning, it'll be fine.
If it's closer to a little bit thawed or if you are worried it won't finish in time, give the bird about an hour or so in an ice water bath then return to the fridge today ... that will speed things up
It's not harmful to brine still frozen but if it's still frozen inside when you remove it from brine you haven't accomplished anything and meat that was thawed when it went into the brine will be more brined than meat that only became thawed the last hour of the brine.
