Chattooga County Extension Agent Rebecca Thomas says that one of the most-asked questions at her office this time of year is how to safely, thaw, prepare and cook a Thanksgiving turkey.

It’s a good idea to go ahead and get your Thanksgiving turkey and store it in the freezer ahead of time, but you need to make sure that you properly thaw that turkey in order to have it ready to cook on Thanksgiving.

Our local Extension Agent says that if you have a frozen turkey, today is the day you will want to begin thawing that turkey in the refrigerator.  For every five pounds of frozen turkey, you want to allow 24 hours for the bird to thaw in the fridge.  So, if you have a 15-pound turkey, you need two to three days to safely thaw the turkey.

You can thaw a turkey in a microwave, and you can follow the thawing instructions for your particular microwave – however, if you do thaw your turkey in the microwave, you need to cook it immediately after thawing.

A few other turkey preparation tips:

• A partially frozen turkey will take longer to cook in the oven
• A turkey cooks faster in a dark roasting pan
• Using a foil “tent” slows the cooking process
• Putting a lid on a roasting pan speeds up cooking
• A “oven bag” speeds up cooking even more

Remember, the turkey is safe to eat when all of the meat reaches a temperature of at least 165 degrees but many people prefer the meat to reach a temperature between 175 and 180 degrees.