When to put a frozen bird in brine?
 

I know there are a ton of new questions this time of year. I'm tired of looking for the answer already, so I'm just going to ask. I have a 19lbs. bird in the fidge thawing for Fri. When should I put it in a brine solution? at the rate these things thaw I would be lucky to get it thawed all the way by fri morning just sitting in the fridge, so I was hoping the brining would help speed it up. Any suggestions. thanks.

Before going to bed put the bird still in the wrapper in a plastic bucket and sit the bucket in the bath tub or a laundry sink if you have one turn on the cold water in a very slow but steady stream. when you get up the bird will be thawed and ready to hit the brine on Thursday morning.

Agree with dawg. You could put the bird in a bucket and change the water every hour.

Soaking it in the brine solution will speed up the thawing process (you've probably already begun to see it thaw more rapidly).

I'd prefer to change the water every so often as opposed to have it soak in the same tub of water for 3-4 days.

Running water also helps with thawing. I've been known to use a couple of ice chests and a cheap ($10) fish aquarium pump to thaw a bird. I set the ice chest on some saw horses and let it drain into another ice chest that contains the pump. Wife likes this better than putting the bird in the bathtub :biggrin1: