Cooler Turkey Thaw?

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EyeBurnEverything

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Anyone ever try Alton Browns frozen turkey cooler thaw method? I can't seem to find a phone video he made where he was traveling for thanksgiving and had to make due with a frozen turkey and a cooler/container. He basicly took a frozen turkey, unwrapped it, threw it into a container with water/brine and said to leave it go at room temp for 24 hours. Basicly saying that the frozen turkey acts like a big ice cube keeping the water below the danger zone. It kinda makes sense, but i just tried it with a 22lb frozen turkey, 3 gallons of cold water salt brine, and the surface temp with the cooler lid closed is 53F. I am starting to worry this method is bunk.

Thoughts?
And if you can find the video im referring to please post a link so i can reference it.
 
I have thawed turkeys out in a cooler filled with water.
Never Salt Water though,
I place the turkey in a roasting bag, toss in cooler and add water.
Water temp always hangs in the 36F range.
 
JDM46 said:
I have thawed turkeys out in a cooler filled with water.
Never Salt Water though,
I place the turkey in a roasting bag, toss in cooler and add water.
Water temp always hangs in the 36F range.
Click to expand...

Well, i believe Alton Browns video suggested adding salt to thaw and brine at the same time. He is a firm believer (as i am) that brining should be used in all poultry. Anyway, i doubt salt would have a negative effect of temp. I am thinking its the 3 gallons it took to submerge this 22lb frozen bird. But i am confused because his recipe for even smaller birds call for 2 gallons. 1 gallon of a boiled brine and 1 gallon of ice to chill it. The water out of my tap is very cold so after 45 min with a frozen turkey, i thought the water would be below 40F.
 
Going to transfer to a 5 gallon bucket and keep in the fridge. Alton really let me down on this. I am so glad i decided to thaw early and not wait 24 hour in advance.
 
EyeBurnEverything said:
Well, i believe Alton Browns video suggested adding salt to thaw and brine at the same time. He is a firm believer (as i am) that brining should be used in all poultry. Anyway, i doubt salt would have a negative effect of temp. I am thinking its the 3 gallons it took to submerge this 22lb frozen bird. But i am confused because his recipe for even smaller birds call for 2 gallons. 1 gallon of a boiled brine and 1 gallon of ice to chill it. The water out of my tap is very cold so after 45 min with a frozen turkey, i thought the water would be below 40F.
Click to expand...

Just saying how I do it. Evidently the Alton Brown method didn't work that well for you. Just saying

Fresh water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit but seawater freezes at about 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit , because of the salt in it. When seawater freezes, however, the ice contains very little salt because only the water part freezes. It can be melted down to use as drinking water.Aug 1, 2018
 
Last edited:
JDM46 said:
Just saying how I do it. Evidently the Alton Brown method didn't work that well for you. Just saying

Fresh water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit but seawater freezes at about 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit , because of the salt in it. When seawater freezes, however, the ice contains very little salt because only the water part freezes. It can be melted down to use as drinking water.Aug 1, 2018
Click to expand...

Hmm... I didn't want to get scientific, but i used 3 gallons of water, 1 and 1/2 cups of kosher salt. I didn't get the metric weight, and i would if i had enough kosher salt but i used it all.
 
EyeBurnEverything said:
Going to transfer to a 5 gallon bucket and keep in the fridge. Alton really let me down on this. I am so glad i decided to thaw early and not wait 24 hour in advance.
Click to expand...

thawing in water is the way to do it last minute. thawing days in advance the fridge is best.

if possible I prefer the fastest freeze and the slowest thaw to minimize damage and risk
 
smoke ninja said:
thawing in water is the way to do it last minute. thawing days in advance the fridge is best.

if possible I prefer the fastest freeze and the slowest thaw to minimize damage and risk
Click to expand...

Issue here is i am not some spring chicken when it comes to thawing meats. I have thawed turkeys in a brine in the fridge for years. I just never tried in a cooler. It goes without saying, i wont try again. Alton, go F yourself.
 
Back before I realized brining wasn't for me, I brined turkeys in a cooler with ice on top of the solution. Temp never went up to 36 deg so long as there was ice in the cooler. A frozen turkey should have kept things colder. I'd check your thermometer.
 
dadsr4 said:
Back before I realized brining wasn't for me, I brined turkeys in a cooler with ice on top of the solution. Temp never went up to 36 deg so long as there was ice in the cooler. A frozen turkey should have kept things colder. I'd check your thermometer.
Click to expand...

that or not enough time was given to let temps equalize

in theory same should go for a frozen bird as the ice. as long as there is something frozen in the pool temps can only get so high.

maybe something as simple as stirring the water would have helped. I think she just panicked. Alton Brown is a pretty credible reference.
 
Dumped a bunch of ice into the cooler.
turkey.jpg
 
Slightly off OP's topic, but, seeing the pic above; using a standard, rectangle cooler will require a lot more liquid to keep the bird submerged. If you use one of the cylindrical insulated water coolers, like the one from Home Depot (you see them on the back of utility trucks quite often) you can keep your bird submerged with probably 1/2 the liquid.
 
I have 3 birds in a brine in the cooler right now. Started the thaw process yesterday. I do this every year and it works like a charm. But I never heard of it taking 24 hours. I have always gone with a day for every 2-3 lbs per bird. My birds range in weight from 14-18 lbs and on Wednesday will take them out, check to see the progress, and if needed make any adjustments to temperature.
Regardless of what you do, have a great and tasty turkey day!
 
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