All frozen poultry must be completely thawed as slowly as possible before cooking.
Leave the frozen bird in its plastic wrapper slit open and set in a cool place on an upturned plate, so that the bird doesn’t sit in a pool of liquid as it thaws.
Make sure you allow plenty of time by starting the thawing well in advance. The size of the bird will make a difference to the time needed:
Bird and oven-ready weight time;
chicken or duck up to 5 lb (2.3kg) 24 hours
turkey or goose up to 8 lb (3.6kg) 36 hours
turkey 9-12 lb (4.1-5.4kg) 48 hours
turkey 13-20 lb (5.9-9.1kg) 2-3 days
If you’re in a rush and faced with a bird that is still frozen, don’t dunk it in hot water; instead submerge the bird in cold water for a while.
As soon as the bird is pliable, remove giblets from the body cavity to speed up thawing.
It is essential that the interior is defrosted if you are going to stuff the bird. Frozen poultry is properly thawed when there arc no ice crystals in the body cavity and the legs are flexible. Once poultry is thawed it is very perishable and should be cooked as soon as possible.