Thanksgiving bird question.

[PickawayCountyFarmer]

How long before Thanksgiving can I butcher the turkey and safely store him in the refrigerator without freezing? I would like to butcher on Sunday but I am concerned that will be too long in the fridge before Thursday.

 

[MyPetNugget]

Turkeys in the store sit there for months. I wouldn't be too worried about it being in the freezer for 5 days.

 

[MyPetNugget]

And

 

[PickawayCountyFarmer]

I would perfer not to freeze the bird if possible.

 

[MyPetNugget]

You could maybe try to do it the day before thanksgiving. I don't know how long they can sit on the counter.

 

[PickawayCountyFarmer]

I planned on leaving it in the spare fridge to keep it chilled, just didn't want to freeze it.

 

[chicken pickin]

Doing it the weekend before thanksgiving is perfect. That is when most people process so they can have a fresh turkey. Doing it on Sun allows your bird 3 days to sit in the refrigerator to go through rigor and then you cook on the 4th day. I am processing my 5 turkeys this Sun also, customers pick up on Mon.
No freezing required .

 

[Arielle]

Doing it the weekend before thanksgiving is perfect. That is when most people process so they can have a fresh turkey. Doing it on Sun allows your bird 3 days to sit in the refrigerator to go through rigor and then you cook on the 4th day. I am processing my 5 turkeys this Sun also, customers pick up on Mon.
No freezing required .

I'm with Chicken Pickin on this one.

Fresh meat must be handled properly. No leaving out on the counter. Make good use of that extra refrigerator. If I had an extra'fridge it would be full. BOth my chest freezers are full.

Be sure to clean the bird before putting it into the 'fridge.