Why do you wait 3 - 5 days after you kill a turkey before you cook them?

[frank53061]

This is all great information I am having to work on Thanks Giving So my Boss can go to the LSU & ARK game so I will be off for Christmas for 4 days.
what I think I will do is come home Friday after work proses me a big ol Tom and let him rest in the Fridge till Christmas for Dinner so that should be a little over 3 days to rest.
I am hoping for the best this will be my first home grown Turkey Dinner.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Does anyone have links to any resources to share about this? I've been trying to get google to cough up some good information, but there is just SO much information out there about Thanksgiving Turkey stuff that is vague and starts with store-bought turkeys, I'm having a hard time finding good, scientific information about farm-raised, fresh turkeys. We have 5 BBB birds for Thanksgiving, and I really want them to be "fresh" (not frozen), handled properly, AND delicious.

I know great information exists here at this forum, but I have yet to master the search engine here. Usually I get links to stuff here by googling ... not this time.

Thanks!

 

[RobinZ]

I have a question. I am planning on doing a couple of turkeys next spring. One for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. After you process and rest them for a few days, how do you wrap them for freezing? I am used to the store turkeys being shrink wrapped. I don't have a shrink wrapper, lol.

 

[Scottingitup]

I have a question. I am planning on doing a couple of turkeys next spring. One for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. After you process and rest them for a few days, how do you wrap them for freezing? I am used to the store turkeys being shrink wrapped. I don't have a shrink wrapper, lol.

I don't usually freeze mine but I know you can buy shrink wrap bags that work with a hair dryer or such - they are a little pricey but probably worth it. ~$3 a piece I think.

 

[Celie]

Does anyone have links to any resources to share about this? I've been trying to get google to cough up some good information, but there is just SO much information out there about Thanksgiving Turkey stuff that is vague and starts with store-bought turkeys, I'm having a hard time finding good, scientific information about farm-raised, fresh turkeys. We have 5 BBB birds for Thanksgiving, and I really want them to be "fresh" (not frozen), handled properly, AND delicious.

I know great information exists here at this forum, but I have yet to master the search engine here. Usually I get links to stuff here by googling ... not this time.

Thanks!

Traditionally, Thanksgiving turkeys are processed the weekend before hanksgiving to give the bird time to test and brine.

 

[Celie]

Do you rest the birds in the fridge? Is 4 days long enough?

Yes, 4 days is plenty, but make you throually quickly chill the turkey to below 40 degrees F or bacteria can set in and spoil. Most refrigerators can not do this quick enough, so I put mine into an extreemly clean (washed with bleach and antibacterial soap and water and than rinced well) large ice chest with lots of salted ice water, to quick chill, to below 40 degrees ., before putting it into the frig. If you are processing several turkeys, work fast and immediately after each is finished, chill immediately. A large ice chest can accomidate several birds and keep the fridg free for the other foods, but you have to keep adding ice and never let the temp go over 40 degrees F. I freeze 2ltr. and gallon jugs with salted water for several weeks in my sub zero freezer set at -6degrees, to have pleanty ice on hand when I plan to process. By salting the water, before freezing, it freezes harder and lasts longer and cools the birds quicker. The quicker you get it below 40 degrees, the safer it is. This is also required by the USDA, if you are selling turkeys.

 

[Celie]

This is all great information I am having to work on Thanks Giving So my Boss can go to the LSU & ARK game so I will be off for Christmas for 4 days.
what I think I will do is come home Friday after work proses me a big ol Tom and let him rest in the Fridge till Christmas for Dinner so that should be a little over 3 days to rest.
I am hoping for the best this will be my first home grown Turkey Dinner.

On Thanksgiving Day, I will eat a slice of turkey for you, Frank !

 

[Glenmar]

Is this a good plan:
Process turkey and put into ice water. Leave for 24 hours then in the fridge for 4 days?

 

[Celie]

orinally Posted by Glenmar

​

USDA requires processing plants to quick chill turkeys to below 40 degrees F. immediately after processing. To reach this temp in the allotted time so bacteria cannot contaminate the bird before this temp. is reached, the plants use a blast chiller. Most people including me, do not have a commercial chiller and a regular frig. takes too long. I use the same process of an ice water bath that large restaurants use to get food as cold as possible. The shelf life of a processed turkey held under 40 degrees is 10 days, according to the USDA.
All of this info is in the How to guide post 987865, by ivan3, 3 days 6 hours ago with a link to:http://albc-usa.org/downloads.html#turkey, I think it's in chapter 9/ You should read it for yourself. It is very informative. The rest is just knowledge I learned be running my own catering business and knowledge as a chef. Ivan did the work for you, just click on the links and read. If you are raising poultry to eat, the info he provided links to is invaluable and everything a person raising poultry should know. Why don't you check it out for yourself. FYI frozen turkeys, properly flash frozen has a freezer life of 6 months. Don't take my word for it. Please look it up for yourself! ivan3 did most of the work for us by looking up the information, and deserves the credit, I just read it to confirm what I already knew. Knowledge is indeed power and the more you study, the more you will know and less likely anyone will get sick eating Thanksgiving dinner!.
"In order to be properly stored, the birds should be at

least maintained below 40°F. Fresh birds, if refrigerated
properly, have a shelf-life of up to ten days. If frozen
properly, below 0°F, the product can last up to six​

months."
Thanks ivan, from all of us!

 

[Celie]

Is this a good plan:
Process turkey and put into ice water. Leave for 24 hours then in the fridge for 4 days?

Do you have a better plan?