Carole, It may have been ok, but the fact is you just don't know for sure. In safetly/sanitation glasses we were always taught that meats should always be thawed in the fridge, and that in large poultry the entire bird must be kept under 42-degrees else bacteria form under the skin and then multiply and spread during the long cook time. Yes, theortetically, the bird gets cooked enough to destroy some bacteria, but not all strains. And some strains of bacteria are getting increasingly heat-tolerant. Obviously, some people take the chance and it's never been a problem. My mother used to thaw things overnight on the counter and never ever got sick from it. She did, however manage to send all of us (except me) to the ER at least once over the years with food poisoning. She claimed we were "wimps". My "wimpy" sister ended up in ICU twice. Oj, and the only reason I didn't end up in the ER? My boss called my BF because I was three hours late for work, and the BF was smart enough to realize that wasn't like me at all. He immediately drove over to my apt and found me passed out in the bathroom where I'd been for about seven hours. Tiny, tiny chance of that happening in the case you outlined, but totally not the way you want to spend your weekend.

I agree on the pinkness. You can also get a pinky tinge depending on what the bird has been eating. If the texture is smooth and soft and glossy, it's under done. If it's cooked turkey texture, it's cooked. :) I can't deal with all the turkey gymnastics that other people put their birds through. The whole point for me is that it starts early and doesn't need any fussing. Mine goes on a short, silicone covered rack in my "goosepot", which is basically a 15 qt. Le Creuset oval dutch oven. I should say that I always start with a top quality, free range bird, usually about 22 lbs. in the Spring, which means it has defrosted for a few days in the fridge, there being no fresh turkeys that size at Passover time. Recently, I gave up on stuffing, which also shortens the cooking time so I may go back. Without stuffing, I put a lemon and a broken up tarragon branch in the cavity, and a blend of dried herbs and maybe garlic pepper, shaken all around. I don't know that it makes a difference, but it feels like cooking. :) A bottle of cheap (palatable) white table wine in the bottom of the pot. My birds are always too big for the pot lid, so I do the loose tent of heavy duty Reynolds Wrap. Just a sheet of foil, dangling loosely. Then I put it in the oven for the proper amount of time for the size of the bird, take it out, let it rest, and get one of the guys to carve because I'm way too busy at that point to care what happens to it. But it is always gloriously, beautifully brown and juicy. Not crispy skinned. We don't eat the skin, but it is appetizing looking. Because I have a tight fit in the roaster, and the wine in the bottom, people will tell you I'm steaming, rather than roasting the turkey. Fine by me. It tastes good. :) And one year I did six turkey breasts and thighs in the steam oven because I needed more turkey and the big oven for something else. :) I know you know how to cook. Maybe the trick is to not try so hard?

" Posted by lindac --I big cold turkey in a pot of hot water is a good way to keep the meat at just the proper temperature for bacteria growth. Much better to put it directly into the oven. " This topic of cause can lead to an endless heated discussion. Still, let me give it a try. What first gave me the reasons to try to find a way that led me to use my method: 1. A frozen 20-lb turkey will take five to six days to thaw in the frig, and there is never room in a freezer to keep a turkey. We all know how much other stuff you have to get for the Thanksgiving dinner in the refrigerator. 2. A turkey from the frig directly to oven, takes too long to cook to reach safe temperature all the way deep inside, and by that time, the meat outside, thatÂs more than half of the turkey, is very overdone, tough and dry. Or worst, the inside meat is still bloody when you are serving to your friends and family. Please understand that I am not recommending to anyone to be unsafe. The many cities I have traveled to outside of this country, including Argentina (meat capital of the world) and recently to Paris, it is not unusual for meats to be sold without refrigeration for the whole day. Pathogens can grow in the refrigerator temperature as well. Generally, it is considered unsafe for temperature to be from 41 to 140 degrees (I think, please check for accuracy). The other important factor is time. Given it enough time, anything can go bad. That why it doesnÂt take long for meats to go bad in a frig. I hate to think what is going on in an uncooked turkey for more than six days in a frig. Here is what I have been doing for more than ten years. Reserve in advance a turkey from the supermarket. Pickup the frozen turkey on Thanksgiving day. Prepare hot water to about 120 degrees. Dump frozen turkey with its plastic bag in hot water, and keep water temperature at about 120 to 130 degrees. I donÂt know if this is absolute correct, I never timed it. Depending on how big and how frozen the turkey is, about an hour later, the whole turkey is completely warmed up ready for seasoning and stuffing. Because the turkey is hot (but not cooked) at this time, it does not take long in the oven for the temperature to reach 165 deep inside without overcooking the outside. Just simple law of thermal dynamics. The entire process gives very little time and opportunity for harmful pathogens to multiply. I advice you not to use my method. It is unorthodox. Go cold turkey. :-) dcarch

If you have a good ice chest, I find it defrosts more quickly there than in the fridge because nothing is pumping in more cold air. The problem with putting it on the counter to defrost is that the outside can get warm enough for spoilage while the inside is still frozen. By putting the frozen turkey in the ice chest, the chest holds in enough of the cold that the outside of the bird is kept at a safe temperature. It usually defrosts in 3 days with that method. A cold water bath is the fastest way to safely defrost (at least without technological aids like defrost cycle on the microwave but I don't trust that with my turkey). The water conducts the heat away from the bird more quickly than air. And you don't get the unsafe temperature differential that you would with defrosting on the counter.