How to Thaw a Turkey (a calculator)

OK I'm veering just the tiniest bit off course here, because I've got this little tool that might be useful to you and I wanted to share it.

I can't tell you how many times we've pulled our turkey out of the fridge thinking it's ready to cook, only to discover the damned thing is still frozen (OK twice). And just so you know it's actually really not very safe to thaw out a turkey by running hot tap water over it.

Every year since that second occasion I have to Google "how long to thaw a turkey" because by the time Thanksgiving rolls around again, I've forgotten. So for your convenience (and mine) here's a calculator you can use to figure out (roughly) how long to thaw your turkey. (If you want to do the math yourself it's 1 day per 4 to 5 lbs in the fridge, and 30 minutes per pound in cold tap water.)

Oh and here's the disclaimer: This calculator is designed to give you a rough estimate of about how long it will take to thaw your Thanksgiving turkey. Results may vary depending on how cold your fridge is or how cold your tapwater is. Please just use this as a guide and don't get mad if your turkey is still a bit frozen in the morning. It's your fridge's fault, not mine. :) Remember that submerging it in cold water should get the rest of that frost out.

Anyway, here it is. Cool little calculator, huh?

How long will it take to thaw your Thanksgiving turkey?
 

Enter your turkey's weight:	lbs
Your turkey will take about	days to thaw in the fridge.
or about	to thaw in cold water.

Note: Values rounded up to nearest half day (fridge thawing) and nearest 15 minutes (cold water thawing). Your turkey may take a few hours/minutes less to thaw than indicated by this calculator. I figured it was better to have your turkey thawed a little too soon than still frozen on Thanksgiving morning. :)