Select your turkey. Consider how much turkey you need, based on number of omnivores, roaster size, refrigerator size, time remaining until T-Day, thaw time, and, and I cannot stress this enough,
local physical strength.
Do not buy a turkey so large that you have to team-lift it. Do not buy a turkey so large that you might be
unable to lift it while it's hot with a roasting unit full of scalding juices. Or merely raw and ready to contaminate anything it touches.
1 turkey. Note the weight on the sales label, and write it down prominently. Look at bag for any helpful tips, like plastic shit we need to remove.
Calculate the roasting time by turkey weight. Check the Butterball website if confused. Working backwards from serving time, put the roast time in your calendar for Thanksgiving day.
https://www.butterball.com/calculators-conversions Calculate the thaw time, in days. Consult the Butterball website if in any doubt. Working backwards from an hour before your roasting start time on Thanksgiving morning (early), set a calendar event to start the thaw.
Clear the lowest shelf of the refrigerator. Thaw in a pan that is hopefully larger than the bird to catch any stray drips. This does not need to be the same pan as you intend for the roasting process. If possible, it should be in the bottom of the fridge so there is no chance it can drip on anything, particularly on your salad or any other thing that might not be cooked to a poultry-safe temperature.
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