Would you cook a year old frozen turkey?

[Caneel]

So I cleaned out the freezer today and found a turkey from last November.

I am toying with the idea of cooking it for a party we are having in two weeks.

The package isn't crusted with frost or ice crystals. What is the likelyhood it is freezer burned? (this is our fridge freezer, not a chest freezer)

I also found a four year old bag of frozen breast milk! That I did discard.

[alegna]

Sure. Done it before. It was fine.

-Angela

[Ola_]

Yup, I would.

[Caneel]

OK, I will try it.

Another question relating to cooking it - any tips on a put it in the oven and leave it method/recipe?

We only make turkeys at Thanskgiving and use the same, labor intensive, complicated recipe year after year.

I would like to put this turkey in the oven and leave it alone most of the day. Any tips/suggestions?

[alegna]

Oven bag Magic. Season it up, stuff cavity with celery and onions, put it in a bag and stick it in the oven.

-Angela

[ASusan]

Or if you're afraid it might be dried out, you can put it in the crock pot with some sort of juices. I use a can of V-8 with chicken sometimes to keep it moist and for flavoring. (not the healthiest, I know, but you could do bone broth or similar).

If your crock pot is big enough.

[noobmom]

Yes, but I wouldn't necessarily serve it at party.

[Alyantavid]

I usually get 2-3 free turkeys around Thanksgiving and cook them over the following year. So yeah, I'd cook it.

Oven bag is the way I go too.

[Caneel]

It is a monster so I will need to do it in the oven. Will try the oven bag.

[JessicaS]

I would.

I always get a really moist turkey by making a brine and soaking it in a five gallon paint bucket (that did not previously contain paint) in my fridge.

The next day I rinse it off and stick it in the oven.

[Noelle C.]

I start off birds by baking at 450 for about half an hour. This makes the skin crispy. Then I turn it down to about 325 until done. The skin will keep in moistness.

[kittenwhip]

I've done it before and it was fine. I also used a brine and it worked really well.

[Chicky2]

Sure would!

Brine it. Cook breast side down for first 30 minutes and then turn over and leave alone!

[4Blessings]

Yes! I use my Roaster Oven. Quick and moist.

[californiajenn]

Originally Posted by abimommy

I would.

I always get a really moist turkey by making a brine and soaking it in a five gallon paint bucket (that did not previously contain paint) in my fridge.

The next day I rinse it off and stick it in the oven.

Originally Posted by Noelle C.

I start off birds by baking at 450 for about half an hour. This makes the skin crispy. Then I turn it down to about 325 until done. The skin will keep in moistness.

I do both of these and get a great bird every time!

[kjbrown92]

That's funny. We just defrosted our freezer, and I saw the big turkey sitting there and I thought the same thing. I'm not making it for company though. I'm just going to thaw it and cook it for us.

[mamadelbosque]

Definetly. We're eating year+ old chickens, and 9-11 month old venison and its just peachy fine (and this stuffs not even professionally shrink wrap packed!!)

[inkedmamajama]

I might have a backup for the dinner party, in case it doesnt turn out quite right.

[Sailor]

Yep, I would. Actually, we often find meat in our freezer that's been over a year old. Mainly because I put meat for my dog in there, and meat for us. Meat for my dog overwhelms the amount of meat for us. So we usually only find the meat that's for us when the freezer is semi-empty, which happens like once a year.

We've never had freezer burn problems (but, I wrap like a maniac) and have never been sick.

[LemonPie]

Yep, I've cooked a year-old turkey before and it was fine.

We use Alton Brown's brine recipe. I found a 5G food-grade bucket at Home Depot and I line it with an XL ziplock bag.