Reply #5: Don't thaw the turkey on the counter, especially if you have toddlers... [View All]

[Maddy McCall]

Just don't do it anyway. Plan for a frozen turkey to take a couple of days to thaw in the fridge.

Last week a family friend of mine thawed a turkey on the counter. Within a day or two her daughter began running high fever and vomiting and having the runs. Two days after that, she was in critical condition in the hospital, terribly dehydreated and diagnosed with samonella. No one else in the family got sick, and the mother could only deduce that the child touched the turkey and then put her hand in her mouth.

So keep kiddos away from raw turkey.