What would you do with this turkey?

cookingdude555

I bought a turkey the Saturday after thanksgiving (two weeks ago).  I put it in the fridge in my garage.  I've thawed them in there before and I know it takes a week to thaw completely.  So now I have a turkey that has thawed for a week, and another week sitting in there as well.  I don't know if I have gone past when I should cook, or toss the thing.  I think it was .59/lb when I bought it, so I think we are talking about 7 bucks or something if I were to let it go.  Not a big deal there.  Opinions?

Smoker317

I error on the side of caution and would pitch, but in reality, depending on the date on the turkey packaging, one probably would be fine.  Although, I would be inclined to deep fry as opposed to smoking for a few hours in case there is some bacteria growing.  Just an opinion as you asked, I have no training in this area, just multiple food poisonings over the years from poultry from fast food places and Mexican restaurants.  lol..

cookingdude555

Thanks @Smoker317. I think that may be my plan, to pitch. Not worth the risk. Did some googling after posting. 

hoosier_egger

Open it. Smell it. If it passes the sniff test, cook it 

Skiddymarker

Sounds to me like it has been refridgerated the whole time, so it basically like having a thawed turkey sit in the fridge for a week. Should be just fine if the garage fridge is set at 38ºF or lower. As noted above, the nose knows, just be sure to cook to temp. 

GrillSgt

Cook it. 

MNEggerandStuff

I'm curious to hear if they pass the smell test.  2 weeks is getting long in the tooth but if the fridge temp is low enough you could be okay.  Unless it's discolored or stinky I'd go for it.

Gulfcoastguy

Toss it. To big a risk.

northGAcock

Loose it.

Jstroke

Turkey on sale?—.49 cents per lb. —Family Sick? Seems like pretty straight math.

OshawaDave

Toss it.

thetrim

I had a fresh turkey breast that went a little longer in the fridge than it probably should.  I took it out, and it did NOT pass the smell the test. 

So, like a good Army soldier, I went Franklin method on it,

and.......

It was amazing. 

I look it as a introducing a small amount of salmonella to my system, so that my body knows how to fight off a larger salmonella attack in the future. 

Legume

If I had doubt, I would toss it.  However, poultry always smells to me and I have no doubt this one would smell when I open the bag.  Rinse it well before you react, but many have said the really bad bugs don’t smell.  

Based on timeline you give, it strikes me as way too close to the edge for the producer to ship something that would go bad w/in a week of defrosting, stored properly in a fridge.  So, assuming it was stored well, I would definitely cool that.