According to the Food Network, thawing a frozen turkey takes several days. The popular food-based television channel says it can take roughly four to five days for a frozen 20-pound turkey to fully defrost. Thanksgiving hosts who plan to cook turkeys that weight more than 20 lbs. should afford their turkeys even more time to fully defrost.

The Food Network also recommends that cooks who want their turkeys to have crisp skin leave the bird uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. The time it takes to cook a turkey depends on whether or not the bird was purchased fresh. The Food Network advises cooking fresh turkeys for 10 to 15 minutes per pound in a 350 F oven, while frozen turkeys need roughly 20 minutes per pound at 350 F. And while stuffing is a Thanksgiving Day staple, the Food Network recommends going easy with the stuffing. Turkeys that are not densely stuffed will cook more evenly than turkeys whose cavities are overflowing with stuffing.