Sell by date (poultry)?

[monaxlisa]

So I bought a turkey yesterday, who knew they werent frozen these days

Anyhow, it was cheaper than the frozen kind so that's the one I ended up with. I bought it yesterday and the sell by date is 11/30 but Im super paranoid about leaving it in the fridge until Thursday (27th). It was too expensive to let it go bad waiting for thanksgiving to come, should I cook it now or do you think it'll be ok for four days in the fridge (plus however long it was thawed in the store case)? (Thanks

)

 

[natalie_ca]

It should be ok in the coldest part of your fridge until the 27th.

 

[libby74]

Turkeys are very funny creatures; I've never heard of buying one in a store that wasn't frozen (unless it was a fresh turkey) . Was it in a cold case when you bought it? Is there any way to find out if it was frozen and allowed to thaw before you bought it?
If it was good & cold, and if you've kept it good & cold, it's probably ok to keep it in the fridge until Thursday. If you have doubts about it, I think I'd go ahead and cook it until almost done, then finish it up on Thursday.
Good luck with the bird.

 

[violet]

So I bought a turkey yesterday, who knew they werent frozen these days Anyhow, it was cheaper than the frozen kind so that's the one I ended up with. I bought it yesterday and the sell by date is 11/30 but Im super paranoid about leaving it in the fridge until Thursday (27th). It was too expensive to let it go bad waiting for thanksgiving to come, should I cook it now or do you think it'll be ok for four days in the fridge (plus however long it was thawed in the store case)?

If you have any doubts, check it, make sure it's okay. (A couple of years ago I had to return a turkey and get another one.)

If it's okay, you can put ice cubes in plastic bags (make several packages) and put those inside the bird and some on top of it and around it to keep it as cold as possible.

Whenever you decide to cook it, make sure you do it from start to finish.

Here is some advice about partially cooking a turkey:

Don't even think about partially cooking the turkey the night before, then finishing it up on the day of the big event. This is a recipe for bacterial survival and growth. Also, it's not a good idea to cook the bird all night at a low oven setting. Cooking at any temperature under 300 degrees F allows the bird to sit in the temperature danger zone for too many hours. For safety's sake, cook at 325 degrees F until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 180 degrees F.

Link:
http://cesanjoaquin.ucdavis.edu/files/12253.pdf