Q&A for How to Defrost a Turkey

You would have to constantly keep ice-packs in there, rotating them in and out, which sort of negates the whole point. It is less-than-ideal, but yes you could. I defrosted a turkey on a road-trip once. It was an eight hour drive and I kept ice packs in there.

No. If you use hot water instead of cold water, you run the risk of defrosting the outside of the meat and bringing it to room temperature much faster than the inside of the meat, so the outside could spoil while the inside is still defrosting. You should defrost meat in cold water.

If you mean simply leaving it on the counter after pulling it straight from the freezer, no. The bacteria will grow faster, causing you to become sick when you try to eat it after cooking.

If the turkey was not refrigerated at all during the night, then no, you should not eat the turkey as it has likely spoiled.

Yes. Unwrap the turkey and put it on a microwave-safe plate. Then use the defrost feature and program it by how much your turkey weighs. This should take about 6 minutes for each pound. Flip the turkey over once or twice as it defrosts so it thaws evenly.

Yes but go straight from fridge to submerged in cold water. Change the water every 30 minutes till thawed, then immediately clean and cook.