URGENT help-turkey related

[rhuhbarb4]

So most years I buy a fresh turkey which is picked up on Christmas Eve and put into the fridge ready for cooking the following morning however as I'm feeding a small army of guests I couldn't justify the cost of a fresh turkey big enough to feed them all. Instead I bought a frozen turkey at a fraction of the price.

I have just looked up my cooking times for so called turkeyou and also defrost times (as I have never defrosted something this big) and everywhere is saying that it should be defrosted in the fridge for 3-4 hours per kg. Well I have never defrosted in the fridge as we usually have fresh food. But I have now missed my deadline for defrosting the turkey in the fridge as it should have been in there early hours of the morning.

I stupidly thought that turkey could just be left out in the kitchen from tomorrow morning but everywhere I have looked has said that the turkey cannot be defrosted in temperatures higher than 20° as there is a risk of salmonella and I have nowhere else cooler that I could leave it.

So what do I do? The turkey weighs 10.20kg.

Thanks all

[FourKidsNotCrazyYet]

Mine will be in (cold oven) and out (at room temp) tomorrow. It won't harm it. It will take ages to defrost!!

[WellErrr]

I am paranoid however about raw chicken. Never wash it and never let it touch any work surface. If I have to cut chicken up I do it over the pan with scissors so it doesn't have to even touch a chopping board!

Are you me??