A frozen turkey takes about 5 hours per pound to defrost in the refrigerator which is the recommended method of defrosting. A 14-19 pound turkey can take up to four days to defrost using this method.

You can also defrost a turkey in a sink of cold water being sure to switch the water every thirty minutes. Using the sink method, plan on taking thirty minutes for every pound of turkey. A 14-19 pound turkey will take up to 10 hours to defrost using this method.