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Defrosting a turkey ahead of Thanksgiving is one of the first steps in nailing your feast, but it's also the longest step -- far longer than cooking it. To get that bird from frozen to thawed without risking foodborne illness, you'll need do it the right way and that can take several days, up to a week, for such a big piece of meat.

While there are one or two safe shortcuts to defrosting a turkey, they will raise the likelihood of rubbery meat. Our suggestion is to thaw your bird slowly in the fridge over the course of a few days. And whatever you do, don't even think about using the microwave.

Here are the best ways to safely thaw your turkey -- one slow and one quicker -- ahead of your holiday celebration this year. If you're serving something other than turkey, such as brisket, leg of lamb, pork shoulder or duck, and need to thaw out your entree, these same techniques work best for just about any cut of meat.

No. It's not safe, nor is it recommended to defrost a turkey, rib roast or another large cut of meat at room temperature. The key to safely thawing is not letting any part of the flesh rise about 40 degrees Fahrenheit for any extended period or food-borne bacteria will begin to grow and multiply. While you might be able to get away with room temperature defrosting of smaller cuts of meats such as steaks and pork loins, larger meats take so long to defrost that you can't safely defrost them this way.

This method is the most time-consuming option but will net the best results: The USDA suggests 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds in a refrigerator set at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, which means you'd need to set aside a few days or up to a week for a large bird. This method requires the least amount of effort. All you have to do is put your turkey in a container to catch drips and let it hang out (covered) in the fridge.

Here's a snapshot of how long it could take you to thaw a frozen turkey of varying weights. See? It's definitely wise to have a plan and set an alarm for the day your turkey needs to come out of the freezer.

This method for defrosting a turkey is faster than in the fridge, but it requires a few more steps. First, put the turkey in a leak-proof bag and put it in a cold tap water bath in the sink or a large receptacle (such as a cooler or clean recycling bin). The USDA recommends that you change the water every 30 minutes. I've found that it's easiest to defrost your turkey in a cooler that has a spigot: This lets you easily drain the water to make room for fresh water -- or drain it completely once the bird is defrosted. It will take about 30 minutes per pound to completely thaw your turkey this way.

The USDA says that you can defrost a turkey in the microwave as long as you follow the product instructions and cook it immediately after thawing. Even if you can fit that big brisket or bird inside, I'd be extremely wary of relying on a microwave to defrost such a large piece of meat. I'd suggest avoiding the microwave at all costs. Even whole chickens are difficult to defrost well in a microwave and they're typically half of the size of a turkey.

If anything, use the thaw setting for just a few minutes to get it started and then employ a combination of the cold water bath and fridge methods above to defrost your turkey. Don't use the entire time that your microwave suggests for defrosting this amount of frozen meat, especially all in one go. It won't be pretty, I promise you.