Yes. USDA counts the microwave as a safe way to thaw. Follow your oven manual for size and timing, and cook the turkey right after it thaws. This page prints no microwave minutes, on purpose: your manual is the only honest source for them.
USDA's third safe way is the microwave: follow your oven manual for size and timing, and cook the turkey right after it thaws. The manual knows your oven's power and the size of bird it can hold. A whole turkey is big, so many home microwaves cannot fit one, or cannot turn it. That is a manual question, not a chart question.
Two rules hold for every microwave thaw. Cook it right after it thaws, with no fridge pause in between. And never thaw a turkey on the counter while you wait: the outside warms up hours before the inside thaws.
Cold water is the fast full size path: 30 minutes per pound. The fridge is the slow hands off path: about 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds, at 40 F or below.
| Weight | In the fridge | In cold water |
|---|---|---|
| 12 lb | 3 days | 6 hours |
| 16 lb | 4 days | 8 hours |
| 20 lb | 5 days | 10 hours |
| 24 lb | 6 days | 12 hours |
Cold water, step by step: Seal the bird in a leak-proof plastic bag. Submerge it in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook it right after it thaws. Full steps: thawing a turkey in cold water.
USDA's third safe way is the microwave: follow your oven manual for size and timing, and cook the turkey right after it thaws. Never thaw a turkey on the counter. The outside warms up hours before the inside thaws. Bacteria grow in that warm layer.
Tell the calculator your weight and dinner time. It stamps the thaw, the oven time, and the rest. Or ask in your own words: "16 lb turkey, dinner Thursday at 5."