I plan to buy a frozen turkey for the first day of Passover. Since I no longer have a deep freezer, I will have to  buy the turkey the day I plan to start thawing it.

I'll be cooking it on Tuesday, and plan to get a 15-17 lb turkey. When should I buy the turkey?

Is it possible to get a fresh one and keep it in the fridge or a larder?

No. The fresh ones are MUCH more expensive, especially since I earned a "free" turkey by spending over $300 at a certain supermarket during the past month. I put "free" in quotes because the kosher turkeys aren't really free, but a fraction of the normal price (store brand  turkeys are normally $1.69/lb and are being offered free with the promotion, kosher turkeys are something like $1.99/lb and are offered at $.30/lb with the promotion.) So I'd be getting a turkey for $5 instead of $35. The fresh turkeys are about $50.

sounds like a bargain.

my turkey although fresh is about £10 a kilo but it is organic and free range, Emily has even visited farm and held the chicks. we just buy the crown these days as our fridge/freezer is quiet small.

I would buy it about 4 days before.  Possibly even 5.  You could google it and see, but it takes a while.

what the room temperature?

how big a fridge do you have

how big is the turkey?

Defrosting your turkey
If you buy a frozen turkey, make sure that the turkey is properly defrosted before cooking it. If it's still partially frozen, it may not cook evenly, which means that harmful bacteria could survive the cooking process.

Defrosting checklist:

•Work out defrosting time in advance, so you know how much time to allow – it can take at least a couple of days for a large turkey to thaw.
•When you start defrosting, take the turkey out of its packaging, put it on a large dish and cover. The dish will hold the liquid that comes out of the thawing turkey.
•Remove the giblets and the neck as soon as possible to speed up the thawing process. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw turkey, giblets or any other raw meat.
•Before cooking, make sure there aren't any ice crystals in the cavity. Test the thicker parts of the turkey with a fork to tell whether the meat feels frozen.
•Turkey (and any other poultry) is best defrosted in a covered dish at the bottom of the fridge so that it can't drip onto other foods.
•Pour away the liquid that comes out of the defrosting turkey regularly to stop it overflowing and spreading bacteria. Be careful not to splash the liquid onto worktops, dishes, cloths or other food.
•If the bird is too big for the fridge, put it somewhere out of reach from animals and children, and where it won't touch other foods. For example, a cool room, shed or garage.
•If you’re not using the fridge, watch out for sudden changes in room temperature as they could prevent the turkey from thawing evenly.
Defrosting times

To work out the defrosting time for your turkey, check the packaging for any guidance first. If there aren't any defrosting instructions, use the following times to work out roughly how long it will take to thaw your turkey.

•In a fridge at 4ºC (39ºF), allow about 10 to 12 hours per kg, but remember that not all fridges will be this temperature.
•In a cool room (below 17.5ºC, 64ºF), allow approximately three to four hours per kg, or longer if the room is particularly cold.
•At room temperature (about 20ºC, 68ºF) allow approximately two hours per kg.
When your turkey is fully defrosted, put it in the fridge until you're ready to cook it. If this isn't possible, make sure you cook it immediately.

Back to top

Preparing the turkey
Keep the uncooked turkey away from food that's ready to eat. If raw poultry, or other raw meat, touches or drips onto these foods, bacteria will spread and may cause food poisoning.

Bacteria can spread from raw meat and poultry to worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils. To keep your Christmas food safe, remember the following things:

•After touching raw poultry or other raw meat, always wash your hands with warm water and soap, and dry them thoroughly.
•There's no need to wash your turkey before your cook it. If you do, bacteria from raw poultry can splash onto worktops, dishes and other foods. Proper cooking will kill any bacteria.
•Always clean worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils thoroughly after they have touched raw poultry or meat.
•Never use the same chopping board for raw poultry or meat and ready-to-eat food without washing it thoroughly in warm soapy water. If possible, use a separate chopping board just for raw meat and poultry.  


http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Healthychristmas/Pages/cooking-turkey.aspx

As indicated in PCs instructions, it depends on the temperature where the bird will be thawed...  I usually allow the turkey to sit out in a cool place until it gets soft-ish, then refrigerate until cooking time.  It usually takes about a full 24 hour period to get soft-ish and if it has to stay in the frig. for a day, that is OK...

For cooking Tuesday, I'd purchase it on Saturday.  Realizing that you don't shop Saturday, the temp. of the storage area would determine whether you'd need to buy on Friday or if you could do it Sunday.  Monday would be too late, for a Tuesday morning start of cooking...

Thawing a Turkey in the refrigerator takes 5 hours per pound.

A fifteen pound bird would therefore take 75 hours (or 3 days) to thaw.

Allow an extra day in the fridge defrosting from frozen, otherwise you may be in for a LOOONG cook time. Learned from experience. I would allow 4 days. I did the 3 day thing and it was no good. If you have it in the fridge longer than 6 days, you are risking it going south. I think I did it four days this last time and it was BEAUTIFUL. Lots of other things went right too.  
We keep our fridge pretty cold, just a bit above freezing-- but high enough that stuff doesn't freeze. The time I messed it up, the center was still too cold and it took forever to get the inside up to temp. In the meantime, the outside was toasty.

Quoted from ABJoe

For cooking Tuesday, I'd purchase it on Saturday.  Realizing that you don't shop Saturday, the temp. of the storage area would determine whether you'd need to buy on Friday or if you could do it Sunday.

And that, EXACTLY, is my dillema. I mean, I COULD leave it at room temp a few hours on Sunday and then refrigerate Sunday night or Monday morning, but if it's still frozen on Tuesday morning, I'm in trouble.

I'm leaning towards buying it tomorrow morning, along with a few other Passover items I haven't yet bought.

Quoted from ruthiegirl

I'm leaning towards buying it tomorrow morning, along with a few other Passover items I haven't yet bought.

Friday is the safer course of action...  If it is still too hard on Monday, you could leave it out during the day to speed it up...