How to quickly and safely defrost meat at home

10.04.2021

Any housewife, sooner or later, is faced with the need to defrost semi-finished meats, fish, chicken and minced meat. Of course, if there is time, then ice products are taken in advance. But plans can change, and due to various circumstances, you have to resort to emergency measures.

There are a lot of options for defrosting meat and other products, among them are:

In the refrigerator - the longest and safest;
At room temperature;
In ice water;
With salt or salt water;
in the microwave;
in hot water;
On the battery.

The last two methods are unsafe and can lead to rapid deterioration of the product. They can be used only in extreme cases and immediately cook meat or poultry.

How to quickly defrost meat at home

The easiest way to defrost meat is in the microwave. Most of these kitchen units have a corresponding function. However, this method of thawing semi-finished products has significant disadvantages:

A large piece of meat is defrosted unevenly, it must be constantly turned over;
Small pieces may partially weld;
When defrosting, moisture is lost very quickly, the finished dish will turn out not so tasty.

The only plus of defrosting in a microwave oven is speed. A large piece of meat will be ready for further culinary activities in a matter of minutes.

If juiciness is not critical, then it is worth considering this option. But let's look at how you can quickly defrost meat without a microwave.

A little longer, but with the preservation of taste and nutritional properties, the meat is defrosted in water. The temperature of the liquid should be as low as possible. Best with ice cubes. The frozen piece should be placed in a sealed bag, then in a sufficiently deep container. Then it is filled to the top with ice water.

The thawing time will depend on the initial weight and volume of the piece. Usually it's about three hours. Water should be changed regularly, or put a container of meat under an open tap.

Do not put meat in hot water. Otherwise, it may turn out that the outside of the piece will practically boil, but inside it will remain icy. If you cook it this way, you get a half-cooked dish, unsafe for those who try to eat it.

You can defrost meat with salt or in very salty water. Dilute it in a small amount of water and put a piece without a wrapper there. Salt promotes rapid heat transfer, thawing occurs evenly and fairly quickly.

An effective way to defrost is in a steam bath or in a double boiler. Break the piece of meat into smaller pieces and place them in a suitable container. Watch carefully so that it does not boil during the defrosting process.

The longest way to defrost is first in the refrigerator, then at room temperature. You can immediately get the meat from the freezer and put it near the heating radiator. Produt thawed in this way must be cooked immediately.

Options for defrosting chicken and chicken fillet

Whole chicken carcasses and its individual parts are loved by almost everyone. It is delicious in any form and is always appropriate. On holidays, on weekdays, for a fragrant broth and hearty main dish. This bird is easy to prepare, even an inexperienced hostess can handle most of the recipes.

Chickens are sold both frozen and chilled. But even if you bought a fresh bird, you can store it in the freezer. At the same time, its shelf life is increased to six months. Both fillets and other parts are great for the freezer.

If the chicken was in its original packaging, and in the future you plan to cook it whole, then you need to freeze it completely. Separate parts and fillets, before laying in the freezer, should be divided into portions. This will avoid difficulties with subsequent defrosting.
Take out a whole bird carcass from the freezer one day before cooking. Remove the packaging from it, put it in a deep bowl and leave it in the refrigerator, in the part where the temperature is the lowest. The next day, the chicken can be taken out to thaw at room temperature.
Fillets and individual parts prepared for frying can be thawed faster using a microwave or in water. However, in this case, heat treatment should not be postponed.
The smaller the chicken pieces, the faster the thawing process. A whole carcass can be cut along the sternum and ice removed from the middle. Or just cut it into pieces.
If the frozen parts of the chicken, fillet or whole carcass are supposed to be cooked, then it is permissible not to complete the defrosting process. It is enough to slightly increase the cooking time. However, before putting the meat in the pan, it must be washed well in warm water, and then the foam should be carefully removed.

Poultry meat is more tender than pork or beef. Rapid defrosting affects it much worse. Take your time if you want to get juicy ruddy chicken for lunch.

How to quickly defrost minced meat

Fresh minced meat is stored for a short time, in the refrigerator - no more than a day. The fact is that bacteria actively sit on such a heavily crushed product and either heat treatment or freezing can stop this process.

Minced meat prepared for shipment to the freezer should be packaged in small portions. Each part must be folded into a separate bag for freezing and carefully rolled out. In a flat form, minced meat is not only stored compactly, but also defrosted faster.

Since minced meat does not need the juiciness of a whole piece, it is quite acceptable to thaw it in quick ways: in the microwave, in warm water, steamed, near the radiator. In addition, if minced meat is prepared for frying, then it can be broken into pieces and immediately put on a preheated pan.

Frozen semi-finished products from minced meat can be prepared immediately after taking them out of the freezer. But at the same time, the temperature should not be high so that the middle of the cutlet has time to fry. For juiciness, first quickly bring in a pan to a golden crust, and then bake in the oven.

Rules for defrosting meat

When defrosting meat, you should remember the main rule - the slower the process goes, the better and tastier the dish will turn out. Rapid thawing leads to loss of moisture, taste and nutritional properties of the product.

When defrosting in water, interstitial fluid comes out of the meat and a juicy steak will no longer work out of it. The same goes for the microwave. In a microwave oven, due to uneven heating, part of the piece can be cooked, and part remains icy.

When frozen, ice crystals form in the meat. The faster and deeper the cold treatment occurs, the smaller they are. With rapid heating, the crystals, not having time to melt, come out of the piece, tear the fibers and provoke the release of moisture.

Another significant disadvantage of quick defrosting in heat is that various microorganisms sit on a piece of meat. In a favorable environment, they quickly begin to multiply. This threatens with serious poisoning.

In order to avoid health problems and get a delicious meat dish, the following defrosting rules should be observed:

An ice piece is taken out of the freezer in advance and placed in the refrigerator;
The defrosting time in the refrigerator depends on the initial weight, the heavier, the longer;
Be sure to remove the packaging and put the meat or poultry in a suitable container, this will prevent spoilage of other products;
When a piece of meat or a bird carcass is almost defrosted, you can take it out of the refrigerator and continue defrosting at room temperature;
A completely thawed piece should be washed with warm water and dried with a paper towel without fail;
After that, you should immediately start cooking, the maximum shelf life of thawed meat is 6 hours;
Never re-freeze meat! Bacteria on its surface have already begun to multiply actively and the cold will not help to cope with them, do not risk your health.

Freezing Secrets

Freezing food allows you to extend the shelf life up to a year. With a sufficiently large freezer, this allows you to solve the issue of seasonal food preparation without resorting to conservation.

Frozen food retains all the beneficial properties of a fresh product. In addition, convenience foods, soup dressings and lumps of meat can be stored in the freezer. The correct bookmark allows you not only to save, but also to easily and quickly defrost everything that is stored in the freezer.

Be sure to follow the rules for the separate storage of semi-finished products. Fruits and vegetables should be stored separately from meat, poultry and fish. This will prevent the formation of foreign odors.

Before laying in the freezer, meat products should be prepared:

Remove vacuum packaging;
Cut into small portions;
Divide them into separate packages for freezing;
Large pieces of meat and whole poultry should be washed well and dried thoroughly;
It is necessary to freeze at maximum power, many modern freezers have a “shock freezing” function, be sure to use it;
Sign the product packages.