What is the best way to defrost meat from the freezer? Why You Shouldn't Defrost Meat in Hot Water

Almost every one of us has to deal with such an ordinary kitchen procedure as defrosting meat. At first glance, everything is very easy - pour the meat with water, and wait until it becomes soft. But not everything is so simple - meat thawed in such a barbaric way completely loses its taste and all dishes prepared from it turn out to be “rubber” in taste (some manage to pour hot water over the meat, which makes the situation doubly aggravated). So how do you properly defrost meat at home? We will try to answer this question in this article. So:

• The most correct way to defrost meat at home is to leave the meat in the refrigerator on the lowest shelf. This method is not the fastest, but I repeat, the most correct, because with this method of defrosting, the meat will retain all its taste. The defrosting time depends on the size of the piece of meat and varies from 2-3 hours to a day (if the piece weighs approximately 2 kg).

• It is impossible to start heat treatment of meat immediately after defrosting (fry, boil, bake), you must first rinse the meat with running water and blot it with a paper towel.

• Properly thawed meat should have a fresh smell, and the piece will be evenly moist when cut.

• The bird can be thawed in water (cold), but it must be in a bag or film.

• Now about the reasons why you can not defrost meat in hot or cold water, or at room temperature.

• Defrosting meat in hot water spoils appearance and taste of the product. Useful substances pass from meat into water, and proteins on the outer layer of meat coagulate, which has an extremely negative effect on taste.

• When defrosting in cold water, useful substances also leave the meat. If, nevertheless, there is a need to defrost the meat quickly, then the piece must be placed in a sealed plastic bag.

• When defrosting meat at room temperature, you run the risk of food poisoning, because at home temperature, microbes and bacteria begin to multiply on meat at a high rate.

• It is not recommended to defrost meat in the microwave, as this also causes a large loss of taste. Of course, you can resort to this method of defrosting if for you the speed of cooking is more important than the taste of the finished dish. But meat defrosted in this way must be cooked immediately.

It is generally accepted that fresh meat is better than frozen. It is difficult to argue with this, and there is no need. The truth is that if you cook and serve properly thawed meat, 9 times out of 10 you will not even guess that it has been frozen. All the defects that are usually attributed to thawed meat - lack of juiciness, loose fibers, and so on - are due to either improper storage or improper defrosting. So how do you defrost meat the right way?

There are few nuances here, but you need to know about them, otherwise the frozen meat will turn into a piece of nutritious, but not too tasty biomass. Of course, no one forbids you from defrosting meat under running hot water or in the microwave, but if you want frozen meat to be indistinguishable from fresh meat after defrosting (at least after heat treatment), follow a couple of simple rules. But first, about what frozen meat is and in what cases you can’t do without it.

frozen meat

Of course, a piece of the freshest meat, and even from a trustworthy butcher, is the best thing you can imagine, but the opportunity to buy such meat is far from always available. What to do? One of the options that many housewives practice is to buy a lot of meat at once, cook something, and put the rest in the freezer. I believe that this should be resorted to only as a last resort: after all, the freezer of a domestic refrigerator cannot be compared with industrial methods of quick freezing. During such a “home” freezing, irreversible changes occur inside the meat - relatively speaking, microscopic tears appear, as a result of which, during defrosting, most of the liquid that is supposed to remain inside will flow out of the meat, keeping the thawed meat juicy and tasty.

And if you really can’t do without freezing meat at home, I strongly recommend getting a vacuum sealer and freezing meat already in bags: this will prevent excessive loss of the juices contained in it, as well as possible burns on its surface caused by rapid cooling. Meat packed in a vacuum bag is stored much longer than just frozen.

However, the preferred option would be to buy meat that has been industrially frozen. Despite the fact that fresh meat, as we have already found out, is valued higher, frozen meat also has its advantages:

• Frozen meat is usually cheaper, and if you're looking for a way to save money, frozen meat may be the compromise you need.
• Frozen is often easier to find what is difficult or impossible to find fresh. Say, even high-quality meat for - all this is found in the average supermarket or on the market only in freezing.
• Finally, frozen meat keeps longer. It is obvious.

However, it’s not enough to buy frozen meat, you also need to be able to defrost it so that it doesn’t hurt excruciatingly - first of all, you, because a good product was spoiled.

How to defrost meat

Everything is very simple: The main culinary secret fits in one sentence - freezing should be as fast as possible, and defrosting as slow as possible. We have already talked about the advantages of instant industrial freezing, and you are quite capable of providing competent defrosting on your own. To do this, simply move the meat from the freezer to the refrigerator - where the temperature is as close to zero as possible, but still higher. Put it on a plate (leakage is usually inevitable) and leave it alone for a day. You may need more time, depending on the size of the piece - for example, a whole duck or a large cut in my refrigerator thaws in about two days.

You do not need to force defrosting, just wait until the meat is completely soft and cook it at your discretion. The amount of liquid that still leaked out of the defrosted piece will be your assessment of how you thawed the meat (of course, if it was correctly frozen). By the way, frozen fish, whole or fillet, must be thawed in the same way. And of course, as far-sighted manufacturers write on the packaging - re-freezing is not allowed!

Each product has its own rules for preparation and processing. Today we will figure out how to defrost meat correctly, and how to defrost meat quickly.

Thawing meat is no tricky business. However, not all types of defrosting are correct, so a good housewife should know how to properly defrost meat at home.

If you need to cook a meat dish in almost a matter of hours, and there was no fresh piece in the refrigerator, you need immediate defrosting of meat.

But remember that quick defrosting of meat is not very suitable for you if you want your dish to turn out very tasty, because defrosting the meat too quickly, it can turn out to be harsh, and the benefits of such meat are doubtful ...

Therefore, in formulating the question, how to defrost meat quickly , do not forget that slow defrosting of meat is better. She is more useful.

An undesirable method of defrosting meat is thawing at room temperature. Bacteria that could have arisen in meat due to improper storage are activated and multiply in heat.

The first answer to the question of how to defrost meat correctly will be defrosting meat in the refrigerator.

Thawing meat in the refrigerator is a safe but time-consuming method. Try to think about defrosting ahead of time.

If you have time, defrosting meat in the refrigerator is your option. It is desirable that the meat is defrosted in a ceramic container covered with a plate to avoid the appearance of excess odors.

After such defrosting, your meat can be safely stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Less time will be fresh minced meat, fish, poultry meat. These types of meat can be kept after defrosting for up to 2 days.

The second answer to the question of how to defrost meat correctly is - defrosting in cold water.

Thawing meat in cold water fast way allowing the meat to defrost evenly.

Defrosting can be carried out under a stream of cold water, or you can change the water so that its temperature is below room temperature until the meat is completely thawed. From an hour to three - and your meat is ready for cooking culinary masterpieces.

It is better not to leave meat thawed in cold water for a long time in the refrigerator, but to cook immediately.

Never defrost meat in warm water, as the meat will again become tough, and its taste may be desired.

The third answer, how to defrost meat quickly and correctly, is defrosting meat in the microwave .

This is where disputes arise regarding the correctness of the method ... Nevertheless, it is worth using the defrosting mode if the meat needs to be cooked immediately.

In time, a quick defrosting of meat in the microwave will take you a few minutes. To ensure that the meat thaws evenly, try to turn the piece several times during defrosting.

We hope you have received answers to the question of how to defrost meat quickly and correctly, and now you can easily start preparing new interesting dishes from meat that is of the appropriate quality and properly defrosted.

There are several options for quickly defrosting meat. Consider each of them in terms of speed and result.

How to quickly defrost meat in the microwave?

Modern microwave ovens have a meat defrost function.

Defrost time: from 5 to 30 minutes.

Advantages: thaws meat in half an hour.

disadvantages appear when meat is defrosted incorrectly: an unpleasant odor, loss of meat juiciness, uneven heating.

How to defrost meat in the microwave:

1. The defrosting time depends on the weight. It will take about 5-10 minutes to defrost pieces of meat weighing no more than 200 grams. A kilogram piece will have to be kept in the microwave for at least half an hour.
2. The meat must be turned! Some microwave ovens are equipped with additional functions that allow you to control the defrost automatically. The weight of the meat is entered on the display, and the microwave will automatically calculate the time to defrost it and give a signal that the meat needs to be turned over.
3. Take into account the freezing temperature.> If the freezing temperature in the refrigerator is below -24ºС, then, most likely, you will have to take additional time for defrosting, or increase the weight of the product to be defrosted on the programmer.

If these rules are not followed, the meat will be icy inside, and the top may be too dry. Thawing meat in the microwave requires good technique, care and patience in order to "guard" the meat and turn it over in time.

How to defrost meat in water?

Defrosting meat in water will also not allow you to forget about it until the moment of full “combat readiness”. The main rule for defrosting meat in water is: the water must be changed regularly. The second, no less important rule: the water should be warm, not hot.

Since harmful bacteria multiply rapidly in water, meat should not lie in it for a long time. Therefore, you will have to change the water quite often, especially in the first minutes, when meat is literally placed in warm water from the freezer.

Defrost time: from 15-20 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the piece of meat.

Advantages of the method: Convenient if you don't have a microwave.

Disadvantages: does not defrost the inner layer, requires constant monitoring and water changes.

Cooked meat will lose some of its taste properties, and will simply turn from delicious into “edible”.

How to defrost meat correctly?

That's right - it's slow. Proper freezing meat - fast, and defrosting should be very slow. Only in this case, the meat will not lose its taste and retain the juice. To defrost the meat correctly, you need to transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator (in no case in a warm place, otherwise it will simply go bad).

Defrost time: from 8 to 12 hours or more (depending on the weight of the meat).

Disadvantages: slow way.

Advantages: the meat will remain juicy and will not lose taste.

Minced meat is defrosted in the same way. However, if you need to defrost it very urgently, then this method simply will not work for you.

How to defrost minced meat quickly?

A microwave will help you quickly deal with minced meat (it is defrosted in the same way as a piece of meat, only it takes less time) or water bath. In no case is minced meat placed directly in water: it will simply fall apart and turn into an absolutely inedible substance.

To properly defrost minced meat in a water bath, it is placed in a ceramic saucepan, and the bowl itself is placed in boiling water. At the same time, the minced meat must be constantly turned, and when it has melted enough, stir so that the defrosting takes place evenly.

To keep the meat longer, it is better to freeze it. Later, you can cook the desired dish by simply defrosting the meat. However, it is important to be able to properly defrost meat. Otherwise, there is a high probability of bacterial growth, as a result of which food can become hazardous to health. First, always stick to the basic rule of frozen food - freeze quickly and thaw slowly. Defrost meat by placing it in the refrigerator. Of course, this type of defrosting meat takes a lot of time, but this is the easiest and safest way. Alternatively, you can try defrosting the meat by placing it in a bowl of cold water. This method takes less time compared to defrosting meat in the refrigerator. In addition, it is more gentle than defrosting in the microwave. Finally, you can defrost meat using the Defrost function in the microwave. Check the meat from time to time to assess the degree of defrosting.

Steps

How to defrost meat in the refrigerator

This is one of the easiest and safest defrosting methods. In addition, it does not require much effort on your part. Also, when defrosting meat in the refrigerator, you don't have to worry about overheating, which can happen if you thaw meat in the microwave. However, if you use this method, be aware that it can take a long time, especially if you are defrosting a large piece of meat such as turkey or pork.

• If you are limited in time and cannot wait at least 24 hours for the meat to thaw, choose another faster method.

1. Place the frozen meat on a plate. Get a large, sturdy plate that you can place the meat on. Due to this, the liquid that will drain from the meat during its defrosting will not fall on the shelves of the refrigerator, but will remain on the plate. If you are defrosting a large piece of meat, such as turkey or pork, place it in a large bowl or pot.

   • If the meat is in a plastic container, leave it in. Thanks to this, food that is in the refrigerator will not get into the meat.

2. Defrost meat in the refrigerator. Place the plate of frozen meat in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. If you are defrosting a large piece of meat, allow at least 24 hours to defrost for every 2.3 kilograms of meat. After 24 hours, check the meat from time to time to assess the degree of defrosting.

   • Press the meat through the cling film or turn the plastic container upside down to determine how far it has thawed.
   • Wash your hands before and after you touch frozen meat to avoid unpleasant health consequences.

3. Cook the meat or re-place it in the refrigerator. Because defrosting meat in the refrigerator is a gentle method, you don't have to cook the meat right away. Instead, you can store it in the refrigerator so you can prepare your meal later. For example:

How to defrost meat in the microwave

Use the microwave to quickly defrost meat. This is a quick method for defrosting meat that has been cut into small, uniform pieces. In the microwave, meat is thawed in minutes. However, when choosing this method, keep in mind that during defrosting, the meat may undergo heat treatment or become tough, which will negatively affect the quality of the dish.

• Cook the meat immediately after it has thawed. If you can't cook it immediately, don't rush to defrost it.

1. Remove the packaging from the meat and place it on a microwave safe plate. First of all, take the meat out of the plastic bag. If you do not do this, the liquid in the bag or container will begin to boil.