There are several methods to defrosting meat safely
Defrosting meat in the refrigerator is the safest but slowest way to thaw meat, poultry and fish. Thawing meat in the fridge should take 10 hours for each kg of meat. Sometimes we forget to plan and we just don’t have time to wait an extra day to get supper on the table.
No Worries! Here are other ways to defrost your meat:
Defrost in the refrigerator (best)
The safest way is to thaw food in the refrigerator at 4 ° C or less. Allow about 10 hours per kilogram of product to thaw. Once thawed, ground meat and poultry are safe to keep in the refrigerator for additional one to two days before cooking. Red meat cuts can last from 3 to 5 days. Fish is an exception and should be consumed as soon as possible.
Thaw in cold water (good)
it is best to put your meat in a sealed plastic bag so that water does not come into contact with meat.
Thaw in cold water. This method is faster than using the refrigerator, but it requires more attention. The food should be placed in a sealed plastic bag. The bag should be immersed in cold tap water, changing the water every 30 minutes. Defrost meat or poultry small packages (about 1 pound or 500 grams) typically takes an hour or less. Once the food is completely thawed, it should be cooked immediately.
Defrost in the microwave
Use the setting ‘thawing’ (defrost) on your microwave. With this method, you have to cook the food immediately after thawing because some areas of the food may begin to cook during the defrosting process.
Cooking without thawing
If you lack time to thaw foods, remember that it is possible to cook frozen foods. For cons, the cooking will be 50% longer than the recommended time and sensory characteristics (taste, texture, etc.) will be less satisfactory.
In all cases it is important that the meat temperature does not exceed 4 degrees Celsius to prevent the growth of bacteria.
