If you have a freezer full of meats that somehow need to transform into this week's dinner, you should know that defrosting doesn't have to be complicated. Before you reach into the freezer and start the big thaw, make sure you don't inadvertently make mistakes that could damage the freshness of your meat and put your health at risk.
Here are the two most common meat defrosting mistakes to avoid, plus safer defrosting strategies you should use instead.
You defrost it on the kitchen counter
If defrosting meat at room temperature is your defrosting technique, listen up.
Meat (and all perishable foods) should never be thawed on the counter and should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. And for warmer environments, where temperatures reach 32ºC or higher, food should not be out of a refrigerator for more than an hour.
That's because as soon as perishable food begins to thaw and heats up to over 4ºC, bacteria can be present and start to multiply quickly. In fact, harmful bacteria like staphylococci, salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter that cause foodborne illness flourish at temperatures between 4 and 60 ° C.
Nicknamed the " danger zone, " the number of nuisance pathogens can double in just 20 minutes when temperatures fall within this range. To avoid this unsafe situation, never thaw food in a garage, basement, car, or outdoors.
Soak it in hot water
When you've forgotten to take meat out of the fridge and you're in a hurry, you might think thawing it in hot water is a feasible quick fix. This may seem like it will speed things up, but you shouldn't defrost meat in hot water because the outside will heat up much faster than the inside.
In other words, the outer shell can reach the temperature danger zone and risk bacteria and toxins building up to harmful levels, even if the center of the perishable item may still be frozen.
How to defrost meat the right way?
In the fridge
The best way to defrost meat safely is to plan ahead. This means slowly defrosting meat in the refrigerator.
Although most foods take a day or two to defrost in the refrigerator, you can defrost smaller foods overnight. Conversely, larger pieces of meat, such as whole turkeys, will take longer; For every 2 kilos of food, you will need approximately one day of defrosting.
After defrosting, ground meat, poultry, and seafood should be kept well in the refrigerator for a day or two more, while red meat such as beef, pork, lamb, and steak stays fresh for three to five days. plus.
And always put meats on the bottom shelf of the fridge. If juices leak, something that can happen can contaminate other foods. Doing so can help keep you safe from potential food poisoning or other foodborne illness.
In cold water
Although defrosting in hot water is a bad idea, defrosting in cold tap water is completely safe.
Simply place the meat in a leak-proof bag, removing as much air as possible, and completely submerge it in a large container of cold water. Experts recommend changing the water every 30 minutes as the meat thaws.
And, although it depends on the amount of meat you are defrosting, this cold water defrosting process can save time compared to the defrost method in the refrigerator.
A half-kilo packet of meat can thaw in an hour or less, while 1.5kg packages can take more than two hours.
In the microwave
In some scenarios, frozen meat can be a quick and convenient option. This method only really works for smaller cuts.
If your microwave has a defrost setting that can regulate the temperature for specific cuts of meat, use it. If not, set your microwave to a lower power level and heat in short bursts until meat is thawed.
And always cook immediately after defrosting in the microwave, as some points of the meat can get hot, and even cook during the defrosting process, possibly creating temperatures in the danger zone.
Cook without defrosting
What if you want to skip the big thaw entirely? It is possible, and safe, to cook frozen food without defrosting at all.
But keep in mind that this cooking method will take approximately 50 percent longer than the recommended time for fully thawed or fresh meats and poultry.
