How To Defrost Meat At Home Quickly And Correctly In A Microwave, Hot Water, Oven And Other Methods + Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

How to defrost meat at home: the pros and cons of different ways

Meat dishes are an irreplaceable source of protein for the human body. Few people can buy a fresh cut of beef, veal, pork, chicken or turkey from a trusted vendor. In order to save money, buyers opt for frozen meat. How to defrost it properly to preserve its beneficial properties and taste? What's the safest way? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the other options?

Content

• 1 Defrosting meat at home

  • 1.1 How to properly defrost meat
  • 1.2 How much defrosted meat is stored in the refrigerator
  • 1.3 Can I re-freeze meat
  • 1.4 Slow defrost - video
• 2 Quick defrosting in the microwave

• 3 Defrosting in cold and hot water

  • 3.1 Cold water
  • 3.2 Why is defrosting in high temperature water not recommended?
• 4 Defrosting in air

• 5 Defrosting in a slow cooker, oven, in a water bath.

  • 5.1 Multicooker and oven
  • 5.2 Multicooker: Steam mode
  • 5.3 How to properly defrost meat: tips from Elena Malysheva - video

Defrosting meat at home

It is important to properly defrost the meat to preserve the flavor and nutritional value

Regardless of the type of meat, the best way to defrost is to keep the food in the refrigerator on the lower shelf, where the temperature does not exceed 1–4 ° C. The smaller the pieces of meat product, the faster they will defrost. For example, a piece weighing 2 kg is thawed for a day, and minced meat is enough for 12 hours.

How to defrost meat properly

Correct defrosting of meat - on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator

As already mentioned, so that the meat does not lose its benefits, it must be thawed slowly at a temperature of 1-4 ° C. Such a temperature regime is necessary to prevent the development of putrefactive processes on the surface of the meat, since at higher temperatures, harmful bacteria begin their activity.

To defrost a meat product, place it in the refrigerator on the lower shelf without removing the packaging. This method is long, but correct. If you want not just to eat something meaty, but to get the maximum benefit and pleasure from food, think in advance about defrosting the meat. When planning the menu for the day, remember: the defrosting time for a 2 kg piece of meat is 24 hours! Before cooking, the meat must be removed from the refrigerator to warm it up inside and out. This is necessary so that the product is well fried (boiled, baked, stewed), and does not remain raw inside, but with fried crusts.

How much defrosted meat is stored in the refrigerator

Defrosting meat in the refrigerator is stored for three to five days. If minced meat was thawed, then it can be stored raw for up to two days. These times refer to meat that has been defrosted in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf. For all other methods, the meat must be cooked immediately.

Thawed meat in the refrigerator can be kept for up to 5 days

Can I re-freeze meat

Re-freezing meat is undesirable.

After the first freezing, half of the protein mass remains, and after the second freezing, the amount of protein in the meat is negligible. A piece of meat, frozen twice, does not carry practically any useful properties and turns into a useless set of fibers.

Slow defrosting - video

Quick defrosting in the microwave

Defrosting meat in the microwave is the fastest way

Defrosting in the microwave is not the correct method. This is an express method: in 10-30 minutes the product is ready for further processing. It is suitable for defrosting small pieces such as kebabs. But it is also more harmful than slow defrosting.

Procedure:

1. Place the frozen meat in the microwave.
2. Select the "Defrost" mode or set the minimum power.
3. Some microwave ovens require the weight of the product to be specified. This oven will choose the defrost time itself.
4. Turn on the oven and monitor the process, turning the piece every 3 minutes.

In the oven, the piece heats up unevenly, so by the end of defrosting, the middle often remains damp, and the outer layer heats up strongly. Therefore, it is advised to stop and turn the meat for a while. If possible, cut the piece into small pieces. Such pieces are heated evenly in the microwave.

Defrosting in cold and hot water

It is recommended to defrost meat in water in a package or in a tightly closed bag. This will minimize the loss of meat juice.

Cold water

Frozen meat can be thawed in cold water

Defrosting in cold (ice) water is also considered correct.

Procedure:

1. Place the packaged meat in cold water.
2. Change the water every half hour. This is necessary because the water gradually becomes icy and the process slows down.

With this method, the meat will lose more useful properties along with the meat juice than when defrosting in the refrigerator. It is better to use it for large pieces: they will retain more value.

Why is defrosting in high temperature water not recommended?

It is undesirable to defrost meat in hot water. This is a very quick defrosting process, during which nutrients are washed out of the piece along with the melted water particles. A piece will only look like meat, but you can forget about the benefits and taste.

Defrosting in the air

Defrosting meat at room temperature

Defrosting meat in the air is dangerous. At room temperature, conditions are created for the development of putrefactive processes. If defrosting takes place in the fresh air in the summer, then the risk of infection from insects is added. If you do decide to defrost the meat at room temperature, then leave it in the bag or factory packaging.

Defrosting in a slow cooker, oven, water bath

Defrosting meat in a slow cooker, oven or in a water bath, of course, you can try. But this method will not be correct. This option is suitable for incomplete defrosting - until the edges of the piece soften, when you can cut it into small pieces.

Multicooker and oven

Procedure:

1. Place the meat in the package in the oven or slow cooker.
2. Set the temperature mode to 30 ° C.
3. Keep holding until the edges are softened.
4. Cut the meat into small pieces and continue defrosting.
5. Every 3 minutes, check the edges for overheating. Turn the piece if necessary.

This method is not suitable for defrosting a large piece.

Multicooker: "Steam" mode

In a multicooker, the meat is defrosted by setting the "steam" mode

Procedure:

1. Pour one third of the volume of water into the multicooker bowl.
2. Place the frozen meat in the package on the special insert.
3. Switch on the steam mode. Do not close the lid.
4. Turn over a piece of meat.

It will not work to quickly defrost meat in a slow cooker, oven and in a water bath, as it will cook. It is easier to use cold water for this.

It is better to cook meat in a slow cooker, oven and in a water bath, and not defrost it.

How to properly defrost meat: tips from Elena Malysheva - video

The most useful meat is chilled. But unfortunately, it is not always available and not everyone has enough money for it. When buying frozen meat, plan to prepare it. It is better to take the time to properly defrost and enjoy the purchase of healthy meat than in a hurry to spoil an expensive nutritious product.