If we have a freezer full of meats that somehow need to be turned into this week's dinner, we should know that thawing it doesn't have to be complicated. Before we reach into the freezer and start the big thaw, we'll make sure we don't inadvertently make mistakes that could damage the freshness of the meat and put your health at risk.
Buying chicken, steak, or ground beef in bulk and freezing it can save a lot of money, plus extra trips to the grocery store. But Sometimes we've thawed one we intended to use and then didn't get a chance to cook it. So can we refreeze the meat? Is it okay to put it back in the freezer for another time?
common mistakes
Here are the two most common meat defrosting mistakes to avoid, as well as safer defrosting strategies you should use instead.
Defrost on the kitchen counter
If thawing meat at room temperature is your thawing technique, listen up.
Meat (and all perishable foods) they 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 fridge for more than an hour.
That's because as soon as the perishable food starts to thaw and heats up to more than 4ºC, the bacteria they may be present and begin to multiply rapidly. In fact, harmful bacteria like staphylococci, salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter that cause foodborne illness flourish in temperatures between 4 and 60ºC.
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.
Submerge it in hot water
When you've forgotten to take the meat out of the fridge and you're in a hurry, you might think that thawing it in hot water is a doable quick fix. This may seem like it will speed things up, but you shouldn't thaw meat in hot water because the outside will heat up much faster than the inside.
In other words, the outer layer 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.
Defrost with a dryer
Yeah, apparently thawing frozen meats with hot dryers is something a lot of people try. We can't believe we have to tell you this, but please don't!
This thawing method is not only too time-consuming and light-consuming for our liking, but the meat does not thaw evenly, which can increase bacteria production. Also, the taste will be quite weird.
correct methods
There are several ways to safely thaw meat. Not only will we protect health, but the meat will taste better.
in the fridge
The best way to safely thaw meat is to plan ahead. This means slowly thawing the meat in the fridge.
Although most foods take a day or two to thaw in the fridge, you can thaw smaller items overnight. Conversely, larger pieces of meat, such as whole turkeys, will require more time; for every 2 kilos of food, you will need approximately one day of defrosting.
After thawing, ground meat, poultry, and seafood should keep well in the fridge for another day or two, while red meat like beef, pork, lamb, and steak stays fresh for three to five days. more.
And always put meats on the bottom shelf of the fridge. If the juices leak, which can happen, it can contaminate other foods. Doing so can help keep you safe from possible food poisoning or other foodborne illnesses.
in cold water
Although thawing in hot water is a bad idea, thawing 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 bowl of cold water. Experts recommend changing the water every 30 minutes as the meat thaws.
And, while it depends on the amount of meat you're thawing, this cold water thawing process can save time compared to the fridge thawing method.
A half kilo package of meat can be thawed in an hour or less, while 1kg 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 that. If not, set your microwave to a lower power level and heat in short bursts until the meat is thawed.
And always cook immediately after thawing in the microwave, as spots in the meat can become hot, and even cook during the thawing process, possibly creating temperatures in the danger zone.
This method works best for smaller cuts of meat that will be fully cooked after thawing, such as chicken breast for stir-fries or ground beef for tacos.
cook without defrosting
What if you want to skip the big melt entirely? It is possible, and safe, to cook frozen food without defrosting at all. But keep in mind that this cooking method will take about 50 percent longer than the recommended time for fully thawed or fresh meat and poultry.
However, it's an option that's always available, even when perfectly thawed protein isn't. We'll just avoid cooking frozen meat in the slow cooker; it can spend too long thawing and become unsafe to eat.
Can thawed meat be frozen?
According to experts, meat should be thawed in the refrigerator and never at room temperature. If we do not defrost the meat like this, we must throw it away and not refreeze it. If we defrost it in the refrigerator, we can refreeze the meat as long as it has not been in the refrigerator for a long time after defrosting. The longer defrosted meat sits, the more bacteria will have to form on it. If the meat has been defrosted and has been in the refrigerator for more than 36 hours, we do not recommend refreezing it.
But why not good freeze twice the same meat? If the meat is raw, we will follow the above guidelines. If the meat is already cooked, it will lose a lot of texture and flavor if you thaw it and refreeze it, so we don't recommend refreezing cooked meat. We must also not freeze (or refreeze) any meat that has been at room temperature for more than 2 hours or at 90ºC or higher for more than 1 hour.
In the case of the Ground beefIf we defrost it safely (in the fridge), we can refreeze it. We do not recommend doing this more than once, as it will cause freezer burn and loss of flavor and texture when we cook the meat.