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Post by maryland on Apr 6, 2020 2:06:50 GMT
I am used to going to the grocery store every 2 days, so I just buy meat and cook it that day or the next. I can't successfully defrost meat! But as of 4 weeks ago, now only shop once every week or more. I am going to have to start freezing meat and defrosting it. I never know how long it's "safe" to sit in the refrigerator. I know not to defrost on counter. Any tips? I hate to cook! 
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Post by busy on Apr 6, 2020 2:10:29 GMT
I defrost meat all the time because we buy large quantities (half a pig, quarter of beef, etc) from local farms. Unless it's something especially large (which to me would be over 2 lbs; the vast majority of our meat is packaged in 1 lb packages), I put it in a metal bowl in the fridge to defrost two days before I want to use it. So tonight, I put what I'm going to cook with on Tuesday into the defrost bowl. That's it.
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snyder
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Location: Colorado
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Post by snyder on Apr 6, 2020 2:20:32 GMT
I don't understand why defrosting on the counter is wrong. It is frozen and when I start to cook it, it is cold, so I don't get this concept at all. It is covered in its original wrap, so it isn't exposed.
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Post by busy on Apr 6, 2020 2:22:54 GMT
I don't understand why defrosting on the counter is wrong. It is frozen and when I start to cook it, it is cold, so I don't get this concept at all. It is covered in its original wrap, so it isn't exposed. Meat isn't sanitized before it's packaged or anything. There can be bacteria in there and if you let it come to room temperature, it will start multiplying. |
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Post by grammadee on Apr 6, 2020 2:37:44 GMT
What kind of meat are we talking about? Roasts, whole chickens, chicken pieces, pork chops, I just pop it frozen into the roaster or on a flat roasting pan and put it into the oven. Takes a little longer to cook, but time and temp is something you can google.
Ground beef can be thawed in the microwave until it can be mixed into your recipe. I have also thawed a package (still in original wrapping) for a couple of hours on the counter top, then sliced it thin and put it into a covered metal bowl for about an hour so it is still really cold but can be formed into burgers.
Steaks are a little more tricky. Dh does NOT like to cook frozen steaks on the grill. And microwaving to defrost changes the tenderness/toughness somehow. Those I defrost on the countertop, still in their wrapping for a couple of hours. May pry them apart and prop them up so they can defrost more quickly for the last hour.
But we have beef that has been raised on our farm, taken for butchering to a local butcher we trust, then come directly into our freezer. The animal was known to be healthy when butchered and the meat was handled by at most two sets of hands (more likely one) when it was cut and wrapped, and has been at proper frozen temperature ever since. A little different with meat you get from a store, I guess.
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Post by elaine on Apr 6, 2020 2:44:11 GMT
Since no one is going anywhere, it shouldn’t be a big deal to move meat/poultry from freezer to fridge 2-4 days before cooking it. It isn’t as though plans are going to change because you’ve been invited elsewhere to eat. You don’t need to cook things the day they defrost, as long as your fridge is around 38 degrees, you have a few-days leeway.
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snyder
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Post by snyder on Apr 6, 2020 2:49:42 GMT
I don't understand why defrosting on the counter is wrong. It is frozen and when I start to cook it, it is cold, so I don't get this concept at all. It is covered in its original wrap, so it isn't exposed. Meat isn't sanitized before it's packaged or anything. There can be bacteria in there and if you let it come to room temperature, it will start multiplying. I would never let it be room temperature, though it you read about had to cook a good steak, it will say to bring the meat to room temp. I take something to cook out of the freezer at 8 am, sit it on the counter, or sometimes I sit it in the sink, by 4 pm, it is still very chilly and often sometimes a little froze in the middle depending on how big the package is.
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Post by gale w on Apr 6, 2020 2:55:23 GMT
I put it in the refrigerator and check it every day (after the first couple of days) so I know when it's thawed. At that point I use ground meat or poultry within 1-2 days and other meats within 4 or 5 days. Keep in mind that we get our meat already frozen so it hasn't been sitting in a store refrigerator.
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 6:23:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2020 2:57:25 GMT
I don't understand why defrosting on the counter is wrong. It is frozen and when I start to cook it, it is cold, so I don't get this concept at all. It is covered in its original wrap, so it isn't exposed. I've always done this. Wherever I lived has always been very cool inside, so I didn't worry. I live in FL (9 years) and never had a problem. That all changed when I got videos to follow for DH with his chemo. Everything I knew suddenly became dangerous. So, no more defrosting on the counter......... We have to defrost it in the refrigerator, and sometimes even cutlets take 4 days. Not sure why--my refrigerator is set to a low temp. Ugh. |
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Post by ~summer~ on Apr 6, 2020 3:02:49 GMT
I don't understand why defrosting on the counter is wrong. It is frozen and when I start to cook it, it is cold, so I don't get this concept at all. It is covered in its original wrap, so it isn't exposed. the inside might be quite cold but the outside of the meat will be in that danger temperature zone just perfect for it to go bad. I defrost my meat quickly in a bowl of water. Water conducts heat much much faster than air so it will defrost much quicker. To understand how much better water conducts heat vs air - think about the difference between sticking your hand in the hot oven vs in a bowl of boiling water! |
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Post by PEAcan pie on Apr 6, 2020 3:10:25 GMT
Meat isn't sanitized before it's packaged or anything. There can be bacteria in there and if you let it come to room temperature, it will start multiplying. I would never let it be room temperature, though it you read about had to cook a good steak, it will say to bring the meat to room temp. I take something to cook out of the freezer at 8 am, sit it on the counter, or sometimes I sit it in the sink, by 4 pm, it is still very chilly and often sometimes a little froze in the middle depending on how big the package is.
It should not "sit" at room temperature to thaw, bacteria will grow. Needs to thaw in the refrigerator. |
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tanya2
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Post by tanya2 on Apr 6, 2020 3:15:20 GMT
I let my meat thaw in the sink in cold water, then put into the fridge as soon as it is thawed until I cook it. Been doing this for 25+ years, never poisoned my family once.
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Post by AussieMeg on Apr 6, 2020 3:17:33 GMT
I *know* that you're supposed to defrost meat in the fridge, but sometimes, if I haven't planned ahead, I will defrost on the counter. I never let it get to room temperature though. The other day I even put a ziplock bag of beef mince (ground beef) in a container in the sink, and put some hot water in the sink to hurry along the process. I've done that numerous times. Naughty! I really should have used the microwave on defrost mode in retrospect.
If I'm defrosting in the fridge, I usually take it out the day before. Unless it is a very big cut of meat, it will be defrosted by the next day. And I try to pack the meat in such a way that it doesn't take long to thaw. For example, a couple of weeks ago I bought 12 chicken thigh fillets. I diced up some and put them into ziplock bags, each with 200g or 300g in them, and spread the chicken out so it was in a single layer as flat as could be. I left some of the fillets whole, and put in two per bag - again spread as flat as possible. That way it is easier to store in the freezer and quicker to defrost.
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Post by 950nancy on Apr 6, 2020 3:18:32 GMT
Meat isn't sanitized before it's packaged or anything. There can be bacteria in there and if you let it come to room temperature, it will start multiplying. I would never let it be room temperature, though it you read about had to cook a good steak, it will say to bring the meat to room temp. I take something to cook out of the freezer at 8 am, sit it on the counter, or sometimes I sit it in the sink, by 4 pm, it is still very chilly and often sometimes a little froze in the middle depending on how big the package is.
Every recipe I have says bring to room temp for only 30 minutes. That isn't enough time to go from a very cold fridge to room temp. I have definitely started defrosting out of the fridge, but make sure to put it back in long before it defrosts. |
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Post by cmpeter on Apr 6, 2020 3:20:39 GMT
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Post by lisacharlotte on Apr 6, 2020 3:28:07 GMT
I have a large pack of thighs sitting in the sink to defrost. I’ve been defrosting meat like this for 30 years. This only thing I defrost in the fridge is a whole turkey.
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Post by busy on Apr 6, 2020 3:31:29 GMT
The "danger zone" where bacteria can proliferate on meat is 40 - 140 degrees. Even if it's still cold to the touch on your counter, it's still almost certainly in the danger zone.
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snyder
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Post by snyder on Apr 6, 2020 3:35:25 GMT
I would never let it be room temperature, though it you read about had to cook a good steak, it will say to bring the meat to room temp. I take something to cook out of the freezer at 8 am, sit it on the counter, or sometimes I sit it in the sink, by 4 pm, it is still very chilly and often sometimes a little froze in the middle depending on how big the package is.
Every recipe I have says bring to room temp for only 30 minutes. That isn't enough time to go from a very cold fridge to room temp. I have definitely started defrosting out of the fridge, but make sure to put it back in long before it defrosts. That's what I'm trying to say, my meat is never at room temp if I thaw from frozen to the time I cook it. So I don't see an issue and I have done it this way for over 45 years and my mom did it that way as well. We are not dead and have never had an food poisons either. |
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ModChick
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Post by ModChick on Apr 6, 2020 3:42:18 GMT
I simply thaw frozen meat in the fridge one to two days before I need it depending on size. Eg, I just put a package of ground beef from freezer into fridge this morning for spaghetti supper tomorrow. Mine is wrapped well from butcher but usually also place it in a bowl/ container (still wrapped in butcher paper of course) so juices don’t run out of package and always on the lowest part of fridge so nothing is below it.
I plan to cook a turkey on either Friday or Sunday so I’m taking my little turkey out tomorrow morning and hopefully it’ll be thawed by Friday afternoon. I might brine it Friday for Sunday cook. Not sure what I’ve decided yet. 😆
As another pea said if not fully thawed I’ll pop in microwave on defrost for a couple minutes but usually that’s only if I forgot to take meat out soon enough.
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Post by LisaDV on Apr 6, 2020 3:43:11 GMT
I defrost in the fridge. Seafood usually takes about a day, most others take 2-4 days. I always place my meat in bowl or container in case of leakage. If i’ve forgotten to take out, I will take out the morning of and submerge in cold water. Then drain and place in fridge, until ready to cook. If it hasn’t completely thawed I might use them micro defrost. I really don’t like the way microwaves defrost though.
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Post by gale w on Apr 6, 2020 3:47:04 GMT
We have our temp set so the fridge's top shelf is around 40 degrees. But our fridge must be super uneven because our thawing meat (which goes on the bottom shelf on a tray) takes way longer than overnight to thaw. Usually on the 2nd day it's still pretty solid but starting to thaw really well on the 3rd day.
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Post by 950nancy on Apr 6, 2020 3:50:35 GMT
Every recipe I have says bring to room temp for only 30 minutes. That isn't enough time to go from a very cold fridge to room temp. I have definitely started defrosting out of the fridge, but make sure to put it back in long before it defrosts. That's what I'm trying to say, my meat is never at room temp if I thaw from frozen to the time I cook it. So I don't see an issue and I have done it this way for over 45 years and my mom did it that way as well. We are not dead and have never had an food poisons either. My MIL would always battle over leaving food out. She was a cook in the schools and she wouldn't leave anything out (not even a pie). Drove me crazy. I think others have had food poisoning (not me), so they are telling you what they would do. |
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Post by busy on Apr 6, 2020 3:54:08 GMT
Every recipe I have says bring to room temp for only 30 minutes. That isn't enough time to go from a very cold fridge to room temp. I have definitely started defrosting out of the fridge, but make sure to put it back in long before it defrosts. That's what I'm trying to say, my meat is never at room temp if I thaw from frozen to the time I cook it. So I don't see an issue and I have done it this way for over 45 years and my mom did it that way as well. We are not dead and have never had an food poisons either. And we're just telling you that it is not recommended. Above 40 degrees is risky. You've been lucky and I hope you continue to be lucky. But isn't good food safety. |
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snyder
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Post by snyder on Apr 6, 2020 4:03:41 GMT
I would never let it be room temperature, though it you read about had to cook a good steak, it will say to bring the meat to room temp. I take something to cook out of the freezer at 8 am, sit it on the counter, or sometimes I sit it in the sink, by 4 pm, it is still very chilly and often sometimes a little froze in the middle depending on how big the package is.
It should not "sit" at room temperature to thaw, bacteria will grow. Needs to thaw in the refrigerator. If it is frozen and still partially frozen in the middle, I highly doubt bacteria will be growing. I think this is an over reaction to someone that did get sick for letting it stay out too long. |
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Post by bc2ca on Apr 6, 2020 4:08:09 GMT
I defrost my meat quickly in a bowl of water.  I took tuna out of the freezer mid-morning, put it in a water filled container in the fridge and it was thawed when I went to make dinner. With a thicker item like chicken breasts I'll take off the ice layer that forms after a couple hours, but I rarely run into a problem with something not thawed when I want to cook. maryland , I rarely freeze meat unless I don't get to it by its use by date, which is beyond the store sell by date. If you are shopping weekly you shouldn't need to be freezing anything unless bulk buying. The only fresh meat I have right now is ground beef with a use by date of April 18. |
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Post by ~summer~ on Apr 6, 2020 4:08:53 GMT
It should not "sit" at room temperature to thaw, bacteria will grow. Needs to thaw in the refrigerator. If it is frozen and still partially frozen in the middle, I highly doubt bacteria will be growing. I think this is an over reaction to someone that did get sick for letting it stay out too long. its only still frozen on the inside. The surface is what you need to worry about. |
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Post by maryland on Apr 6, 2020 5:10:43 GMT
I defrost meat all the time because we buy large quantities (half a pig, quarter of beef, etc) from local farms. Unless it's something especially large (which to me would be over 2 lbs; the vast majority of our meat is packaged in 1 lb packages), I put it in a metal bowl in the fridge to defrost two days before I want to use it. So tonight, I put what I'm going to cook with on Tuesday into the defrost bowl. That's it. That sounds great! I always thought the meat could only be defrosting in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours, and my meat wasn't always defrosted that quickly. And when I would defrost in the microwave, the ends were "cooked" and the middle was still frozen. I love that you can defrost it for 2 days! Thanks! |
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Post by maryland on Apr 6, 2020 5:15:30 GMT
Thanks so much for all the great tips! This will really help! I just spend over 2 hours trying to menu plan for 14 days (so stressful for me!) and all of your advice will help as I will have to put a lot of meat in the freezer. Now to prepare for the trip to the grocery store tomorrow!
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cycworker
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Post by cycworker on Apr 6, 2020 9:07:32 GMT
I am with snyder - I've been defrosting via the countertop, when necessary, all my adult life. My parents do it, too. Never any issues. Sometimes uif I take it out the night before I can defrost in the fridge. Sometimes I defrost in the sink. |
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Post by gar on Apr 6, 2020 9:16:37 GMT
I'm another one who knows the rules and the reasons but I do defrost meat on the counter all the time. Once it's well on the way to being defrosted it goes into the fridge until I start cooking so I don't leave it sitting out warm for hours though.
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I took tuna out of the freezer mid-morning, put it in a water filled container in the fridge and it was thawed when I went to make dinner. With a thicker item like chicken breasts I'll take off the ice layer that forms after a couple hours, but I rarely run into a problem with something not thawed when I want to cook.
