How Do You Thaw Food From Your Freezer?: General Discussion and Forum Games

Ziggy · **Site Rank:** Healthy BBF

How Do You Thaw Food From Your Freezer?
Safe Thawing Tips

Never thaw foods on your countertop at room temperature. You can safely thaw food in the refrigerator. 4 to 5 pounds takes 24 hours to thaw.
You can also thaw food outside the refrigerator by immersing in cold water. Change the water every half hour to keep the water cold. Cook immediately after thawing.
Or you can thaw food in the microwave, but if you do, be sure to continue cooking right away.

joebert · **Site Rank:** Moderator

I like to put things in the fridge to thaw. It drives me batty when people place meat, especially bloody meat that's not in a vacuum-sealed package, anywhere other than the bottom of the fridge.

When I need something thawed quick, I usually put it in the sink with the water turned on just enough to trickle over the package.

I'm a little leery about not thawing in the sink or on the counter. I've always figured that anything that could happen in the few hours it takes is going to die when it's cooked anyways.

tammy · **Site Rank:** Site Admin

What is the difference between thawing your food on the counter top and running it under cold water in the sink? Why can't you thaw on the counter top?

Whenever I need something thawed out quick, I've done the put in the sink under a drip on the package method...

joebert · **Site Rank:** Moderator

All I know is my father found me leaving frozen meat out on the counter one day and said I should put it in the sink with water drizzling on it. When I tried to use hot water he decided to show me instead. My father may be a douche, but his food always turned out great.

Ziggy · **Site Rank:** Healthy BBF

tammy wrote:

What is the difference between thawing your food on the counter top and running it under cold water in the sink? Why can't you thaw on the counter top?
Whenever I need something thawed out quick, I've done the put in the sink under a drip on the package method...

On the "refrigerator temperature" post... it says

Quote:

...at room temperature, bacteria in food can double every 20 minutes. The more bacteria there are, the greater the chance that you could become sick.

That is why you should never defrost food on your counter top. Think about it... the outer part of the food thaws first... and it takes longer for the inside of the food to defrost... look at how long you have to leave it on the counter before it is defrosted all the way through. That can take many hours. That adds up to a lot of bacteria forming on the food. Why take the chance of getting sick??

Thawing food by immersing it in cold water is for sure better than thawing it on the counter top...but it seems, to me, to be a lot of extra work because you have to keep changing the water every half hour to keep the water cold.

Just put your frozen food in the refrigerator the night before, and by the next day, it will be ready to cook.

joebert · **Site Rank:** Moderator

It really does make sense to take something out the day before and let it thaw in the fridge. I wonder what the chances of me getting really sick from thawing food out on the counter are though. Not all of the time, but say uncle Bob and his family pay you a surprise visit and you need to take out some extra food.

If the kitchen is kept clean for the most part, I don't see where the bacteria is going to come from. If it's already in the food I would assume cooking it is going to kill off the bacteria no matter how much there is.

Now, if food is left to thaw on say a wooden cutting board regularly, I could see how some kind of nasty bacteria could evolve in some of the knife grooves if someone doesn't clean it well enough regularly.

All in all, I don't think letting food thaw in the home on the counter or in the sink occasionally is ever going to lead to more than maybe a few hours of loose poop on a bad day. It's probably not something that should be part of the routine though. Considering the safer alternative of planning ahead and using the fridge. Let's face it, I bet we all secretly hope uncle Bob gets the poops for showing up unannounced anyways.

Y's Guy · **Site Rank:** Moderator

Uncle Bob and the poops... how true :haha:

I have always done the cool drip method... I am just not a long range planner... I usually follow my taste buds the morning of to decide what I want to eat!

I think the cool drip allows the outside of the meat to maintain it's temp closer to the core of the meat. If you totally submers the meat in cold water, won't you lose a lot of the flavor?

This type of topic is why I like to buy all the extra stuff in advance but stop by the store to get the meat on the day of!

tammy · **Site Rank:** Site Admin

I just read something from the Reader's Digest that says to speed thawing, make an indentation in the middle of a package of ground beef before you freeze it.

I also read that if you thaw food in the refrigerator, you can refreeze it safely, but if you thaw food in cold water or in the microwave, you should cook it before you refreeze it.

joebert · **Site Rank:** Moderator

The mention of "speed thawing" got me thinking.

I like hamburger, but it always thaws unevenly if I leave it in the package I get from the grocery store. Even when I get large packs and split them up myself I end up with little one-pound lumps pretty much.

I think my problem is my bag. I'm using a Ziplock bag that's too small. I think what I'm going to try is using a much larger ziplock bag. I want to use a bag that's large enough that I can use a rolling pin, baking sheet, book, or something to flatten one pound of hamburger inside the bag so that the whole thing is half an inch to an inch thick.

It would probably thaw evenly, and I bet it will be easier to store as well. :cap-smile:

Ziggy · **Site Rank:** Healthy BBF

tammy wrote:

I just read something from the Reader's Digest that says to speed thawing, make an indentation in the middle of a package of ground beef before you freeze it.

Did it say why this works???

tammy wrote:

I also read that if you thaw food in the refrigerator, you can refreeze it safely, but if you thaw food in cold water or in the microwave, you should cook it before you refreeze it.

Hummmm... I have always heard to NEVER refreeze food.

joebert wrote:

I think what I'm going to try is using a much larger ziplock bag. I want to use a bag that's large enough that I can use a rolling pin, baking sheet, book, or something to flatten one pound of hamburger inside the bag so that the whole thing is half an inch to an inch thick. It would probably thaw evenly, and I bet it will be easier to store as well. :cap-smile:

Good idea!!!!!!

Laughing Gravy · **Site Rank:** Moderator

The whole refreezing thing is a tricky area. Pre-packed meals are a no-no, I've heard.

I was trying to find out if you could re-freeze fish the other day. A quick search led to your very own FDA site, and apparently you can. I tested it, didn't spend days spewing my ring up or anything, so must be okay.

My advice is, go check. The FDA or similar government sites from around the world always have advice there if you're willing to look for it.

Y's Guy · **Site Rank:** Moderator

I'm assuming the indentation in the middle is where you put the drip at to that the water accumulates and unfreezes the inside portion of the meat at the same time as the outside as water runs off from the drip in the middle. That's my guess anyways :idea2:

!

tammy · **Site Rank:** Site Admin

Ziggy wrote:

tammy wrote:

I just read something from the Reader's Digest that says to speed thawing, make an indentation in the middle of a package of ground beef before you freeze it.

Did it say why this works???

No, they didn't say why it works...

joebert · **Site Rank:** Moderator

My guess is that because it seems to be the middle of a pack of meet that's always the last to defrost, that the indentation decreases the size of the middle area so it thaws quicker.

tammy · **Site Rank:** Site Admin

joebert wrote:

My guess is that because it seems to be the middle of a pack of meet that's always the last to defrost, that the indentation decreases the size of the middle area so it thaws quicker.

That does make sense!

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