defrosting =
thawing
Freezing
food doesn’t kill bacteria—it just puts them into suspended animation. They
start multiplying again when you take the food out of the freezer, and they can
reproduce rapidly at any temperature within the so-called danger zone—between
40° and 140°. Think of
defrosting as the start of a contest between you and the bacteria—your goal is
to get the food cooked or eaten before they grow too numerous.
Food experts usually call the game in favor of the bacteria if
perishable food has stayed in the danger zone for more than two hours.
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What
difference does it make if I leave meat out to thaw on the counter all
day—won’t cooking it kill most of the bacteria?
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Cooking will indeed
kill most of the bacteria, but you can still get food poisoning.
Some bacteria leave behind harmful toxins which aren’t destroyed
by cooking.
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Methods
Refrigerator
Method: Put
the wrapped frozen food in the refrigerator to thaw, with a tray beneath it to
catch the drippings. This method
works especially well with meat—the slow thawing allows it to reabsorb much of
the moisture from the melting ice crystals so there’s less “drip out.”
Thawing in the refrigerator also conserves energy since the frozen food
helps cool your refrigerator as it thaws.
Food thawed this way doesn’t need to be cooked immediately.
It can even be refrozen if you change you mind about cooking it, though
its quality may suffer.
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Our
power was out for a day and some of the food in our freezer has thawed a
bit. Can we refreeze it?
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If the temperature
inside your freezer was above 40º for longer than 2 hours, then it’s
best to throw out any perishable food that was inside.
Fortunately, your freezer probably stayed colder than that,
especially if you had a lot of food in it and didn’t open the door.
If that’s the case, go ahead and refreeze everything.
Partially thawed meat and concentrated juices refreeze without much
loss in quality, though fruits and vegetables get mushier.
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Cold water
method: Put
the food in a watertight plastic bag, and use cold water (lower than 70°) to
thaw it. The fastest and safest way
to do this is to put the food in a sink or shower, and run the water over it,
turning the package over every few minutes so that both sides thaw evenly.
If you want to conserve water, another method is to immerse the bag in a
clean sink or bowl full of cold water. Be
sure to change the water every 30 minutes in order to keep it cold and flush out
bacteria. If you thaw food with cold
water, you must cook it immediately—it would take too long for it to cool to a
safe temperature if you put it in the refrigerator.
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Cold
water thawing tip:
The more water you use and the more that water circulates, the
faster your food will thaw. If
you often thaw food with cold water, think about buying a submersible
aquarium pump to keep the water in the sink moving around the food.
Another thawing trick for small items it to put them in the
washing machine, fill it with cold water, and use the delicate setting to
agitate the water as the food thaws.
Don’t let the washer go into the spin cycle—on most washer
models, you can disable this cycle by keeping the lid open.
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Microwave method:
Take the food out of its store
packaging, put it in a microwave-safe container with loose wrapping on top, and
microwave it on the defrost setting (30% power).
Make sure that you allow at least 2” between the food and the walls and
ceiling of the microwave oven so that air can circulate properly.
If you’re thawing a package of individual pieces (like steaks or
patties) that were frozen together, pull them apart as soon as you can and thaw
them one at a time. Every 5 minutes,
you should rotate the food 180° so that it thaws more evenly.
After the food is thawed, be sure to cook it immediately—it would take
too long for it to cool to a safe temperature if you put it in the refrigerator.
Once cooked, you can refreeze the food if you like.
Microwave ovens work best with small items.
See
also: microwave cooking
Cook it frozen
method: Just
unwrap the food and cook it as if it were fresh, only allow more time for it to
be cooked. This method works best
with fish, vegetables, prepared foods, and hamburger patties.
Use it for poultry, steaks and roasts only in a pinch—flouring and
breading won’t stick to a frozen surface and the meat won’t sear properly.
See also:
searing meats; breading foods.
Metal pan method:
Food will thaw faster on metal than on a plastic or tile
countertop—metal’s a better conductor so it transfers heat to the food more
quickly. Food safety experts frown
on defrosting meat or fish this way. It
takes longer than other methods, giving bacteria more time to multiply.
Don’t even think of trying this with meat or fish if it will take
longer than two hours to defrost.
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“Magic”
defrosting trays:
There’s no magic or advanced science here—these overpriced
space hogs are simply made of a metal (usually aluminum) that conducts
heat fairly well. Any heavy
copper or aluminum pan should work just as well.
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Room
temperature method: Put
the frozen item on the countertop and let it thaw at room temperature.
This is fine for some baked goods, but don’t ever use this method with
meat or fish—bacteria thrive on these foods at room temperature.
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Air
thawing tip:
Frozen foods will thaw faster if air is moving around them.
If you’re using the metal pan or room temperature method, you can
speed things up quite a bit by blowing air on the food with an electric
fan.
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Warm water method:
Immerse the frozen food in warm water or run warm water over it.
This is a good way to thaw frozen juice cans, but don’t thaw meat or
fish this way.
Applications
turkeys
and large birds · small cuts of meat
· hams or roasts · fish
· shellfish · juice
cans · cheesecake and cream
cheese · vegetables
· fruit · casseroles
and cooked foods · baked
goods
How
to
defrost a large, unstuffed bird, like a turkey, chicken, duck, or goose:
·
The refrigerator
method is best.
Remove the neck and any giblets as soon as you can work them free.
A bird is fully thawed when there aren’t any more ice crystals in its
cavity. Allow 5 hours per
pound. Time to defrost a 15 pound turkey:
3 days
·
If you forgot to put your bird in
the refrigerator, the cold
water method is a good
alternative. Be sure to change the
water every 30 minutes. Allow 30
minutes of thawing time per pound. Time
to defrost a 15 pound turkey: 7
- 8 hours
·
If you’re short of time, the cook
it frozen method is a fairly good
solution. If you’re roasting a
frozen turkey, cook it at 350° instead of the 325° that most cookbooks
recommend. After a few hours, take
it out of the oven briefly to extract the giblet bag.
A large bird will take up to 1½ times longer to roast than it
would if it were fully thawed, and even longer if you stuff it or keeping
opening the oven door to baste it. The
meat will be a bit drier than it would have been if you’d thawed it first.
·
The microwave
method is a poor way to thaw
large items like turkeys and ducks—the wings would be fully cooked before you
made much progress on the breasts. If
you must use this method, be sure to cook the bird as soon as it
thaws—bacteria love partially cooked meats.
·
The room
temperature method and the warm
water method are unsafe ways
to thaw meat.
How
to
defrost hamburger or small cuts of
meat:
·
Be careful when cooking previously frozen hamburger—it
sometimes looks brown on the inside even if it hasn’t been adequately
cooked. To be sure, use a meat
thermometer to make sure that the internal temperature of the meat is at least
160°.
·
The refrigerator
method is the best way to
thaw hamburger and small cuts of meat. Since
there’s less drip out, the meat will be juicier and more flavorful when
cooked. Allow 5 hours per pound.
After thawing, hamburger and poultry should be cooked within two days,
beef and pork within five.
·
The cold
water method is a good
alternative to the refrigerator method.
·
The cook
it frozen method is a good
solution for hamburger patties and thin steaks.
Some chefs prefer it to the refrigerator method since it’s so easy to
overcook fresh or thawed patties or thin steaks.
·
The microwave
method is a fair way to
thaw small cuts of meat. The
downside to this method is that the outside of the meat often starts to cook
before the inside is fully thawed. This
makes it hard to sear the meat properly for optimal flavor and juiciness. If
several cuts are frozen together, take them out after a few minutes and pull
them apart, then microwave them separately.
If you’re defrosting a block of hamburger, take it out of the
microwave every few minutes to scrape away the thawed surface.
·
The cook
it frozen method is a fair
solution for cuts like chops, steaks and chicken.
If you’re grilling the meat, move the rack about 5 or 6 inches away
from the heat source so that the outside of the meat doesn’t overcook; if
you’re broiling it, move the rack about 4 or 5 inches away.
The downside to cooking frozen meat is that it doesn’t sear as well
as it would if it were thawed, and that flour or breading doesn’t stick to
it very well. The meat also will
take longer to cook.
·
The metal
pan method is a poor way to
defrost meat. Don’t use this
method if you think it will take longer than two hours for the meat to
defrost.
·
The room
temperature method and the warm
water method are unsafe
ways to thaw meat.
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I’ve
heard that you’re not supposed to leave meat out for more than 2 hours.
If I accidentally left a steak out for 4 hours, could I still eat
it if I only had half?
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Once they get going,
bacteria can grow at an exponential rate.
If a population of bacteria doubled every 30 minutes, for example,
then each one of them would grow to 16 in two hours, and to 256 in four
hours. Throw the steak out.
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How
to
defrost a large ham or roast:
·
The refrigerator
method is best.
Allow 5 hours per pound.
·
The cold
water method is a good
alterative. Allow 30 minutes per
pound.
·
The cook
it frozen method is a fairly
good alternative, though you won’t be able to flour and brown the meat
first. Some cooks recommend
boiling a frozen ham in orange or pineapple juice for about 30 minutes before
baking it in the oven. Allow up to
half again as much time to cook frozen meat.
·
The microwave
method is a poor way to
thaw a large cut of meat, since the outside will start cooking while the
inside is still frozen.
·
The room
temperature method and the warm
water method are unsafe
ways to thaw meat.
How
to
defrost
fish
(see
also:
defrosting
shellfish):
·
The cook
it frozen method is the best
way to thaw frozen fish, unless you plan to bread, stuff, or broil it.
Just pat the surface dry with a paper towel and cook it.
If it’s already breaded, there’s no need to thaw it.
·
If you plan to bread, stuff, or broil fish, the refrigerator
method is the best way to
thaw it. Try not to thaw it
completely, though, since that will dry out the flesh.
To make the fish taste fresher, rinse it and let it soak in milk as it
thaws. Don’t rinse it again when
you take it out of the refrigerator, just pat it dry and cook.
Time to defrost one pound of
fish: 6-8
hours.
·
The cold
water method
is a good way to thaw fish.
Don’t let the fish thaw completely.
Time to defrost one pound
of fish: 1-2
hours.
·
If several small fish are frozen together in a block, use the cold
water method to separate them. Cook
them right away or wrap them and put them in the refrigerator to continue
thawing.
·
The metal
pan method is a fair way to
defrost fish. Definitely don’t
do it for longer than 2 hours.
·
The microwave
method is a poor way to
defrost fish.
·
The room
temperature method and the warm
water method are unsafe
ways to thaw fish.
How
to
defrost shellfish:
·
It’s best to thaw
shellfish until it’s just pliable. There
should be a few ice crystals in the flesh when you begin cooking it.
·
The refrigerator
method is the best way to
defrost shellfish, as long as you can do so without thawing it completely.
Many cooks recommend soaking shrimp in salt water (1-2 tablespoons salt
per quart of water) while it’s thawing in the refrigerator.
·
The cold
water method is the best
way to defrost cooked shrimp or langostinos.
Unwrap them first.
·
The cold
water method
is a good way to defrost uncooked
shellfish.
·
The cook
it frozen method is only a fair
way to cook shellfish—it will be tougher and more rubbery than if you thawed
it first.
·
The room
temperature method and the warm
water method are unsafe
ways to thaw shellfish.
How
to
defrost concentrated juice cans:
·
The refrigerator
method is the best way to
defrost frozen juice cans.
·
The warm
water method is a good
alternative. Submerge the can in
warm water for a few minutes until the frozen juice is thawed enough to slide
out of the can into a pitcher. It
sometimes helps to puncture the closed end of the can in order to break the
vacuum. Add some fresh water to
the pitcher and mash the pulp with a potato masher.
How
to
defrost cheesecake and cream cheese:
·
The refrigerator
method is the best way is
to thaw cheesecake and cream cheese.
·
The microwave
method is a good
alternative. Be sure to remove the aluminum wrapper if you’re microwaving
cream cheese. Approximate
time to defrost one slice of cheesecake: 15
seconds.
·
The room
temperature method is also a
good way to defrost cheesecake and cream cheese.
How
to
defrost vegetables:
·
The cook
it frozen method is the best
way to thaw most frozen vegetables. Be
careful you’re sautéing frozen vegetables—they often spatter when they
hit hot oil or butter. There are two exceptions:
You should partially defrost spinach and other leafy vegetables before
cooking them so that the outermost leaves don’t get overcooked. You should
also thaw frozen corn on the cob, or it will be cooking on the outside but
cold on the inside.
·
The cold
water method is best way to
thaw frozen leafy vegetables. Thaw
them just until the leaves can be separated.
·
The refrigerator
method is the best way to
thaw frozen corn on the cob is in the refrigerator.
·
The cold
water method is a good way
to thaw frozen cord on the cob.
How
to
defrost fruit:
·
The refrigerator
method is the best way to
thaw frozen fruit. Try not to thaw
whole fruit (like berries) completely or it may turn mushy.
Time to defrost a pound of fruit:
6
- 8 hours if packed in syrup, longer if not.
·
The cold
water method is a good
alternative. Keep the fruit wrapped in an airtight container and don’t
thaw it completely—leave a few ice crystals.
Time to defrost a pound of fruit: 30
minutes if packed in syrup, longer if not.
How
to
defrost casseroles and other cooked foods:
·
The cook
it frozen method works best
for cooked foods. Heat the
food in the oven at 400° or in a double boiler until it heated
through—about one hour for a one-pint casserole.
Many casseroles can go straight from the freezer to the oven, as long
as the containers they’re in are freezer-to-oven safe.
How
to
defrost baked goods:
·
The refrigerator method is
the best way to thaw most baked
goods. Keep them wrapped.
·
The room
temperature method is a very
good alternative, and it’s faster than the refrigerator method.
Unwrap frosted cakes before thawing so that the frosting
doesn’t stick to the wrapper.
·
The cook
it frozen method is another very
good alternative for baked goods that can be served heated.
Larger items like loaves, muffins, or bagels can be thawed in a 350°
oven for several minutes. Baked
cookies should be warmed in a 275° oven.
·
The microwave
method is a good one for
small, unfrosted baked goods like bagels and muffins.
It’s best to microwave them one at a time on high until they’re
just thawed enough to cut in half (about 15 seconds), and then toast them
briefly. If you can’t toast
them, microwave them until heated through, about 30 seconds.
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How
to protect a frosted cake as it thaws:
You should keep a frosted cake wrapped while it’s thawing in
the refrigerator so that it doesn’t absorb odors.
Since frosting likes to stick to plastic wrappers, keep the cake
in an airtight plastic cake carrier or put it in a cardboard box and
then wrap the box tightly with a clean plastic garbage bag.
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Copyright © 1996-2004 Lori Alden
