3 Ways to Safely Thaw Frozen Foods
I’M RELYING ON MY FREEZER WAYYYY MORE THAN USUAL LATELY!
How about you?? Quarantine life has changed cooking in so many ways, stocking up on freezer goods being one of them! Whether chicken breasts & frozen beef were finally on sale, or you’re counting on that veggie intake coming from frozen options over fresh in order to limit trips to the grocery store — reheating & cooking everything up can be a challenge! If you’re on team “leave it on the counter” — THIS IS FOR YOU!
Reheating foods, or allowing them to come out of their icy, frozen-ness into a product we can actually cook with takes it through a temperature path called the DANGER ZONE if not done properly! This can lead to an increase in bacteria growth on the food & higher risk for food-borne illnesses. The danger zone is the temperature range of 40-140 deg F, which is why keeping your fridge set below this 40 deg. mark & not allowing foods to sit within that temperature range is so important!
But there are SAFE ways to defrost your foods — here’s three that I use in my own kitchen & are perfect ways to keep your food safe.
THAWING FOOD SAFELY
1. IN THE REFRIGERATOR || 6 HOURS - 2 DAYS
Allowing the food item, especially a meat/poultry item, to come into a thawed state in a space that is temperature controlled is crucial in keeping you safe & bacteria to a minimum! Moving a food from the freezer into the refrigerator allows the food to slowly thaw & remain within a safe temperature range that inhibits bacteria growth. This may seem to take longer than throwing it out onto the counter to thaw — but it is worth the wait & only requires a little planning.
2. SOAKING IN COLD WATER || 1 - 3 HOURS
The key here is COLD water! If you soak the frozen food in hot water, this will cause some of the external portions of the food to actually cook a little, but not quite all the way — again, leaving the food in that danger zone for far too long, meaning more bacteria is likely to fester! Simply pull out a large mixing bowl & fill it with cold water, submerge the item you are thawing, then wait until thawed completely! We use this method most often in our house over the weekend when meal prepping!
3. MICROWAVE || TIMED PER ITEM
Short on time or forgot to move something into the fridge?? Check out that defrost setting on your microwave! Most newer models have different time options for different food types & can easily be selected. Be aware that some microwaves cannot be trusted all the time! (We all have that one hot spot is in our microwave is right?!) Some microwaves don’t heat evenly throughout the machine, or have a total mind of it’s own when it comes to heating! If this is the case — run the microwave at 30% power & heat for 1 minute per pound of meat/poultry, flipping over every 60-90 seconds.
* BONUS *
Cook straight from frozen! This is super easy to do with veggies but gets a little trickier with meats — less crispy crust if you’re looking for a sear! Since you are cooking the frozen item, there is a little extra moisture to account for! If you’re cooking with oil this may cause a little splatter while cooking. You can also simply drain some of this extra off as things get cooking!
Frozen foods are a great option to have no hand in times like these when grocery trips are not as frequent, or the fresh items you’d typically snag are not available! Stay safe while staying home & thaw your foods safely!
xx,
mallory