Defrost Beef in Vacuum Seal Bag or Not
By Contributing Author: Janeal Yancey, Ph.D., Academy of Arkansas 
My meat is FROZEN! What is the all-time mode to thaw it?
This is probably i of the most common questions I hear as a meat scientist. If you lot Google 'thawing meat', the kickoff hit that comes upwards is a fact canvass from USDA cleverly named "The Big Thaw.". Information technology will tell y'all that there are three ways to properly thaw meat.
1. Fridge, 2. Common cold h2o, 3. Microwave. Those will all piece of work, but there are pros and cons to each. Here are my thoughts:
ane. Refrigerator. Thawing meat in the fridge takes longer than the other two methods, but information technology requires the least work on your part. My biggest trouble is remembering to put the frozen meat in the fridge in the morning on my way out the door. Steaks, craven breasts, packages of ground beefiness, and things of that size volition probably be thawed by the time you get dwelling in the evening, but larger cuts like roasts or whole birds may demand to be thawed overnight.
It'south best to thaw uncooked meat on the lesser shelf and then that the meat juice won't leak down onto other things in the fridge. In my refrigerator, the bottom shelf is the hardest to go to and is usually the hardest to find a place to set something new, and then I gear up my meat on a plate to catch anything that may seep out of the package. I find that a nice glass pie plate is all-time because the sides are taller than a dinner plate and information technology will concur in the leaking meat juice. (and, I never, e'er make an actual pie, so information technology makes me feel good to get use out of the pie plates my dad gave me.) So you tin can merely run the dirty pie plate through the dishwasher and its ready to make more pies (yeah, right). One overnice thing almost this method is that if yous decide to go out to consume afterwards piece of work rather than come home and cook, the thawing meat is fine to wait until tomorrow or even a couple of days. (I'm always looking for a good alibi to eat out).
2. Common cold water. Getting all three of us out the door, clothed and fed is really more than we tin handle most mornings, so I usually don't recall to set something in the fridge to thaw for that night. So, the cold h2o method is the one I utilize the most to thaw meat.
Why not hot water? Well, hot water would thaw the meat, merely information technology would too first to melt it and it could crusade parts of the meat to get to a higher place 40 degrees. That'south the temperature where microbes can start to grow.
Cold water, right out of the tap works not bad. I merely plug upwardly the sink and set in the meat until information technology's covered with water. Heat is transferred faster through water than air, so it goes faster than on the counter. (That's why all those people that went in the water on 'Titanic' were screwed).
If your meat is in a vacuum package (a sealed plastic bag with no air) you lot can merely stick it directly in the water. If information technology's wrapped in paper or one of those foam packages with the overwrap from the grocery shop, I would take information technology out and put it in a plastic baggie. The baggie will contain the meat juice and let the heat from the h2o to thaw the meat.
If I'grand actually in a bustle, I will allow the meat set in the cold water for a while, then let that h2o drain, and run in some other batch. The frozen meat cools the water (stick your hands in it, it's a lot colder than information technology was), so the water from the tap will be a niggling warmer and will assist the procedure get a fiddling faster.
three. Microwave. Nearly microwaves have meat thawing settings, and I have been known to apply them for ground beefiness or sausage. Usually those are packaged in chubs (niggling sacks) with clips and I am in a big hurry to get them cooked. I don't like the microwave method for steaks or roasts or anything 'intact' (that ways non ground). I call up it thaws unevenly and part of your meat gets cooked, while office of it is still frozen. Always put your meat on a plate (another great use for pie plates) when you thaw in the microwave. You don't desire meat juice all over the rotating plate in the microwave.
Now recall, it'due south ok to cook from frozen. It just takes a fiddling longer and it's difficult to get spices on frozen meat.
Dr. Yancey is a mom of two fabulous trivial girls and an advocate of the meat industry. She has a passion for providing education and information to anyone who has questions, follow her blogs to stay informed!
Source: https://meatscience.org/TheMeatWeEat/topics/meat-safety/article/2017/08/02/safe-methods-for-defrosting-meat
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