Chef's tricks, or is it possible to cook frozen meat immediately, without first defrosting?
Meat that has been frozen requires compliance with certain features of its further preparation.
If you do not take into account important nuances, after cooking the product you may be disappointed in its culinary characteristics.
At the same time, the meat products themselves do not become worse after storage in the freezer, if you adhere to the rules for their further use.
Is it possible to cook frozen meat without defrosting? We’ll tell you later.
Content
Is it worth it?
There is no clear answer to the question. The fact is that cooking meat without defrosting is not forbidden. There will be no particular harm to health from this. The only question is how much it will retain its taste and beneficial properties.
Properly defrosted meat and dishes made from it will be tasty and healthy. And vice versa.
Therefore, every housewife must decide whether to cook a frozen meat product without first thawing it or whether to follow the recipe instructions in compliance with the cooking rules.
Why is it not recommended?
This should not be done for several important reasons.If you do not take them into account, then it is unlikely that dishes made from such a product will benefit the body. And it’s unlikely that you’ll want to eat them at all:
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Taste deteriorates. Meat cooked without first defrosting becomes dry and tough.The temperature contrast that the product undergoes with this method of preparation does not have the best effect on the structure of its cells.
The fibers lose their juiciness and softness. There is no need to talk about preserving taste qualities. The meat loses them completely and becomes like rubber pulp without taste or smell.
- The meat is not cooked well. Frozen meat is difficult to cook to a uniform degree of doneness. It is possible that an undercooked solid part will remain inside the piece. At the same time, saving time on defrosting the product, you will have to increase the cooking time.
- Cloudy broth. It is almost impossible to obtain a clear broth from meat that is cooked without first defrosting. In this case, protein coagulation occurs gradually and throughout almost the entire cooking time. As a result, the broth turns out cloudy, without a pleasant aroma and richness, even if the foam is constantly collected.
- The beneficial properties of the product are reduced. Long-term heat treatment destroys more vitamins and biologically active components. Both pathogenic agents and beneficial substances are killed. In addition, it is easier to wash off small specks from a defrosted piece. Otherwise, they remain in the broth.
How to quickly defrost a product?
There are many ways by which you can quickly and without loss of culinary characteristics defrost meat and prepare it for cooking. Following the recipes below, this is not difficult to do.
A classic example of thawing a frozen piece of meat is placing it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator in the evening. If for some reason this was not possible, you can resort to small tricks.
In cold water
To preserve the taste and benefits of meat and defrost it in a short time, recommended:
- immerse the product in cold water, do not cover the dish with a lid;
- drain the water after a quarter of an hour;
- Repeat the procedure several times until the piece of meat is completely thawed.
The product will defrost within 2-3 hours. The use of this method ensures the preservation of all gastronomic properties of meat.
In the warm
This option reduces the defrosting process to one and a half hours.. With a gentle temperature regime of the liquid - from 15 to 18°C - the structure of the muscle fibers is slightly disturbed while the taste characteristics of the product are fully preserved. The water should be changed every 10 minutes.
Both methods have one drawback - many useful elements remain in the water. To prevent this, the meat should first be placed in a plastic bag.
Defrosting meat in a bag in warm water, video instructions:
In the salty
Under the influence of salt, defrosting occurs much faster. For this purpose, a concentrated saline solution is prepared, into which frozen meat is placed. It thaws evenly and quite quickly.
In hot
If you need to urgently prepare the product for cooking, you can use hot water. For this purpose, the piece is kept under running boiling water until the meat is completely thawed.Or place it in a container with hot water until it is completely defrosted.
To improve the taste at least a little, you can cut off the edges that have been scalded with boiling water.
In kitchen appliances
The easiest way to defrost meat is in the microwave. It is equipped with a special function for this.
When choosing the desired mode and time, all that remains is to install the desired portion inside the cabinet.
A slow cooker is also a good helper in speeding up the process.. Due to the steam formed in it, the product thaws evenly, although it loses a lot of moisture.
In an electric oven, meat thaws very quickly. But at the same time, the upper surface rapidly dries out, and the inside becomes watery.
Defrosting in a gas oven risks frying the top layer, while the inside does not have time to defrost.
other methods
The choice of method depends on the time you can expect. Sometimes you have to resort to unusual methods in order to prepare lunch or dinner on time.
Using a hair dryer
As an alternative to the previous methods, you can use a hair dryer. It is suitable for defrosting a small portion of a product. It will take a long time to defrost a large piece with a hairdryer. Defrosting is carried out when the cold air mode is turned on.
The advantage of this method is that the meat will remain juicy, aromatic and tasty during subsequent cooking.
In a water bath
By placing a piece of meat over the steam, It should be taken into account that it will thaw unevenly. One part will almost be cooked, the other will only have time to defrost.
When preparing soup from such a product, the broth will turn out cloudy, almost lean and without the desired aroma.
At room temperature and near the battery
Both methods are good because they significantly speed up the defrosting process.
However, we should not forget that above-zero temperatures have a detrimental effect on the freshness of the product. The meat acquires a stale smell and becomes dangerous to eat.
It quickly develops pathogenic bacteria, which can cause serious food poisoning.
Conclusion
Using a variety of methods for quickly defrosting meat, you can experiment. However, it is not always possible to bring products to the desired gastronomic characteristics.
Therefore, in order to avoid spoilage of a valuable food product, it is better to prepare it for cooking in advance. That is, remove it from the freezer in the evening and leave it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
