Basic types and important rules for defrosting meat

There are practically no problems with buying fresh meat now, however, many housewives prefer to prepare it for future use and store it in the freezer.

When the need arises, the product is taken out, defrosted and cooked. It would seem simple, there are different ways to defrost.

However, not all of them are equally useful. Let's talk about how to properly defrost meat.

What methods are there?

The choice of method depends on how quickly the product needs to be defrosted to cook it. It is best to remove meat from the freezer in advance if you plan to cook it the next day.

In a refrigerator

This defrosting option is considered the safest and most accurate., besides it is very simple. The meat must be removed from the freezer and placed on a shelf in the refrigerator.

In this case, the optimal temperature regime should be observed - it should not be more than +4°. If the temperature is higher, it may cause bacteria to multiply.

When defrosting in the refrigerator, it is important to protect the meat from foreign odors. You don't have to worry when it's in vacuum packaging.

The disadvantage of this method is the duration of defrosting. A kilogram piece will take about 8-10 hours to thaw. Therefore, defrosting in the refrigerator is suitable when cooking the dish is planned for the next day.

After such defrosting, thawed pork, lamb and beef can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (poultry and minced meat - 1-2 days).

About defrosting meat in the refrigerator - video:

In cold water

There are also situations when the housewife only has a couple of hours at her disposal.. If there is no time to wait until tomorrow and the meat needs to be cooked today, they resort to the method of defrosting it in cold water. You just need to transfer the piece of meat from the freezer into a container with water poured from the tap.

Do not try to speed up the defrosting process by using hot water. In this case, the finished dish may lose its taste and be tough. This is especially true for white meat, the structure of which is more delicate than that of red meat.

Cold water in the container needs to be changed every 25-30 minutes. It's even better to periodically add ice cubes to it. Due to this, until the very middle of the piece of meat, its defrosting occurs evenly, the product will be fresh, the juice will be preserved, and the finished dish will not turn out dry and tough.

The time for complete thawing depends on the size - if the meat pieces are small, then defrosting will take 1-2 hours.

In addition, the bag (film) will prevent water from entering the meat structure, but if this does happen, then you cannot store the product in the refrigerator for a long time, you need to cook it as quickly as possible.

A few rules for defrosting:

1. Defrosting should be slow. Only in this case it is possible to preserve the taste of the product, its juiciness, vitamins and useful microelements.
2. The defrosting time depends on the size of the piece of meat (its weight).
3. Only when the meat is completely defrosted is it removed from the packaging, washed in running water and dipped in paper towels.
4. You should try to keep the time period between complete thawing of the meat and its cooking to a minimum.
5. It is not recommended to put the defrosted product back into the freezer.

It will take longer to defrost a whole large piece than one cut into small slices. Therefore, if you plan to cook goulash or cutlets from meat in the future and send it for freezing, cut it into pieces.

At what temperature does rapid defrosting occur?

According to sanitary rules and regulations (SanPiN), when defrosting meat products, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at a level from 0° to 6°.

The process should be slow (in the refrigerator) – from 12 to 24 hours depending on the size of the piece of meat. This is the most correct way in which meat juice is not lost.

The same rules regarding quick defrosting (in room conditions on a production table) set the temperature to +20°. It is stipulated that the product loses minerals, proteins and vitamins contained in meat juice.

Is it possible to speed up the process?

To defrost meat faster, some advise doing it the natural way at room temperature – simply transfer the piece of meat into a bowl and leave it in the kitchen on the table or on the sink.

It is possible to do this, but it is not advisable. After all, there is not always confidence that the cutting and packaging of meat was carried out correctly. It is possible that bacteria have entered the product, and in the heat they will become more active. This defrosting method is best used when you plan to cook the meat rather than fry it.

Sometimes, when you need to defrost meat products as quickly as possible, household kitchen appliances come to the rescue. But it is important to remember that any acceleration of the defrosting process results in a deterioration in taste.

Oven

Method for defrosting meat in the oven has a number of positive aspects:

• due to the heated closed space, the defrosting process is significantly accelerated;
• the structure of meat fibers is preserved, the juiciness of the product is not lost;
• defrosting occurs evenly, without overdrying or chapping.

Many modern oven models have a special defrosting mode. It’s even better when the stove has a convection function - simply place a piece of meat on the grill and set the timer for the desired time.

It is easy to defrost meat in a regular oven. You need to heat it to a temperature of +30°. Remove the packaging from the product, place it in a suitable sized container and place it in the oven. But in pursuit of speedy defrosting, you should not increase the temperature, otherwise the meat will begin to bake instead of thawing.

Multicooker

The method of defrosting in a slow cooker has also proven itself well., the meat remains tender, tasty, and does not become dry.It is necessary to remove the packaging from the meat product, place it in the steaming basket, and pour a little water into the bowl.

Which options are not recommended?

There are several other options for defrosting meat. All of them are used, but due to certain disadvantages they are recommended only in special cases when rapid defrosting is really required.

Hot water

To use this method, the product must be in sealed packaging. It is transferred to a container and filled with hot water (temperature +60°). After 10 minutes, the meat is removed and left at room conditions until completely thawed.

With this method, a kilogram piece is defrosted in about 30 minutes. When defrosting meat in hot water, the protein disintegrates, and the taste of the finished dish will be noticeably worse.

This video will show you how to defrost meat in a bag in hot water:

Microwave

Many housewives use a microwave oven for quick defrosting and are sure that this is correct. Firstly, there is a special mode built into the program. Secondly, the defrosting process takes little time.

However this the method is very controversial and should be used only in extreme situationswhen frozen meat needs to be cooked urgently:

1. Before placing the product in the oven, remove the packaging from it.
2. To ensure even defrosting, it is advisable to turn the piece of meat every 2-3 minutes.
3. It is recommended to cover the edges of the meat with foil during the first half of defrosting.
4. The defrosted product should be allowed to stand for 25-30 minutes and then cooked immediately.After defrosting, meat should not be stored in the microwave, so thaw exactly the same piece as you intend to cook.

Before using a microwave oven to defrost meat products, you should carefully read the instructions. The ratio of defrosting time and weight of food should be indicated there. In different models, it takes from 5 to 10 minutes to thaw 500 g of meat. How to defrost meat in the microwave, will tell you this article.

Conclusion

Always try to plan ahead when cooking your meat so that you have enough time to defrost it. Because if you do it quickly, the structure of the meat fibers is destroyed.

In addition, there is a possibility of dangerous bacteria developing, and the finished meat turns out tough. Use the most correct defrosting method - in the refrigerator, and your family will always eat tasty and safe meat.