Kitchen Helper – how to defrost meat quickly
We’ve all done it. Forgetting to take the meat out of the freezer for tonight’s dinner results in a last-minute menu change (eggs on toast anyone?) or some pretty frantic microwaving.
Here’s a hack which can help.
Of course, it’s best to think ahead and put your meat in the refrigerator to defrost slowly, but life sometimes gets in the way of such plans.
Here’s a hack which can help.
Aluminium has great heat conductive properties, and as such can take the heat from the air in your kitchen and channel it to your frozen food to thaw it in quick time.
Here’s how to do it:
· Take two aluminium sheet pans or biscuit trays.
· Lay your frozen food in one layer between the two pans and sandwich them together. You can weigh down the top tray with something heavy to ensure good contact with the aluminium.
Steaks will thaw in around an hour, and chicken or fish, a little quicker.
Be mindful of how long your food will be sitting defrosting and aim to cook and eat it as soon as it is thawed. Thawed meat left at room temperature for more than two hours will no longer be in the safe temperature zone of between 5C and 60C.
This method works best if your meat has been frozen in a flat shape in one layer – see this guide for freezing mince so it’s quick to thaw.