Hey Balanced Life Family,
Most of us aren’t vegetarian. We like to eat meat with our meals. Meat is a delicious and important part of the meal, but we want to be sure that it’s safe to eat.
If you’re planning dinner for tonight and you realize that the meat is still frozen, what should you do? Should you put it out on the counter to thaw, or run hot water on it to speed up the thawing process? Neither!
Both methods of thawing are unsafe and may lead to foodborne illness, according to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. As meat thaws, it should never become warmer than 40 degrees F, because that may allow bacteria to multiply. Even if the center of the meat is still frozen, the outer portion may be in the danger zone.
When thawing out meat, one of the best methods is to let it thaw out in the refrigerator where it will remain at a safe constant temperature of 40 degrees or below. Planning ahead is the key in this method because it takes about 24 hours, and that depends on the temperature of your fridge. Refrigerator thawing isn’t the only safe method. There are 2 other methods.
Another safe method is cold water thawing. Using cold water is a quicker method, but it requires more attention. Meat must be in a leak-proof bag or package, completely submerged in water, and the water must be changed every 30 minutes.
The third method, which is equally safe, can be done in the microwave. To unthaw in your microwave be sure to correctly use the defrost setting, or you’ll end up partially cooking your meat.
When using the latter 2 methods the USDA suggests that you cook the meat immediately after it thaws. So go ahead. Eat that meat. Enjoy your meal. Just be sure that if it was frozen, you’ve unthawed it properly.
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