How do you (gasp) defrost steak and...


 
Jeff Holmes

Jeff Holmes

TVWBB Super Fan
Hamburger, etc?

We buy a beef every year and I've always just put it in a ziplock bag and put it in warm water. Ideally, we would get it out a few days in advanced but with our schedules and the kid's, we don't know what we are doing one day to the next. If we didn't buy a beef, we'd never pay the price for steak.

Any tips or tricks for us frozen folks?
 
Whatever you do, do not defrost in a microwave. I actually think the texture improves on some meats when you freeze them. Certainly for (smoked) salmon.
 
Admittedly,it's just Pammi and I,but we with my schedule,we try to plan in advance. Usually we take the food out of the freezer the day before and haven't had any issues. Yet. :)
 
Best done in the fridge of course, but if thawing the same day I often wrap the meat package with newspaper, room temp, on the counter.
Sometimes I do this for a shorter time, then into the fridge if cooking the next day.
Being retired, I can flip it over, and check on it through the day.
 
If you vacuum pack your meat you can take out a weeks worth of meat and keep in the frge until needed. No spoilage and you can chose as needed.
 
I notice with our frozen beef, we can let it defrost in the fridge 5-7 days, and it still stays a nice color for another 5-7 days. If you buy meat at the grocery store, the red dye drains our and it looks bad in just a few days...
 
One other thing I have started doing with frozen stuff - pack it flat. For steaks, freeze them on a tray and then bag them. Ground meats should be packed flat as possible and then frozen. Thaws way faster.
 
I have to admit, in a pinch I have used the microwave..but I drop the poundage of the meat by one pound, when the microwave asks it's weight. I've only done this with hamburger and possibly stew meat, but I prefer to take out of freezer and let the fridge defrost it.
 
Tom Golden said:
One other thing I have started doing with frozen stuff - pack it flat. For steaks, freeze them on a tray and then bag them. Ground meats should be packed flat as possible and then frozen. Thaws way faster.
Click to expand...

I can 2nd this. I buy 14-15# tubes of ground beef, vacuum seal them, then smash 'em as flat as possible with a cast iron pan or something else large & flat. If I know we'll be using some for dinner, I move it from the freezer to the fridge before going to work and by the time we're home, it's ready to go. In a pinch, a speed thaw in a foil pan of cold water does the trick. I recently tried a similar approach to pork chops, buying a 10# loin then slicing, brining, freezing and finally vacuum-sealing with a small amount of frozen brine. They may take a bit longer to thaw being a solid mass of meat rather than ground, but that just means taking them out the day before we want to cook them.
 
For vac bagged steaks, two CI skillets or griddles. Flip one over with the flat side up, lay the steaks on top and place the second one ontop of the steaks with the flat side down. I don't know the whys, but defrosting on CI or any heavy metal pan is much faster than just placing it on the counter. Usually three to four hours for decent sized steaks.

Tim
 
My fridge must be too cold because a steak will stay frozen in there for a week. I do the pot trick like Timothy. I take a big aluminum boiler and flip it over and set the meat on there. Really draws the cold out of the meat fast.
 
Yes, I thought I was doing something wrong. Our fridge must be set too cold, it takes quite a few days to defrost I'm the fridge.

I was hoping one of you would touch on this. I was watching TV years ago and they advertised a heavy piece of aluminum (or what I thought was aluminum- they hyped it up as space age or something) that they claimed would very quickly defrost meats. It looked impressive but it also looked like the "as seen on tv" type stuff. I've thought of it from time to time over the years....

Edit: I'm getting warmer...

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/frozen_food/Defrosting_Isn_t_Rocket_Science.php

Edit. # 2

Well, not too good...but I'd still like to try it.. My be worth a trip to the local metal supplier to buy a sheet of heavy aluminum... If it works, might be worth making sides for it so the juices don't run off...heck I may be in business ;)

http://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/1997/02/c3720cmp.pdf

Edit #3

And here it is, right on amazon... Good reviews too! Miracle thaw

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00AFHJQD0/tvwb-20
 
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A sink or container full of cold water will defrost all the surfaces of a package at the same rate, cost next to nothing, and is much easier to store. :)
 
Don't use warm water. If your going to use water to defrost use cold running water. I use this technique a lot when defrosting in the fridge is not practical.
 
Phil S said:
A sink or container full of cold water will defrost all the surfaces of a package at the same rate, cost next to nothing, and is much easier to store. :)
Click to expand...

this is true. My wife works in a big kitchen and the chefs defrost meat in a sink of cold water all the time.
 
Yep!

I do it right in the Food Saver bag but occasionally I have to use a baggie. The trick is to partially submerge the baggie underwater to squeeze the air out before you seal it. If you don't, it will float on the surface and only the bottom will thaw quickly. Also, air is a very good insulator and will extend your thaw time.
 
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