How to Defrost FoodThat is Frozen

 Defrosting Food from the Freezer Made Easy

By TurtleDog

Defrost Food

The importance of freezing food and defrosting food go hand in hand. Both are equally important when it comes to your health. This article focuses on how to defrost food

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. • 1
     The safest way to defrost anything is in the refrigerator. This include steak, chicken, fish, casseroles, and foods that are egg based. I must emphasize, for good health and safety, defrost these in the refrigerator.
   • 2
     Defrosting these in the ol frig keeps the food cold enough that harmful bacteria won't grow on it, yet warm enough that the food will defrost.
   • 3
     Basically, remove from the freezer....
   • 4
     Loosen up any plastic wrapping you may have on them (See my article on freezing food)....
   • 5
     Put item on a dish or preferably a pan (sometimes I wrap loosely in a grocery store type plastic bag), so that any blood or juices won't spill into your refrigerator as it thaws....
   • 6
     I allow about 36 hours for most foods, especially chops and boneless chicken breasts. Allow more time for thicker foods, especially a big ol Turkey. Some people defrost a turkey in 24 to 36 hours and I have no idea how they do it and still keep themselves out of the hospital (or at least the bathroom :-). Allow a few days in the refrigerator for a big Turkey.
   • 7
     If you must use the microwave, cook the food right after you take it out since it also begins to cook the food. I'm not nuts about using the microwave since it does start to cook the food. I feel like I have to make adjustments or approximations to the cooking time that jeopardize the true essence of the recipe.
   • 8
     There are other items that you can defrost right on the counter. These are cookies, cakes, and breads. Leave these tightly wrapped in the packages so all the condensation accumulates on the outside and prevents them from being soggy. Personally, I think these foods should never be frozen as they never taste quite as good after being defrosted, but sometimes you hate to let these things go to waste so we freeze 'em.
   • 9
     Do NOT defrost frozen vegetables. Cook them frozen.
   • 10
     Store bought bags of fruits can be defrosted by keeping them in the bag and running the bag under hot water.
     
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