/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>5096951
I take the chicken out of the freezer in the morning. Put on a plate on the kitchen counter. By the time I'm ready to cook dinner it has thawed. Even better I just leave it in the fridge for a day to thaw.

If I can't thaw it in advance I'd probably microwave thaw it until it starts to soften and then cook it at a low temperature, turning frequently. If done attentively it should thaw nicely.

>>5096951
Fill the bowl/sink with cold water. Running water over it for hours is a god damn waste.

It's also extremely unsafe. If you want to quick-defrost meat, put cold water over it and change it every half an hour.

>>5096969
He is not capable of planning in advance. He wants to be able to defrost the meat in half an hour or so.

>>5096977
Not for hours, but the hot water is at full blast and it runs for a good thirty minutes. It's like he's taking three scalding hot showers whenever he wants to eat some chicken.

This is only acceptable in an emergency, random occasion.
The "safe" method is cool running water, not hot.
The "best quality" method of doing it requires just moving it to the fridge a few hours in advance.
The quickest method and safest is microwave defrost setting. If your microwave isn't a tiny undersized piece of shit, or has a turntable, it'll do a great even job of defrosting it using the weight setting. Just read it "1.5 pounds" and all that you have to do it is flip it over once or twice in 10 minutes.

I've never frozen food at home. I buy chicken or beef or fish and eat it in a day or two and then go buy more chicken or beef or fish. Thawing is a bitch and nigga gotta eat.

I guess I do keep frozen shrimp, in which case I pull some out of the bag (from gulf of mexico always) then put them in a bowl and let COLD water trickle over them..maybe a couple gallons to defrost a few servings of shrimp. Not bad imho.

>>5096995
Be wary of this though, all of the microwaves I've used do not allow sufficient time for the heat to dissipate through the meat. Consequently you get areas of localised overcooking, which are seriously unpleasant. But yeah, check it a lot, turn it a lot, frankly manually adjust the microwave power towards the end and you'll end up with defrosted meat in~10 minutes.

I've never frozen food at home. I buy chicken or beef or fish and eat it in a day or two and then go buy more chicken or beef or fish.
I guess I do keep frozen shrimp, in which case I pull some out of the bag (from gulf of mexico always) then put them in a bowl and let COLD water trickle over them..maybe a couple gallons to defrost a few servings of shrimp. Not bad imho.

>>5096951
I would be careful about that with a large whole bird but the people freaking out about this for pieces of chicken are being scared little pussies. it's fine for a frozen boneless chicken breast or thigh on its own. I do it all the time. the deal is you don't want the thawed part sitting there in warm water for extended periods. if you can fully thaw an entire piece of meat in less than an hour and you promptly cook out thoroughly there isn't enough time for bacteria to do enough damage. the restaurant rules are overly cautious because restaurants hire a lot of retards and the owners are cheap fucks who keep meat around longer than they should.

>>5097006
I can't actually get good produce nearby. Order from a butcher that has next day deliveries across the UK. Consequently forced to freeze.

>>5097004
That hasn't happened to me in 20 years. And, it's only happened on no frills models meant for like dorms or space saving. Nothing that was a brand name.

>>5096951
I generally just run a sink full of hot water and put in whatever I want to thaw in for a few hours and let it float around.
Or if I think ahead enough, just moving it from the freezer to the fridge for a couple days works great too.

using water that hot would actually start to cook the outside of the chicken, so yeah he's a retard

not to mention the huge waste of water and electricity

if the water is semi warm and not hot then that's the best way to defrost something quickly (I said QUICKLY)

>>5097042

it's happened to me with 4 different microwaves, 2 of which were really expensive

>>5096969
>>5097047
>>5097059

Good god, you guys disgust me.

Learn to defrost.

>>5097076
Why would I want to expend water when I have the time to let it gradually reach room temperature?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?!?!?
NEVER defrost meats with hot water, only cold.
Best to leave them in a fridge for a day, and if you can't do that then you need to learn how to plan meals ahead of time.

>>5097085
salmonela

>>5097076
>learn to defrost
>doesnt offer any advice on correct defrosting

way to be a shitposting faggot

>>5097031
I'm not worried about him getting food poisoning, I'm worried about the waste of water and gas. But thanks for the info.

>>5096995
I'll suggest that he try the microwave. He'll probably say that it ruins the flavor or something.

>>5097054
Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear.

>>5097140

This guy >>5097126 pretty much nails it. You never defrost food in the Danger Zone. Defrost your shit in the fridge (how hard is it to plan?), or use cold RUNNING water. Not hot, not "kinda warm". It has to be cold.

If neither option is available or practical, defrost your shit in cast iron, but keep an eye on it. If it takes more than an hour, you're screwed.

What I do.
>Place meat (Chicken breast, for example) in a ziploc bag or other watertight bag
>Take large bowl similar to the one in OP's picture
>Put bag in bowl, place a coffee mug or something on top of the bag so it doesn't float
>Run cool water on a minimal amount from the faucet into the bowl, to help convection (Moving water better than still water)
If I'm in a rush, I'll use room temperature water but never hot water. I only do so if I'm cooking something I'm not worried about bacteria in though.

>place chicken breast in ziploc bag before freezing, sucking all of the air out to prevent freezer burn
>when ready to thaw, fill sink with hot water and place bag of chicken in sink for 30 mins

Good to go.

My gf always used to defrost meat on the counter for a few hours. Drove me fucking nuts.

It is a pain because you have to plan in advance, but I defrost meat in the refrigerator.

>freezing meat
>2014

I just go to the store and buy fresh meat when I want to make something.

The only reason meat ends up in the freezer is if there was some crazy sale or something

>>5098281
Only reason I freeze is if it's about to go bad and I can't be arsed to cook it right away. That said, some people buy in bulk and have to freeze it.

>>5098281
I order my meat from a specific farm and their in house butcher. Delivered to me in a refrigerated van next day. However as I'm 200 miles away and have to wait for delivery it's inconvenient to order more than once every 2 weeks.

Just have a bowl of cold water
Put meat in
Wait 30 minutes

Bam. Not hot water either cause heated plastic is nasty on your food.

>wrap in plastic
>put in bowl with room-temp water in it
>change water once in a while
>...
>PROFIT

>>5096951
I work in a restaurant, and do this nowadays.
Feel bad about it often, but when defrosting things like delicate seafood (tuna, lobster) the proper procedure is to put it in a cold water bath just like that.
After seeing that every day, your scope of wasting water gets a bit skewed.

>>5097130
Literally been doing it like this for 7 years.
Every single night.
365 days a year.
Not one case of salmonella.

Alton brown says defrost foods by filling a bowl or container with luke warm water, sealing it in a plastic bag and letting it hang for about 15 minutes.

It leaves nit dangerously close to the "danger zones" of bacteria growth, but you just have to make sure to clean and cook it properly

>>5096951
I knew someone who did that, and hated it. It was just wierd.

I always move it to the fridge.

>>5098227
This sounds like a lot of work for something that is so retarded. Why do you use a coffee mug? That means more dishes to wash you freak.

>>5096951
"Seems wasteful"? Whip out a notecard, calc the volume of water that needs to be heated from outside temp, convert that ish to kWh, and use the volumetric flow to figure out how much water he's wasting. Tell him he owes you those costs for every chicken he makes. Then also reassure him you ooze swag at parties regardless of his stupid-gay assumptions

>>5098334
>order meat from a specific farm
>200 miles away

Why do you bother at all?

>>5097130
>scared of salmonella
>contaminate EVERYTHING in a 20ft radius with water splashing

Taking it out the day before youre going to use it and putting it in the fridge masterrace reporting

you are all such plebs

>>5098518
Because it thaws things much, much faster than my shitty microwave, and I just use a mug or plate that needs washed anyways. The chicken is in a bag so it doesn't get water all on it, and also so it doesn't get chicken juice all over.

I do this with shrimp, there's nothing wrong with it and it's the best way to defrost those fuckers.

>>5098598
>water splashing

doing it wrong

>>5096951
Own special brand of stupidity. You start cooking the meat that way, and it isn't that good afterwards. He must not have had to many home cooked meals when he was a kid. You put it in cool water in a bowl and let it sit for a while. No need to continue to pour water into it.

>>5096951
Dont be ignorant. Thats a stupid people practice, and theres dumb fucks everywhere.
Anyway. Tell dumbass the following.
Hot water damages the meat by slightly cooking it and also makes bacteria multiply rapidly. It only takes a bit longer to put it in a bag, put bag in bowl, place a steady stream of cold water over it.
This is what I do if im in a hurry. Otherwise I take ot out the night before and fridge it.
Nothing good or worthwhile comes without struggle or sacrifice.

It's fine with most kinds of meat, OP.

Not shrimp, though, as the hot water will make it taste like ammonia.

>>5098526
Agree with this 100%.

OP, your roommate wants to do this? Fine, it's his gut he can take all the risks he wants with it. But he better pay for it, same as you would if you had a heater in your room and nobody else in the house did.