So I was an idiot and did not put the hamburger meat in the refrigerator this morning to thaw all day for tonight. Is warm water the safest way to quickly that meat? It's about 4 pm. I would like 2 lbs of hamburger to be thawed around 5:30.

1/8/2009 4:00:43 PM

sure

1/8/2009 4:01:20 PM

room temp water is best. warm will cook as it thaws. or you could microwave using the defrost setting.

1/8/2009 4:01:22 PM

is it a tube?

if not put it in a zip lock out of th package to expose as much suface area to the water as possible

then put some salt and shit in the water

1/8/2009 4:01:55 PM

might want to stat with the defrost setting but not for too long cuz you could end up cooking the meat

1/8/2009 4:02:01 PM

somebody told me it worked better with cold water, but i dunno
might want to google it


p.s. this reminds me of that one episode of Flavor of Love.

1/8/2009 4:02:02 PM

Warm water is fine, and will not cook it like that. I do it all the time.

1/8/2009 4:02:08 PM

If you are making burgers with it, you should do what I do. Make the patties first then freeze them. That way you don't even need to thaw them to cook them, just throw them in the pan frozen.

1/8/2009 4:04:19 PM

add salt to the water because it will allow for a lower freezing point..... meaning the ice will become water faster once it bonds with the salt

1/8/2009 4:05:00 PM

I don't worry too much about the temperature of the water, but do change it occasionally or a sheet of ice will form on what you're trying to defrost.

1/8/2009 4:05:09 PM

My meat will thaw after I shoot a couple of loads.

1/8/2009 4:05:29 PM

When I do this and am making something like spaghetti or tacos where the meat just needs to be crumbled, I just let it sit out for an hour or 2. Then I put it in the pan (cool pan) on med-hi heat and chop it up with a spatula as it thaws.

Maybe adds 5 minutes to the total cook time.

[Edited on January 8, 2009 at 4:10 PM. Reason : ]

1/8/2009 4:08:08 PM

Quote :

"If you are making burgers with it, you should do what I do. Make the patties first then freeze them. That way you don't even need to thaw them to cook them, just throw them in the pan frozen."

It's not for burgers. Spaghetti sauce. It is a tube. I've just got the whole tube in a large pot of warm water right now with the burner on the lowest possible heat.

1/8/2009 4:10:31 PM

warm water bad. cold water good.

1/8/2009 4:10:33 PM

Running cold water is much, much better than standing warm water.

But running warm water is better than both.


Maybe not continually running, but circulate it pretty often and it should be fine. And open up the package, break apart as many parts as you can and cram them in a ziploc bag and suck all the air out before putting under water.

1/8/2009 4:12:21 PM

I use standing warm water and nothing ever happens. I mind you that my dad is a retired chef, so obviously I can handle myself in a kitchen and know short-cuts that don't sacrifice the quality of the food. You people saying something wrong with warm water are just talking behind someone else and never tried it yourself.

1/8/2009 4:14:50 PM

you people

1/8/2009 4:15:24 PM

i just put it in the sink with cold water. thawing some pork chops right now that way.

defrost in the microwave will work if you're really in a hurry. i run it for a few minutes, take it out and pull off the unfrozen part on the outside, put it back in again, pull off the thawed part, and so on until it's all thawed. this prevents the defrost setting from cooking the outer meat, which gets all hard and nasty.

1/8/2009 4:15:32 PM

Quote :

"I mind you that my dad is a retired chef, so obviously I can handle myself in a kitchen and know short-cuts that don't sacrifice the quality of the food."

well touch you twice.

1/8/2009 4:16:47 PM

i keep my mind on my money,money on my mind
finga on the trigga,nigga,hand on my nine
smokin blunts a skunk,makin hoes of punks
and only underground funk bumpin outta my trunk

1/8/2009 4:25:28 PM

Quote :

"add salt to the water because it will allow for a lower freezing point..... meaning the ice will become water faster once it bonds with the salt"

you're thawing meat, not making ice cream fuktard, unless the meat is so cold that it freezes the water solid when you drop it in, salt isnt gonna do you a damn bit of good, if the freezing point of the water is lowered, and it somehow drops below 32 degrees, how the fuck is the meat gonna thaw

god damn, fuckin think before you post stupid shit

1/8/2009 4:29:19 PM

i use warm water if i'm in a hurry. i figure less time overall is less time for stuff to grow, and i'm gonna cook it anyway.

1/8/2009 4:32:33 PM

Quote :

"Food must be kept at a safe temperature during "the big thaw." Foods are safe indefinitely while frozen. However, as soon as food begins to defrost and become warmer than 40 °F, any bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to multiply. Foods should never be thawed or even stored on the counter, or defrosted in hot water. Food left above 40 °F (unrefrigerated) is not at a safe temperature. "

I use warm water sometimes too, I just know that it's not ideal/totally safe.

1/8/2009 5:11:15 PM

I'm thawing my meat right now

1/8/2009 7:26:11 PM

1/8/2009 7:34:44 PM

actually a small steady stream or trickle of cold water works the quickest.
moving water defrosts quicker than standing water

1/8/2009 7:50:18 PM

Quote :

"Running cold water is much, much better than standing warm water. But running warm water is better than both."

just put it in a pan under the faucet and let room temperature water run over what you are thawing

the water doesnt have to be moving fast it just has to be moving

my dads not a chef but i am servsafe certified

1/8/2009 7:55:10 PM

I doubt that either warm water of the microwave defrost is going to cook it enough to really make a difference.

I say, if time is of the essence, just use the warm water/microwave defrost.

1/8/2009 8:00:09 PM

for the tube or tray, the microwave defrost will cook the edges/corners hard and brown if you don't use the method i described

[Edited on January 8, 2009 at 8:03 PM. Reason : probably not dangerous, just hard and gross]

1/8/2009 8:03:24 PM