This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
in hot water.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...-cook.html?hpw

I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
thaw in hot water.

On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 11:33:59 -0700 (PDT), ImStillMags
> wrote:

>This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
>in hot water.
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...-cook.html?hpw
>
>I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
>the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
>This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
>thaw in hot water.

The article mentions" steaks or other compact meats." I never defrost
frozen steaks or chops before I make them. I just broil or grill them
frozen. Never had a problem in this household, that prefers its beef
medium rare.

This idea may come in handy for chicken, though, which is one food I
do thaw thoroughly before cooking. Still, it is rare that I defrost
that small an amount of chicken. More likely it is several lbs at a
time in a lump.

Boron

On Jun 7, 11:33 am, ImStillMags > wrote:
> This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
> in hot water.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...th-for-thawing...
>
> I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
> the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
> This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
> thaw in hot water.

Glad to see the article is by the highly credible Harold McGee. I've
often used a cold water bath; now I know I can speed it up with hot
water. Gave up microwave defrosting years ago. Still, he doesn't
talk about texture (except as it may relate to moisture loss). Slow
refrigetor thawing will still be best where you want to preserve as
much texture as possible. -aem

On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 11:33:59 -0700 (PDT), ImStillMags
> wrote:

>This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
>in hot water.
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...-cook.html?hpw
>
>I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
>the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
>This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
>thaw in hot water.

Thanks ImStillMags.

Now I can quit feeling guilty every time I do this. I tried it years
ago and found it to work great. My method isn't very scientific
however; I just stick my hand in the water to make sure it's above my
body temperature slightly and not "Hot".

I check the meat after about 10 minutes and cook it immediately. I've
never had a single problem doing this.

if you need to defrost a small amount of chicken just steam it. This new
wve oven we have has instructions for "from frozen" and "when thawed"
covers chicken pork and beef not sure about fish or turkey, Lee

"Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 11:33:59 -0700 (PDT), ImStillMags
> > wrote:
>
>>This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
>>in hot water.
>>
>>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...-cook.html?hpw
>>
>>I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
>>the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
>>This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
>>thaw in hot water.
>
> The article mentions" steaks or other compact meats." I never defrost
> frozen steaks or chops before I make them. I just broil or grill them
> frozen. Never had a problem in this household, that prefers its beef
> medium rare.
>
> This idea may come in handy for chicken, though, which is one food I
> do thaw thoroughly before cooking. Still, it is rare that I defrost
> that small an amount of chicken. More likely it is several lbs at a
> time in a lump.
>
> Boron

On Jun 7, 2:33*pm, ImStillMags > wrote:
> This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
> in hot water.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...th-for-thawing...
>
> I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
> the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
> This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
> thaw in hot water.

Hot water speeds the thawing, but even cold water is a lot faster than
air. When I worked in a resort hotel, we would put 50 or so chickens
into a large tub of cold water to thaw. They went in right after
breakfast and were thawed before lunch was done.

I freeze chops, sausages, and such in vacuum bags, and thaw them under
water before opening the bags. I guess that doesn't count.

jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.

On 6/8/2011 9:54 AM, Jerry Avins wrote:
> On Jun 7, 2:33 pm, > wrote:
>> This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
>> in hot water.
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...th-for-thawing...
>>
>> I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
>> the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
>> This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
>> thaw in hot water.
>
> Hot water speeds the thawing, but even cold water is a lot faster than
> air. When I worked in a resort hotel, we would put 50 or so chickens
> into a large tub of cold water to thaw. They went in right after
> breakfast and were thawed before lunch was done.
>
> I freeze chops, sausages, and such in vacuum bags, and thaw them under
> water before opening the bags. I guess that doesn't count.
>
> jerry
> --
> Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.

If I have forgotten to thaw things for supper, I find that nuking at 10%
power usually does not cook the food. There may be a little cooking
around the edges and it pays to inspect the process. Frozen shrimps and
scallops thaw very rapidly under running cold water.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not*

On Jun 7, 1:33*pm, ImStillMags > wrote:
> This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
> in hot water.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...th-for-thawing...
>
> I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
> the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
> This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
> thaw in hot water.

I wouldn't do it on a bet.
In the fridge; cold water in the fridge. No substitute.

N.

> The real story comes out when it's revealed that the labs used a temperature
> controlled immersion circulator and therefore the times achieve in the
> average kitchen won't match the test results. And then it's pointed out that
> the technique doesn't work for large cuts... as if that wasn't obvious
> already.
>
> I'm not a fan of articles like this which suggest skimming the edges of safe
> techniques to suit a very narrow range of possibilities. I have several
> friends who I've worked on repeatedly to get them to stop using hot water to
> thaw big cuts. If they see this article it will all be in vain.
>

Yup, there are usually so many ifs, ands and caveats, it isn't useful
for the average person.

As for relatively thin or slab-like cuts, I just lay them out (in
their freezer paper or vacuum bag) on an aluminum cookie sheet,
upturned sauce pan or whatever, and they thaw pretty quickly.

Ground meats, I always flatten inside a vacuum bag before I freeze it,
so it isn't a big frozen chunk when it comes time to thaw it. If I
put a pound of ground meat in a gallon-size vacuum bag, I can even
take the frozen product and whack it on the divider of the sink, and
get a single-portion piece to break off and thaw without thawing the
whole pound.

N.

On Jun 7, 2:33*pm, ImStillMags > wrote:
> This article in the NY Times says it is perfectly safe to thaw meats
> in hot water.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/di...th-for-thawing...
>
> I hate it when I've forgotten to put something in the freezer down in
> the refrigerator to thaw out and I've nothing to cook for dinner.
> This article gives me hope it may not be a bad deal to go ahead and
> thaw in hot water.

When I'm caught in that jam. I will thaw it in the microwave and
immediately cook the meat.

Chicken I just plop in a simmering bath of stock and then go from
there.

On Jun 7, 7:26*pm, "
> wrote:
> I agree. I work with food, and there are only 3 approved methods of
> thawing. In refrigeration, in cold running water, and in *the
> microwave. The microwave option is only allowed if the food will
> immediately be cooked. It cannot be thawed and then used in something
> cold or wait until later to cook. The idea is to get it from the safe
> cold temps to the safe hot temps in a short amount of time. Thawing in
> hot water will still take a long time, and the outside will be at an
> unsafe temp while waiting for the inside to thaw. Why not use the
> microwave and be done with it.

I very often thaw out under cold water. I freeze in plastic bags
which I just leave in the sink of water while I do the rest of my food
prep.

I don't care for the microwave method. You need to use very low power
to avoid cooking the food and then it isn't that much quicker than the
cold water method. I also find it very difficult to thaw in the
microwave without some cooking (except for very thin cuts).

I completely agree about not using hot water. (However, I must admit
I have used a continuous steam of warm water when in a real hurry.)

http://www.richardfisher.com