How do you thaw your Protein ?

[RHEINLEIN]

Open forum here.
A great topic for the group leaders.

What have you done by way of experimentation with thawing your protein.

Any differences between thawing protein in the sink overnight or slowly thawing in the refrigerator?

Or- Is fresh protein Always better?
Please share your story and experiences. I think this is something we can gain from.

 

[Greg Jones]

I’m not a fan of the thaw in the sink method. Too risky for food safety for me. I have two large copper plates that I use for smaller cuts of meat-30-45 minutes for a pound of ground chuck, etc. that I need to thaw quickly. Then I pop them back in the fridge to finish thawing. Otherwise, I slow thaw100% in the refrigerator.

IMO fresh protein isn’t automatically better than frozen. I’ve eaten enough frozen then thawed protein from Wild Fork and other vendors to agree with some that say frozen is fresher.

 

[RHEINLEIN]

Thanks @Greg Jones !

 

[Smagnus]

i thaw in the garage fridge for a couple of days for ribs and whole chickens. Bigger cuts for me require “more” work. depending on when I remember I’m cooking. Sometimes my short term kicks in I will have to let something sit in the sink overnight covered or I’ll let stuff soak in the sink but not completely thaw out then it goes into the fridge to finish. I’m always worried about getting stuff to room temp and the center still being frozen so I tend to keep watch on sink stuff. And it’s just me but when stuff is in the fridge I like to flip or rotate things. In my mind it helps, no science behind it that I follow.

 

[Gonefishin]

I use the fridge most of the time, will occasionally use the water bath for something like turkey when I can no longer wait, which is after 4 or 5 days. Other the steaks, pretty much all our meat is from the freezer, usually bought on sale.

 

[Jim6820]

My preference is thawing protein in a refrigerator. That said, if I need a quick thaw and will be cooking the protein IMMEDIATELY after thawing, I do it in a sink filled with COLD water (never warm or hot).

For smaller items like steaks, pork chops, etc., that usually takes no more than 2-3 hours in cold tap water. I check frequently and if the protein has thawed before it is time to cook, it goes in the refrigerator in the interim. YMMV

As for frozen protein, we vacuum-pack and seal any that gets frozen. Air in the packaging is the enemy of protein.

 

[RHEINLEIN]

I use the fridge most of the time, will occasionally use the water bath for something like turkey when I can no longer wait, which is after 4 or 5 days.

Any preferred method ? Significant flavor or texture?
Inquiring minds want to know @ paladin00

 

[Gonefishin]

Any preferred method ? Significant flavor or texture?
Inquiring minds want to know @ paladin00

Not sure what you are asking about but when freezing we vac pack and double wrap of some sort, smaller portions go in shallow tubs, something like Tupperware. im not picky enough to care if I start with frozen or fresh, other then steaks. I do avoid buying thawed meat if the intention is to put it in the freezer. I just ask for frozen stock, mostly ribs and butts.

 

[Pacman]

I too try to defrost in a fridge with ample time. Last year, I was in a time crunch and needed to speed up the process of defrosting a replacement brisket after the first one arrived totally thawed with a surface temp of close to 70 degrees thanks to the local FedEx contractor keeping the first one on a truck in 100+ degree heat for two days before delivery.

I defrosted the replacement brisket (still cryovacced) in an ice bath in an ice chest that I kept below 45 degrees. I'm not sure I would want to do that again, but it did shave many hours off of my defrost time to allow me to cook the next day.

 

[Gonefishin]

I’ve never thawed something in water that wasn’t cryovaced or similar, I’m taking it that that’s a requirement.

 

[Motodad1776]

I’ve never thawed something in water that wasn’t cryovaced or similar, I’m taking it that that’s a requirement.

Yup always my method, I don't let get completely thawed before going back in fridge. Still so much fearmongering out there concerning food poisoning and such, but in saying that, I never thaw out at room temp ever.

 

[ToeJam]

If it's something I intend to put right on the smoker/grill when thawed, I occasionally use my kitchen countertop which is thick granite. It does a great job of pulling the cold from whatever I'm thawing.

 

[Greg Jones]

If it's something I intend to put right on the smoker/grill when thawed, I occasionally use my kitchen countertop which is thick granite. It does a great job of pulling the cold from whatever I'm thawing.

Good point. I forgot to mention that I use my copper plates on a marble slab. It really speeds the thaw process. I’m actually thawing half a pork tenderloin as I post this.

 

[Jim6820]

I’m not a fan of the thaw in the sink method. Too risky for food safety for me. I have two large copper plates that I use for smaller cuts of meat-30-45 minutes for a pound of ground chuck, etc. that I need to thaw quickly. Then I pop them back in the fridge to finish thawing. Otherwise, I slow thaw100% in the refrigerator.

IMO fresh protein isn’t automatically better than frozen. I’ve eaten enough frozen then thawed protein from Wild Fork and other vendors to agree with some that say frozen is fresher.

@Greg Jones, I’d like to know more about the copper plates and how they aid in defrosting. Is it because they conduct heat/cold well, or is there something else. If it is conduction ability, would aluminum work even better? And, do you have a source for said copper plates? Inquiring minds are interested in knowing more.

 

[Dr.Floyd]

I thaw in the fridge overnight. But prefer to just swing by the grocery store and pick up fresh and cook the same day.

 

[Greg Jones]

@Greg Jones, I’d like to know more about the copper plates and how they aid in defrosting. Is it because they conduct heat/cold well, or is there something else. If it is conduction ability, would aluminum work even better? And, do you have a source for said copper plates? Inquiring minds are interested in knowing more.

Here is a Link to the ones I bought. I originally bought them as a diffuser to improve performance on my glass top range, but they serve double duty now. These are 1/8” thick, but if I had it to do again I would have bought 1/4” thick plates available from another supplier (sorry, no link) because the claim is that they perform better on the glass top. Aluminum does the same/similar thing, but most aluminum cookware is clad in stainless to make it compatible with induction (which I also use). The GrillGrates folks also heavily advertise that their griddle plate does double duty as a defrost plate.

I literally had this half pork tenderloin from freezer to refrigerator in less than an hour, will be on the table for supper tonight. I do want to confirm that this is for smaller cuts only. I use it for ground beef that has been vac sealed, chops, steaks, and the absolute max is a chuck roast. Not appropriate for briskets, racks of ribs (more because that you can’t fit the entire rack under the plate at one time),

 

[Nerdygrrl]

Water in fridge. The counter overnight can be risky. Occasionally I'll defrost in a sink if I am going to be monitoring, the meat is on the thinner side, and I plan to cook ASAP.

Once when cooking for a party of 40, I arrived on site and I found all of the chicken frozen solid and the event was three hours off, so those babies got tossed in the bathtub and I did not look back.

 

[Jim6820]

Here is a Link to the ones I bought. I originally bought them as a diffuser to improve performance on my glass top range, but they serve double duty now. These are 1/8” thick, but if I had it to do again I would have bought 1/4” thick plates available from another supplier (sorry, no link) because the claim is that they perform better on the glass top. Aluminum does the same/similar thing, but most aluminum cookware is clad in stainless to make it compatible with induction (which I also use). The GrillGrates folks also heavily advertise that their griddle plate does double duty as a defrost plate.

I literally had this half pork tenderloin from freezer to refrigerator in less than an hour, will be on the table for supper tonight. I do want to confirm that this is for smaller cuts only. I use it for ground beef that has been vac sealed, chops, steaks, and the absolute max is a chuck roast. Not appropriate for briskets, racks of ribs (more because that you can’t fit the entire rack under the plate at one time),

Thanks, @Greg Jones. I must have spent my life living in a cave as I’d never heard of a thawing plate/tray. A quick search on the internet produced a huge amount of information and I now have this thawing tray on order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BL6QG1WK?tag=scrambledchefscom-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1

 

[Pacman]

So I forgot to take out the Cowboy steak yesterday morning as planned for a simple dinner tonight. All this talk of thawing plates inspired me to try something using a plain old anodized aluminum pan. It seems to be working.

 

[DennyO]

I try to first to get my proteins thawed out in the fridge. If I faltered to get it out in time, I do them in a completely submerged with a heavy object on top in a cold water sink. All of the items that are in my freezers are vacuum packed.

I prefer not to leave it to open air on any side.