"The stages of meat processing that must be considered also include how to defrost frozen meat. If carelessly, there is a risk that the meat will be contaminated with bacteria and cause food poisoning. Not only delicious and nutritious, meat processing can vary greatly depending on taste and ability. However, so that the benefits of meat for health can be felt to the fullest, you need to pay attention to how it is processed.
The stages of meat processing that you have to pay attention to are not only when cooking. In fact, from thawing frozen meat, you need to know the exact method.
The purpose of this step is to make sure all the germs on the meat are dead and you can cook without worry. Find out how to properly defrost the following meat!
How to Thaw Frozen Meat
After putting the meat into the freezer for you to use later, the meat will be frozen. If you want to take the meat back out and cook it, there is a defrosting step you need to know exactly how to do.
1. Transfer to the refrigerator
The first step to defrosting frozen meat is moving the meat from the freezer to the bottom of the refrigerator or the coldest part of the refrigerator. Do not remove meat from its original container.
Make sure the meat is still wrapped in packaging or plastic to reduce the risk of bacteria sticking while the meat is in the refrigerator.
2. Let the frozen meat thaw in the refrigerator
After you transfer the meat, let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator. The goal is for the temperature of the meat to rise slowly and regularly so it doesn't trigger the growth of bacteria.
It's best if you start thawing the meat the night before you are going to cook it. The shortest time to thaw meat in the refrigerator is a few hours. The time until the chops are no longer frozen will vary depending on their size and thickness.
3. Do not remove from refrigerator for defrosting
One thing you need to pay attention to is not to thaw the meat at room temperature. This can lead to the growth of bacteria, and if these bacteria are still attached after cooking you run the risk of poisoning.
Also, avoid thawing meat with hot water because it can make the meat unhealthy for consumption.
Alternative Ways to Thaw Frozen Meat in a Short Time
If you forgot to thaw frozen meat and don't have much time, there are two alternative ways you can do it. The first alternative is to thaw the meat in cold water.
To do this, you need to transfer the meat to a clean plate without opening the plastic. Place the meat under cold running water until the meat is completely liquefied.
With the cold water method, it will take about 20 minutes for small pieces or one to two hours for large pieces. This method is obviously faster, but you need to make sure that the meat is still safely packaged so that bacteria and water cannot enter.
The second alternative way is to thaw frozen meat using a microwave. This is a rather risky method, because the meat can start cooking while it's still in the microwave. Since certain parts of the meat will get warm, you should cook it as soon as it's thawed.
Those are some safe ways to thaw meat. So, so you can know the importance of thawing frozen meat properly, you can read about the Dangers of Eating Meat Contaminated with Bacteria.