Need recommendations for thawing ribeyes quickly!

[grimm5577]

 
I generally make a water bath in the sink & put a small trickle  of water going into the sink. I just use plain cold water. While its not as fast as the micro it defrost them pretty dang fast

This is what I do as well.

 

[nato316ca]

Thanks Dward for putting up those videos. Its not very often we forget to take meat out of the freezer, but often enough to warrant a defrosting tray because I will NOT defrost meat in a microwave. In fact the only time I ever use a microwave is at work.

 

[dls1]

 
Thanks Dward for putting up those videos. Its not very often we forget to take meat out of the freezer, but often enough to warrant a defrosting tray because I will NOT defrost meat in a microwave. In fact the only time I ever use a microwave is at work.

Dward was correct about defrosting with the aluminum tray, but you certainly don't need to spend additional money for something you no doubt already have in your kitchen. For years there have numerous products brought out by marketing wizards that are nothing more than metal trays to put the meat on.

All you need a heavy aluminium or cast iron pan. And all you have to do is set the frozen meat onto the pan making sure that as much surface area as possible is touching the pan and the meat will begin to defrost quickly. After it is thawed half way through, flip it on the other side.

The metal of the pan is defusing the cold of the meat, in a sense drawing it out of the meat. If you have a second heavy metal pan, you can place it on top of the meat to make it thaw faster.

And, if all of this fails you, just start cooking the meat from it's frozen state, which I've done many times with fine results. It obviously adds a bit more time than it usually would, but it's certainly a lot faster than waiting for the item to defrost.

 

[nato316ca]

Thanks dis1,

I get nervous cooking pork and poultry when it is still partially frozen. I was always told not to, so I try not to. Sometimes I do, but sometimes I don't cook it enough. Then I want to take it back out to the grill, the wife will be sour and throw it in the microwave, I get cranky, she gets cranky. Doesn't always work out. So I really try to make sure the meat is always thawed. Now steak, I find, gets tough when I try and cook it from partial frozen. Always. And I don't know why. Steak doesn't even need to be cooked very much for my liking, but I can't stand a steak that has all the right colour, rare, and still be tough.

Now with the pans, I am assuming I should give them a 1 or 2 inch lift for air flow to whisk the cold away. I only have one cast iron pan. I could always use another.

I appreciate the heads up and the quick lesson.

- nato

 

[dls1]

 
Thanks dis1,

I get nervous cooking pork and poultry when it is still partially frozen. I was always told not to, so I try not to. Sometimes I do, but sometimes I don't cook it enough. Then I want to take it back out to the grill, the wife will be sour and throw it in the microwave, I get cranky, she gets cranky. Doesn't always work out. So I really try to make sure the meat is always thawed. Now steak, I find, gets tough when I try and cook it from partial frozen. Always. And I don't know why. Steak doesn't even need to be cooked very much for my liking, but I can't stand a steak that has all the right colour, rare, and still be tough.

Now with the pans, I am assuming I should give them a 1 or 2 inch lift for air flow to whisk the cold away. I only have one cast iron pan. I could always use another.

I appreciate the heads up and the quick lesson.

- nato

Nato,

Well, I've never had an issue or a poorly cooked piece of meat going from partially or fully frozen. You just need to watch your temperatures when doing so. I've done a variety of beef and pork cuts, as well as chicken and even a 12 lb. turkey once. I've never set out to do this, but we all screw up from time to time and you just have to deal with the hand you've drawn. I don't know who told you not to do it, but I've heard the same in the past. Not surprisingly, those who have said that have never been able to back up their comments with any hard documentation stating that the process is improper or unsafe.

Not long ago the New York Times had a little video featuring Nathan Myhrvold and columnist Melissa Clark doing a frozen steak. The link follows.

BTW, using the torch as shown in the video has been a kitchen friend for a long time. It's also fun.

With regard to the pans, I normally invert a cast iron pan which creates a little space below. It's always nice to have some additional cast iron, but you can get by with an aluminum piece on top. Use whatever you have on hand. It will work.

Good luck.

 

[weekend smoker]

Here is your best bet for a good ribeye when you realize the ones you have are still frozen and you want to start grilling.........keep the the frozen ribeyes in your freezer to age a little longer, go to the store and buy some fresh cut ones to throw on the grill.   This method has never failed me.

What did you end up doing?

 

[guruatbol]

 
Here is your best bet for a good ribeye when you realize the ones you have are still frozen and you want to start grilling.........keep the the frozen ribeyes in your freezer to age a little longer, go to the store and buy some fresh cut ones to throw on the grill.   This method has never failed me.

What did you end up doing?

Works good, but the closest market is 20 miles one way.

Mel

 

[dward51]

As I posted earlier, if you go the pan route, aluminum is the preferred pan material (and thicker is better).  Also if the pan has a non-stick coating, flip it over and use the anodized bottom as the surface you put the frozen meat on.   And yes, an air gap under the pan helps.

The wife put my "as seen on TV" defroster tray in storage when she cleaned out the pantry a while back.  I keep saying I'm going to call up the reserves and issue a all out search for it as that sucker did work, and work well.  In the interim, I've used the aluminum pan trick with good results.

 

[guruatbol]

I know the pan thing works, but I still prefer the water bath method.  Since 90% plus of our meat is vacuum sealed I believe that the safety issue is addressed.  If it is vac sealed then there is no bacteria in there to cause issues, right?

Mel

 

[chef jimmyj]

 
I know the pan thing works, but I still prefer the water bath method.  Since 90% plus of our meat is vacuum sealed I believe that the safety issue is addressed.  If it is vac sealed then there is no bacteria in there to cause issues, right?

Mel

Sorry Mel but No...There is Bacteria regardless of how it was packed. There is just typically less in vac-packed meat from the national distributors due to higher sanitation standards. This is the reason a vac-packed steak has a longer shelf life than a hand cut steak on a pink foam tray wrapped in plastic film. Always defrost and handle meat properly using the methods I outlined above...JJ

 

[dcarch]

The sous vide method is probably ideal when it comes to dealing with completely frozen large piece of meat.

I often sous vide cooked the entire 14 lbs frozen turkey directly, no thawing.

Did a 6 lb prime rib from completely frozen sous vide, then a quick blast of smoke, then seared on a 500F cast iron skillet. Came out perfect.

dcarch

 

[guruatbol]

 
Sorry Mel but No...There is Bacteria regardless of how it was packed. There is just typically less in vac-packed meat from the national distributors due to higher sanitation standards. This is the reason a vac-packed steak has a longer shelf life than a hand cut steak on a pink foam tray wrapped in plastic film. Always defrost and handle meat properly using the methods I outlined above...JJ

Good to know.  thanks for setting me straight.

I did use a question mark, mainly because I was hoping for some good info I could trust.

I do learn so much here.

Mel

 

[palladini]

 
It has been shown that COLD running water and the convection it creates thaws meat FAR faster than placing the meat in a pot of freshly boiled water, on the counter in a 75° room or even in a 350° Oven. Not to mention while the risks are usually low of getting food poisoning with following up the Warm/Hot Defrost with a proper cooking, there is still a risk and all the things you guys are doing have potential dangers. 

I realize S#!T happens and meat can not be properly defrosted but these should be few and far between and Extra precautions need to be taken in the final cook. Use only high heat cooking methods, Reverse Sear, in this situation, is Risky and Smoking Low and Slow is OUT OF THE QUESTION! 

For the benefit of our many new / inexperience members, the staff of SMF only recognize and encourage Safe thawing methods...JJ

1)Thaw under Refrigeration

2)Thaw in a container of Cold Running Water. The container must be large enough to hold and keep the meat submerged. Use a weight if needed.

3)Thaw in the Microwave. This is the least preferred method because large pieces of meat will begin to cook.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING.... http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...83-a04e-5123713fe406/Big_Thaw.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Your #3 is a bit misleading.  I have defrosted ground beef, with non of it cooking in about 20 minutes, from the time I take it out of the freezer, using the microwave.  Never use the defrost cycle on the microwave, that is a standard 50% power, which will start to cook the meat.  I put my meat in at power 2 for 5 minutes, when it beeps, I take it out, turn it over and do it at power 3 for 5 to 8 minutes.  I repeat this setting as many times as needed to get it done.

 

[jarjarchef]

Your #3 is a bit misleading.  I have defrosted ground beef, with non of it cooking in about 20 minutes, from the time I take it out of the freezer, using the microwave.  Never use the defrost cycle on the microwave, that is a standard 50% power, which will start to cook the meat.  I put my meat in at power 2 for 5 minutes, when it beeps, I take it out, turn it over and do it at power 3 for 5 to 8 minutes.  I repeat this setting as many times as needed to get it done.

The methods Chef JimmyJ has listed are the only ways approved by the State of Florida Health Inspectors. They are also the only methods approved by all of the HACCP programs I have seen. Been using HACCP myself since 1995 and NASA has been using it since they have been sending people into space.

Palladini you are correct that using a microwave correctly you can thaw without cooking. The problem is as you pointed out, the defrost setting is misleading. The other issue is people don't understand how a microwave works. They just push some buttons and expect it to be done quick and then move on........... If people take the time to learn the tools and equipment they have, they can get some great results just by taking a little time and be patcient.

I have seen the defrost trays before. They are very interesting and would like to try one for smaller items, but for larger cuts I would rather just thaw in fridge........ I would caution anyone using these to be very mindful of your temperatures. Essentially this is just a modified version of thawing on the counter.....

 

[dcarch]

Everything that happens in the kitchen is about chemistry and physics. The more you look into the basics, the better control you will have in achieving the end results.

Those of you who has done work in acoustic, radio wave transmission, wave behavior, power transmission, etc, will come across the term "Standing wave".

In short, standing wave is the end result of wave behavior in a given environment based on wave length and the geometry of the environment, for instance, wire length or the shape of the interior of a microwave. Incoming wave (reflection)  and outgoing wave came reinforce or cancel each other (harmonics) at specific locations.

That is one of the main reasons why a microwave cannot cook evenly. 

Here is an experiment to show visually in one model of microwave the cooking power distribution inside the oven due to "standing wave".

dcarch

 

 

[bwarbiany]

 
I generally make a water bath in the sink & put a small trickle  of water going into the sink. I just use plain cold water. While its not as fast as the micro it defrost them pretty dang fast

I've done the same. Thawed about a 2#, maybe 1.75" thick rib-eye in less than an hour.

Water movement is FAR more important than water temp, so cold water is fine.