Proper way to thaw meats before smoking / cooking

[cmayna]

I might be from the old world who typically puts frozen fish or meat in the refridgerator for 2-3 days before cooking or smoking it.  I'm doing two big batches of Salmon this weekend and am worried that I might thaw out too much.  So my question is, can I leave some of the fish frozen and then do a quick thaw under cold water or what other "quick" way at the last minute to fill the smoker without over crowding it?

I assume doing a room thaw is not the ideal way?

Thanks in advance

 

[jarjarchef]

Boy you are about to get a whole ton of opinions about this one.....

OK for me at home these are the methods I use:

Best: Time in fridge

Good: Under cold running water (just a drizzle, does not need to be full blast) then this is where some will differ in opinion, even the FDA sends out conflicting info. Some will say cook immediately and others with in 24hrs. I will cook within a couple hours most of the time, some times if I am going to marinade in a high salt or acidic marinade I will go over night.

OK: Microwave as part of the cooking process.

Do not leave on the counter to thaw!!!! Bad things can grow........

Jeramy

 

[scarbelly]

 That is the exact same thought process I work with 

 

[smokinhusker]

Leave out the microwave thawing and this is how I do it.

 

[roller]

Yep frig or cold water never in the Microwave...nothing wrong with it I just do not do it...

 

[khokhonutt]

I usually start in the fridge, but I will also sometimes put the brining process to use. With large items, especially, I'll get them mostly thawed, then move them to a cold brine. If I'm brining for a few hours, the water helps the thawing process, even though you're keeping it cool (at least you should be).

Jeff

 

[cmayna]

Thanks guys for your input. 

 

[linguica]

Boy you are about to get a whole ton of opinions about this one.....

OK for me at home these are the methods I use:

Best: Time in fridge

Good: Under cold running water (just a drizzle, does not need to be full blast) then this is where some will differ in opinion, even the FDA sends out conflicting info. Some will say cook immediately and others with in 24hrs. I will cook within a couple hours most of the time, some times if I am going to marinade in a high salt or acidic marinade I will go over night.

OK: Microwave as part of the cooking process.

Do not leave on the counter to thaw!!!! Bad things can grow........

Jeramy

You can't go wrong with this info. AND He did not mention microwave thawing he said Microwave as part of the cooking process. COOK not thaw

 

[chef jimmyj]

Just 1 addition...That is thaw SUBMERGED in cold water with a trickle of water running into the now overflowing container. A chunk of fish or meat in a colander with a little water running on it is barely better than thawing on the counter...JJ

 

[scarbelly]

Great info JJ - the food needs to hit the water to use this method  

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Definitely just a trickle, the water here comes out of the faucet at about 70 degrees in summer!!!!! :icon_eek:
And it is best, IMHO, to cook the meat ASAP after thawing!!!!!!!

Why be in such a hurry to thaw, but no hurry to cook?

Having said that, cold water thawing should be used only as a last resort, it's always best to plan ahead and thaw in the fridge.

~Martin

 

[boykjo]

Would help to vacuum seal the fish or meat before freezing... This way  there will be no contact between the fish/meat and anything else when thawing.

Also...... for all of those against the microwave thaw..... why

........ I have used the microwave thaw before on meats with great results..... Using proper thawing methods in the microwave will thaw meat without cooking it and still leave it cold and looking like you just brought it home from the store.......

 

[cmayna]

Sorry I forgot to mention that all the fish I thaw is already vacumn sealed.  Typically I always thaw via the refridgerator method, which I'm currently doing as I type this.  But doing two big batches of fish, I'm afraid that I might thaw out too much that might not fit into the smoker, thus if I over thaw too much for the first batch, no biggie for I'll move the extra to the 2nd smoke session.  It's how much I can smoke in that 2nd session which worries me.  So I might hold back maybe enough for a rack or two to see if I end up with too much space in the smoker.  If so, I'll then quickly thaw out via the cold water method just enough to fill all the racks.

But this question of thawing can also apply to any sudden urge we might get to have some baked or BBQ Salmon with very little planning.