Thawing chicken thighs

[pacanis]

You'd think I could find one of those thawing chicken threads when I need it....

I have a store package of chicken thighs I took out of the freezer and put in the fridge yesterday. They are still pretty frozen, barely soft on the surface. How can I hurry them along? I seem to remember somone saying they run water on meat to help it thaw, but I don't know if this pertained to chicken. Could I set the package in the sink and let cold tap water run over it to help it thaw more quickly?

Thanks.
BTW, I'm looking to have them thawed in a couple hours.

 

[LadyCook61]

do you have a microwave? you can thaw them on low

 

[kitchenelf]

You'd think I could find one of those thawing chicken threads when I need it....Could I set the package in the sink and let cold tap water run over it to help it thaw more quickly?

Thanks.
BTW, I'm looking to have them thawed in a couple hours.

Bingo! You can even set in a bowl of cold water (in the sink) and change the water every so often. They will be thaw in no time - - way less than a couple hours.

 

[Andy M.]

You can also place the thighs in a heavy aluminum skillet or pan and they will thaw pretty quickly.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks kitchenelf. That's what I was hoping to hear.

I don't seem to have much luck using the microwave, even on the defrost setting. The meat always comes out..... weird.... warm and discolored on the outside by the time the inside is thawed. Plus I didn't want to unwrap the thighs and play around with them, turning and flipping.

The sink it is!

 

[pacanis]

You can also place the thighs in a heavy aluminum skillet or pan and they will thaw pretty quickly.

At room temp? I thaw steaks and pork chops like that, but I thought that was a no-no for chicken.

 

[LadyCook61]

Thanks kitchenelf. That's what I was hoping to hear.

I don't seem to have much luck using the microwave, even on the defrost setting. The meat always comes out..... weird.... warm and discolored on the outside by the time the inside is thawed. Plus I didn't want to unwrap the thighs and play around with them, turning and flipping.

The sink it is!

I don't use the defrost setting, I use low setting and watch for when it starts getting thawed. I don't have patience for sink thawing .

 

[kitchenelf]

At room temp? I thaw steaks and pork chops like that, but I thought that was a no-no for chicken.

I think if you pay attention you will be fine. You can always use a combination of the methods too. Get them going in the sink and once you take them out of the wrapper and do what Andy M said they will thaw very quickly.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks for the tips.

I'll give a low microwave setting a try next time I thaw some burger, LC. Maybe I'll like that better than the defrost setting. Thanks for the tip.

 

[VeraBlue]

You could also break them apart as soon as they are defrosted enough. Small blocks of ice defrost faster than one big one.

 

[pacanis]

The running cold water worked well.
I don't like to handle chicken. I'd just as soon cut the pack open, season the one side, get them on the grill and then season the other side. I needed the whole pack to be ready to go with as little handling as possible. I'm lazy that way

 

[GotGarlic]

The running cold water worked well.
I don't like to handle chicken. I'd just as soon cut the pack open, season the one side, get them on the grill and then season the other side. I needed the whole pack to be ready to go with as little handling as possible. I'm lazy that way

You could always use a couple pairs of tongs

 

[pacanis]

You could always use a couple pairs of tongs

Actually I use a steak knife to cut the package open and then lift the chicken onto the grill or into the pan, then to flip it once or twice, then I grab the tongs and the knife goes in the dishwasher.... If I'm lucky I don't need to wash my hands afterward
I've gotten real "funny" about how I do things lately

 

[GB]

You could try buying disposable gloves to use when you are working with chicken.

 

[pacanis]

I have disposable gloves! I use them when I'm staining wood or similar. I just used them Saturday to wipe some metal down with a metal prep before painting.
I'll have to keep that idea in mind.

 

[SizzlininIN]

I put mine in water and add a generous amount of table salt to it. Its a trick my mother always did and it works beautifully. Seems to thaw even faster though if I put them in my aluminum mixing bowl....just depends on how much I need to thaw whether or not I use it. Just be sure to have the meat submerged fully in the water. Rinse when thawed.

 

[kitchenelf]

I put mine in water and add a generous amount of table salt to it. Its a trick my mother always did and it works beautifully. Seems to thaw even faster though if I put them in my aluminum mixing bowl....just depends on how much I need to thaw whether or not I use it. Just be sure to have the meat submerged fully in the water. Rinse when thawed.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww - so you brine at the same time you thaw! Your Momma was pretty smart!!!! In today's world of already injected chickens just make sure there is more water in your water than in your chicken so it doesn't work the opposite way i.e., whichever has the least salt will pull salt out of the other one.

 

[Jikoni]

Bingo! You can even set in a bowl of cold water (in the sink) and change the water every so often. They will be thaw in no time - - way less than a couple hours.

I usually thaw this way actually, I never quite get it right in the microwave no matter how low, it always seems to cook a little, not that great when one has to marinate the 'kuku'(Swahili for 'chicken')or any other meat.

 

[mozart]

I like Sizzlin. I put 6 TBS of salt and 6 TBS of sugar in 2 qts water. They thaw fast and in about an hour they are also brined.

I always brine chicken or pork chops for the grill. They never come out dry.