Defrosting Round Steak Mince

[Douzer77]

Following on from previous chastisements over my defrosting methods (in my defence i have never made any body ill ). I have a pound of round steak to defrost for tonights dinner. (now 10.45 am in Ireland). So what i now intend doing is leaving the mince in the plastic bag it was frozen in, putting this into a bowel of cold water and covering with a plate!

Is this ok? Will it defrost in 7/8 hours?
should i remove the plastic bag? would this not make the mince watery?

[miniman]

I would not take it out of the plastic bag. I would also change the water several times so that a temperature differential is maintained.

I normally put my on the microwave defrost setting for 350g of meat and then put it in the fridge. It is also cold here today, so, with no heating on, I may have put it into a cool part of the utility room.

[Douzer77]

Only ever tried defrosting the the microwave once, chicken breasts, and they started to cook so bunged them in the bin and went to the butcher! Haven't been brave enough to do it since. Reckon i have plenty of time as if i had left it out on the counter top it would have well defrosted in the couple of hours and have been assured here previosly that my chicken would have defrosted quicker (and safer) in the water i am presuming the same will hold true for the mince meat. And there's always the chinese for tonight dinner if it hasn't defrosted in time!

Glad you agree with me on the keeping it in the plastic bag!

Blooming cold here in Ireland too this morning!

[Barb L.]

Bad advice, but I just set mine on the counter and keep checking it. Breaking apart in bag when I can. Then finish in fridge.

[Andy M.]

The bag in cold waer will do the trick fairly quickly. You must ensure there is no airspace in the plastic bag as that will act as an insulator and slow down the thawing process a great deal.

Another way to go is to place the packet of meat into a heavy aluminum pot or pan and let the metal warm it up. Turn the meat occasionally.

[GB]

Cold water is a great way to go. It will not take very long though. For a pound of meat it might take an hour max. Probably closer to a half hour. Like Andy said though, make sure there are no air pockets.

You do not want to remove the meat from the bag first. The meat will get really gross if it is soaking directly in the water.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by GB

...The meat will get really gross ...

GB, I love it when you start throwing around those technical cooking terms.

[GB]

Oh you must mean "meat"

[Andy M.]

Yeah, ...meat. That's what I meant.

[kitchenelf]

The key is to change the water occasionally. I don't put a "lid" of any kind on top as it will keep the "cold" in. Normally I just put a bowl in the sink, occasionally running new water in it, which displaces the water that is now too cold. In an hour or less it's thawed. THEN, I put in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Also, if you carefully place the round patties in the bag so they are 1 or 2 layers thick the defrosting is much quicker.