Do I need to defrost meat before cooking? Is it possible to defrost meat quickly?
If you want to cook boiled chicken fillet quickly, but you don’t have time to defrost the product, you can throw the meat directly into boiling water and cook it until done. However, if you do this, the broth will turn out cloudy and the meat will be tough. When the fibers of frozen chicken or pork are exposed to boiling water, a large amount of water is released, which seeps between the fibers and flows out. As a result, the broth contains a minimum of nutrients, and the meat is dry. Therefore, if you want to prepare a healthy dish for the whole family, preliminary defrosting is necessary. For these purposes, you can use several methods.
Is it necessary and how to defrost meat before cooking, is it possible to quickly defrost meat:
- A rather unusual method is to use a hair dryer. In this way it is better to defrost entrecote, or cue ball, which is cut into pieces. It could be steaks. Use cool air and keep the hairdryer about 30cm away from the mascara. It will take about an hour to defrost the meat.
- A good way to defrost is to keep it at room temperature. Place the product in a container, fill it with water and wait until the meat thaws.
- There are methods that allow you to defrost meat very quickly, but they, like cooking in boiling broth, contribute to the destruction of beneficial substances and deterioration of the properties of meat. This is defrosting in hot water and using high temperatures.
- If you use hot water during defrosting, a dense film of boiled fibers may appear on the surface. It is best to cut it off before cooking. Otherwise, it will interfere with the correct preparation of the product.
- Some people use a water bath. To do this, place a piece of meat in a colander, which is placed on a pan of boiling water. During this defrosting process, it is impossible to regulate the temperature, so there is a chance that the meat will overheat, and you will end up with a piece of “rubber sole”. If you make broth from such meat, you will not get any benefit. You can use a double boiler, the result is almost the same as when using a water bath.
- Defrosting uses hot air and heat. If you place the meat near the radiator, or heat it with hot air from a hair dryer, you will get unnecessary problems. The meat will thaw much faster, but the growth of pathogens that are inside will also accelerate.
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Defrosting: which is best?
Any housewife has several options for preparing chilled fillets or tenderloins in case guests decide to arrive unannounced, or all the fresh food in the refrigerator suddenly runs out.
- Microwave
Usually the first thing that comes to mind is the microwave. Defrosting it takes little time; a special operating mode is already included in the program. What's the problem?
The microwave heats the product unevenly. Those who often use a microwave oven have more than once encountered a situation where a piece is still icy on one side, but almost cooked on the other.
In addition, when using this method, a lot of moisture evaporates, and your dish will lose its juiciness and become tougher.
- Fridge
The safest, but also the longest way is to defrost first in the refrigerator, then at room temperature.
- Water
To speed up the process, ice meat can be placed in water. The disadvantage of this method is that the product will lose the juice contained in it, and, consequently, the steak will turn out too tough. However, if the piece is used for broth or a dish that will contain sauce, this method can be very useful.
The positive aspects of this method of defrosting include the fact that the food does not lose its beneficial properties.
- Steamed or oven
This method is also considered safe, but it requires constant attention from the owner. It is important to accurately determine the moment when the meat thaws, because otherwise it will begin to cook under the influence of hot air.
Please note that the product thawed in this way may slightly change its taste.
It is not recommended to thaw meat in the fresh air: insects or their larvae may get into it.
If you have a lot of time, I recommend choosing to defrost in the refrigerator. If you are short on time and you do not have a microwave oven, then it is better to stick to thawing using water. In extreme cases, hot air can be used.
How to cook frozen chicken fillet?
Chicken fillet is a common dietary product used in salads and as a complement to vegetables. It is often purchased by people who watch their diet. This is a great alternative to meat for children. It is not always possible to purchase refrigerated products, so you have to use frozen ones. It is advisable to think about preparing it in advance and defrost it at room temperature or on a shelf in the refrigerator. The method of quickly defrosting chicken fillet should be excluded. This is a low-fat product; it contains practically no fatty inclusions. Therefore, the product itself is not very juicy.
How to cook frozen chicken fillet:
- If you immediately dip a frozen chicken fillet in boiling water or cold water and put it on fire, you will get a rubbery piece that looks like paper and is impossible to chew. Therefore, we recommend taking care of cooking in advance. What to do if you were unable to defrost the meat first?
- To prevent all the juice from leaving the product during the cooking process and for it to remain juicy, you can resort to a trick. Pour some oil into the pan and heat it until hot. It needs to start smoking a little.
- Place the frozen piece on one side, hold in the pan for about two minutes, turn over to the other side, and fry for another couple of minutes. You will seal the juice inside and prevent it from leaking out during cooking. Now you can safely dip the fried piece in boiling water and cook according to the recipe.
Fillet
How to properly freeze and cook meat
How to properly freeze and defrost meat, as well as how to cook meat so that it melts in your mouth - Kirill Martynenko, chef and managing partner of the Torro Grill chain, shares his professional secrets with us
What to do if meat needs to be frozen, how to properly prepare it? It is better not to freeze the meat yourself: when slowly frozen at home, microscopic breaks appear in it, due to which (during subsequent defrosting) the meat loses most of the liquid that is necessary for the meat to remain tasty and juicy during the cooking process.
But if you can’t avoid freezing, then do this: cut the meat into small pieces, about 1 kg, brush with olive oil, wrap in cling film or put in special bags for freezing. There the meat will freeze quickly and evenly. In addition, this method will avoid cold burns on the meat - white spots that will appear during defrosting. Meat frozen this way should not be stored for longer than three months. And do not forget that thawed meat cannot be re-frozen.
What is the best way to defrost then? Frozen meat should not be subjected to shock defrosting: put in the microwave or under hot water. And even at room temperature, meat should not be defrosted. Meat thawed in this way will lose not only its taste, but also its juices, and when cooked it will turn out dry.
To defrost properly, transfer a piece of meat from the freezer to the refrigerator so that it defrosts gradually. It will take about a day to completely defrost a piece weighing 2-3 kg.
How to cook meat correctly? What size should the piece be, and what spices should be added during cooking, and which, on the contrary, should not be added? If you want to cook meat rather than meat broth, you should take a piece of lean meat weighing 1.5-2 kilograms. Place it in a saucepan, fill it with 5-6 liters of cold water, put it on the stove and bring to a boil. Then we lower the temperature and remove the foam that appears on the surface. Add vegetables - carrots, onions, parsley root, celery; cook for an hour and a half, then remove the vegetables from the pan and cook the meat until tender, another one and a half to two hours. In order for boiled meat to be juicy, it must be left to cool in the broth.
When cooking meat, do not add dry spices directly to the pan and cook them together with the meat for a long time. This can significantly change the color and taste of the meat. Rosemary, for example, when cooked for a long time (more than an hour), begins to produce bitterness.
Are there any professional technologies that can be used to cook soft and tender meat? Yes, such technologies exist. In Asian countries, special powders called tenderizers have been successfully used for this for a long time. These are meat tenderizers. The most common of them is called papain, it is produced from papaya. It has the ability to turn the toughest cut into cotton wool, but still robs the meat of its flavor. That's why Chinese cuisine often uses so many sauces and spices to add flavor to meat dishes.
And from the available funds? The easiest way to achieve the desired result is to focus on the correct choice of meat and method of cooking it.
Chef's Tips:
How to choose meat
Kirill Martynenko agreed to share his professional knowledge. Today is about how to select, store and prepare meat for cooking. See more...
How to fry and bake meat
To cook the perfect steak, many conditions must be met. Chef of the Torro Grill restaurant Kirill Martynenko told...See. Further…
If you notice an error or inaccuracy, please let us know. Illustrations for the material: shutterstock
Can you make soup from frozen chicken?
In traditional chicken broth, the main ingredient is added cold to water. For these purposes, it is better to use the back, wings, or parts where there are bones. In this case, the broth will really be rich.
Is it possible to cook soup from frozen chicken?
- What to do if you don’t have time to defrost chicken? Please note that if you immediately put a piece of meat into cold or hot water, you will get a cloudy broth with white flakes. You can remove the foam and strain the broth, but you will not achieve any results.
- This is exactly the reaction that frozen chicken gives without defrosting. The broth will not be the most delicious. To avoid such consequences and cook a delicious broth, despite the frozen meat, you can resort to a trick.
- You need to pour cold water over the chicken, put it on the fire and wait until it boils. Drain off all the water along with the foam, and rinse the chicken that is in boiling water with cold water, removing any remaining foam. Fill the pan with new water, boil it, and lower the prepared chicken.
- Of course, many may think that such a broth will become completely low-fat and non-nutritious. Actually this is not true. During the first minutes of cooking frozen fillets, almost all the water and dirt that is on the surface of the chicken are washed out of the fibers. All valuable, nutritional elements found in the bones and skin are still preserved.
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How to cook meat?
Almost every housewife makes elementary mistakes when cooking meat. In most cases, she pours cold water over the meat, and during the boiling process begins to remove the foam. Foam, by the way, is nothing more than a protein that has coagulated. During the heating process, mineral salts and proteins dissolved in cold water pass into the water, but when placing meat in boiling water, they mainly remain in the product itself. How to cook meat correctly? There are some secrets in this matter.
How to cook meat correctly
If you are not interested in a good broth as a result of cooking meat, put the meat in boiling water. If you want a rich broth, place the meat in cold water. Take your time to skim off the foam - it is useful for the broth and has nutritional value. And to remove unsightly flakes, just put a head of onion in the pan, this will make the whites curl and the foam will disappear. Cook the broth or soup over low heat, this will keep the dish transparent. If you want the nutrients to be preserved not in the broth, but in the meat, add salt immediately after boiling. During the cooking process, the pan with meat should be closed, this will improve the taste of the final product. Excess oxygen will not enter the pan, thereby minimizing fat oxidation. After turning off the heat, leave the meat in the broth for another 10 minutes. Next, the meat must be removed, even if you do not serve it immediately. Do you want to use the product a little later? Then, to preserve the juice in the meat, carefully wrap it in foil or hide it in a plastic container.
Is it possible to cook frozen meat?
We’ll answer right away: you can, but first you should familiarize yourself with some nuances. So, if you need frozen meat for soup, no problem! Just remember to skim off the foam, otherwise you risk getting reproached for making the soup cloudy. Here it is useful to clarify that the richness of the broth is determined not by the meat, but by the bones, so it is better to save the meat itself for the second course. If the meat is intended to be used specifically for these purposes, it is still advisable to defrost it first. Firstly, defrosted meat will have a completely different taste after cooking. Unfrozen meat can greatly disappoint you in this regard. Secondly, the product will lose its main nutrients; in fact, a frozen piece of meat will not bring any benefit to the body. Typically, meat is defrosted at room temperature by immersing it in water. Such defrosting can make the product tougher, but if the operation is performed in the microwave, you will lose the normal “marketable” appearance of the meat. Thus, we have established that there are no theoretical contraindications to cooking frozen meat. You just have to be prepared for our product to lose a certain part of its beneficial properties, and, of course, taste.
Is it possible to cook smoked meat?
And this procedure is quite doable. Such meat should be washed and placed in boiling water. Since the volume of the product practically does not change during cooking, it must be completely covered with water. Smoked meat is cooked within 1-3 hours, depending on the size of the piece. Do not add water as it evaporates - its amount should be calculated immediately. Smoked meat is cooked over low heat. The degree of its readiness is determined using a fork. Do not rush to remove the finished product from the pan - let the meat cool in the broth.
You can read our following articles:
- “How long does it take to cook beef?”
- “How long does it take to cook pork?”
Why can't you cook frozen chicken without defrosting?
Chicken is a healthy product that is mainly used for preparing salads and first courses. In preparation for the holiday, some housewives do not have time to completely defrost the product.
When not to cook frozen chicken:
- If it does not fit completely into the pan
- If you need skinless meat to prepare a dish
- If you are going to fry or braise the pieces
Why you can’t cook frozen chicken without defrosting:
- If you are going to boil the chicken for soup or salad, then cooking it frozen is allowed. Nothing bad will happen, but the product will lose some of its beneficial properties and juice. Please note that this meat can be very dry. Try not to defrost in hot water during preparation as this will dry out the meat.
- Quick defrosting using a microwave is not suitable. The fact is that the microwave does not defrost meat evenly, but in sections. Be prepared if one part is lightly cooked and the other contains ice. It is very difficult to achieve uniform defrosting in a microwave oven due to the way it works. When using this appliance, you must turn the chicken pieces every 2 minutes to ensure that all areas are thawed.
- As mentioned above, to prepare broth from frozen chicken, you need to drain the broth, wash the meat and refill with cold water. Only in this broth can you cook chicken. Otherwise, you will end up with a cloudy broth that is not really suitable for making soup. If you are still interested in meat, and you need to preserve its rich taste, then you should defrost the product in advance. Or proceed as indicated above, first frying the piece on both sides in vegetable oil.
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