Do you thaw meat on the counter?

[MariDisney]

I do a combination of things. If I think far enough in advance, I will thaw meat in the fridge overnight. If I don't think about until the day I want to cook it, it thaws on the counter. If I have forgot to take anything out at all, I will thaw in the microwave.

Most of the time, though, I thaw meat on the counter, just as my mother has always done. No illnesses yet as far as I know.

Same here. Most of the time it's the counter.

 

[TaraPA]

I defrosted the Christmas ham in the spare bathroom tub for 3 days, no one died.

I LOVE this idea! Seriously - when I have that huge turkey I'm always scrambling to find room in the fridge to defrost it...and then we have to quick eat things from the fridge to make room....next time I'll just try the spare tub!!!

 

[mamacatnv]

I thought you tossed it in the dryer!!

I do a combo but will toss things on the counter and then once the outside gets soft, I will put it into the fridge for the rest of the time. I am a ex-restaurant manager and food safety FREAK but it works for us. I would not advocate leaving it out all day while at work, 8+ hours but I am home so it's only out for a few hours.

You know never thought of using the dryer, wouldn't it be noisy?

I am not a freak about food that I prepare in my house, I am a freak about food safety when it comes to eating out because so much food is handled.

I know where I buy my stuff, how I store it and how I prepare it so I don't worry.

I'm curious about the counter thawers vs. the fridge or running water thawers, does the climate where you live maybe make a difference in your habit?

I live in a fairly cool to cold climate 9 months out of the year and I keep the heat way down or off during the day. I can come home after 9-10 hours and the pound of ground beef will often still be frozen in the middle or the chops or chicken pieces are still quite cold to the touch. I never worry.

 

[Cindyluwho]

It's my understanding that for bacteria to grow when meat is being thawed, the bacteria has to be on/in the meat to start with?? Yes, it can mulitply, but the the bacteria was already in the meat.

As long as you cook the meat throughly, to the correct temperature, you are fine. If you undercook it, even if it was fresh or thawed in the fridge, you could be in for some trouble.

It's kind of like the salmonella/chicken egg thing. some obscure number, like one in 2 million eggs, has the salmonella bacteria. Over 90% of those infected eggs come from New Jersey. What are the odds that I'm going to get sick from my cookie batter out here in Washington eating locally grown eggs?? Are you kidding - salmonella vs chocolate chip cookie batter ?? You might as well put Johnny Fairplay in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko
Totally worth the risk in my house.

 

[DISUNC]

I thaw my meat on the Kitchen Table......I like to live life on the EDGE!
Ima REBEL!

 

[Kathi OD]

I thaw my meat on the Kitchen Table......I like to live life on the EDGE!
Ima REBEL!

Like we didn't already know this about you.

 

[TaraPA]

I thaw my meat on the Kitchen Table......I like to live life on the EDGE!
Ima REBEL!

And I'm guessing you don't wipe up after it's been there either...rebel for sure!

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

usually in the fridge overnight, but also microwave

 

[slo]

Here's another vote for the kitchen counter - we've never had a problem, and neither have my mom, grandma, and MIL. I've also used the microwave in a pinch, but I never like it as much

 

[Bluestars]

Over 90% of those infected eggs come from New Jersey.

Ninety percent come from one state? I wonder why. Oh, and I agree. Cookie batter is totally worth the risk.

 

[Bluestars]

I thaw my meat on the Kitchen Table......I like to live life on the EDGE!
Ima REBEL!

No, a real rebel would eat it raw.

 

[Stacerita]

Usually we just toss whatever meat we are thawing into the sink. That way the moisture will run down the drain and not leave a mess on the counter. My nana has been doing it this way forever.

 

[golfgal]

It's my understanding that for bacteria to grow when meat is being thawed, the bacteria has to be on/in the meat to start with?? Yes, it can mulitply, but the the bacteria was already in the meat.

As long as you cook the meat throughly, to the correct temperature, you are fine. If you undercook it, even if it was fresh or thawed in the fridge, you could be in for some trouble.

It's kind of like the salmonella/chicken egg thing. some obscure number, like one in 2 million eggs, has the salmonella bacteria. Over 90% of those infected eggs come from New Jersey. What are the odds that I'm going to get sick from my cookie batter out here in Washington eating locally grown eggs?? Are you kidding - salmonella vs chocolate chip cookie batter ?? You might as well put Johnny Fairplay in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko
Totally worth the risk in my house.

Counter-thawer and raw cookie dough eater here . I am really a rebel or I have an iron stomach.

Even if there were bacteria on your meat, it takes about 24 hours for it to really grow but like others have said, proper cooking will take care of any issues, even if it has salmonella or e-coli, if you cook it properly you will kill it an it will not be a problem.

 

[DISUNC]

Like we didn't already know this about you.

And I'm guessing you don't wipe up after it's been there either...rebel for sure!

Ya know what I always say..."WHipeup,Schmipeup"!

No, a real rebel would eat it raw.

Then thats my new puppy ELVIS!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

I love this thread because it has brought back a distinct memory of my mom putting frozen meat on the counter! We never got sick!

I am not good about remembering to take things out of the freezer so I usually just run into the grocery and buy fresh. The employees know my name and give all sorts of free things to my kids. When my third was born, my mom thought my DD then 3 was a celebrity in the grocery store!

 

[KirstenB]

Looks like I'm in the very small minority. I worked at restaurants all through high school and college. We were trained to never thaw on the counter. I thaw meat in the fridge, never on the counter. I guess if it was a last minute thing, I'd just buy something out of the refrigerator case at the grocery store, or just prepare a veggie meal. Overall, I'm not a germ-phobe. With food handling, I'm a major germ phobe.

 

[bumbershoot]

I've been vegetarian since I was 19, and although I did cook meat at home I was never in charge of defrosting, so I'm quite sure I would quickly kill us all if I ever went omnivore. So one would think I wouldn't have much to contribute! But...

Faster thaw-Zip-Loc bag and throw it in POOL

I totally believe you, and I completely understand the concept, but it's still hilarious. Wouldn't work with my brother's pool, though, he keeps it too cool for that. But if I had a pool, it would totally work, b/c I like a toasty pool.

It's my understanding that for bacteria to grow when meat is being thawed, the bacteria has to be on/in the meat to start with?? Yes, it can mulitply, but the the bacteria was already in the meat.

As long as you cook the meat throughly, to the correct temperature, you are fine. If you undercook it, even if it was fresh or thawed in the fridge, you could be in for some trouble.

It's kind of like the salmonella/chicken egg thing. some obscure number, like one in 2 million eggs, has the salmonella bacteria. Over 90% of those infected eggs come from New Jersey. What are the odds that I'm going to get sick from my cookie batter out here in Washington eating locally grown eggs?? Are you kidding - salmonella vs chocolate chip cookie batter ?? You might as well put Johnny Fairplay in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko
Totally worth the risk in my house.

First two paragraphs are my understanding as well.

Though I'm not sure I grew up with countertop defrosting, as I grew up with Alaskan Malamutes aka Food Thieving dogs. My mom once had to make new frosting, refrosted, and SERVED a cake to my unsuspecting friends on my birthday, after the male sneakily licked off all the CHOCOLATE frosting from my cake...mom finally realized what the sound was, as he slowly turned the metal cake platter on the sideboard, but by the time she realized it and came charging in, it was frosting-free. So you can see that meat sitting on the counter wouldn't have lasted a moment...heck, the goat some brain-trust tied to a tree on the other side of our fence only lasted a day b/c the female malamute broke the fence down to get to that goat...meat in a package was nothin' to them.


And it's good to know about the NJ eggs. I'd been feeling a bit conflicted about cookie dough, even though we use organic, locally farmed, eggs where I doubt poop is getting onto shells (we had chickens, and they never pooped in their nests, so I imagine the problem is from cage-farming where you have chickens stacked on top of each other, with poop falling down into other cages?)...but you've now made me feel better about it.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I have done both thawing on the counter and using the microwave.

You cannot do a decent thawing job if you put the product frozen into the microwave on high power.

If you thaw using the microwave you only use 30-40% power and for only 1-2 minute increments at a time. After each increment, you take the meat out and check it. If it's pieces of something or ground beef, remove the part that has softened and put the rest in the microwave and continue thawing with the 30-40% power and 1-2 minute increments until you have a completely thawed product.

TC

 

[CookieDiva]

I prefer not to defrost in the microwave, but if I do it, I do it at power 1 or 2 for longer times. And then I let it rest between "cycles." It takes longer, but I don't have the "cooking" problem as much as when I microwave at higher powers.

 

[720L]

I defrost beef on the counter, but not poultry. And I don't let the beef thaw totally on the counter.