How to defrost chicken the safest, fastest way possible before your friends arrive?
We’ve all been there.
Our friends suddenly and without much warning and a heads up are going to call you in the last minute. The 11th hour to let you know that “hey, me and the gang are going to drop by and raid your apartment. And maybe have a sleepover or something so YOU BETTER HAVE FOOD PREPARED FOR US! By the way, Ashley’s craving for some chicken and she has groceries for ingredients so better hurry up. Have it on the ready so we can roast it by the time we come!”
Ugh, so how do we go about this?
If for some reason. You have not had the urgency of having to defrost chicken in such a short amount of time. This topic will cover the basics on how you can defrost chicken in different ways.
How to Defrost Chicken in Microwave Oven?
Most modern microwaves have a defrost function. Doing so is practically a no-brainer for most people. Who are already familiar with how this function works in a microwave oven.
But let us assume that you are new to this. This is your first time buying yourself a microwave oven. And you are just getting familiarized with how the buttons and fancy touchpad works.
Step 1
Firstly, what you must do is to get yourself a microwave safe bowl. Making sure that the bowl in question is more than big enough. To fit the chicken that you wish to thaw and defrost.
Step 2
Second step is to try and break apart some of the pieces of frozen chicken. That have stuck with one another and have formed a large clump of dismembered chicken parts amalgamated by ice.
If the clumped-up piece is small enough to fit in the bowl, no need to separate the chicken up. But if not, you are going to have to separate them until they will fit in the bowl.
Step 3
Third step is to place the bowl with the chicken in the microwave oven, close the lid and tap the defrost function. The way to do this might vary from one microwave brand to another, but the gist of how this functionality works is more or less similar, regardless of microwave oven brand or model.
This should take about one or two minutes. Once it has finished with its first round of defrosting, get a pair of tweezers and use it to clamp the pieces of chicken, flip them over and evenly distribute them when putting them in the bow.
It is important that you rotate the chicken so that the heat is evenly distributed in the meat once it is being heated in the microwave oven.
Repeat the following steps until you are satisfied with the defrosting of the chicken.
How to Defrost Chicken without a Microwave?
Let us say that you do not have a microwave oven in your house or apartment, and you need to defrost chicken but you are not exactly in a hurry to do so, in fact you want your chicken to be defrosted by next morning.
1. Place it in Your Refrigerator Compartment
The most practical way to do this is to transfer your frozen chicken from the freezer to the fridge compartment, the same place where you put your milk and fruits in.
Chicken defrosted and thawed in this manner is not only hygienic and convenient but practical as well.
One thing to note is that there are steps that you have to do prior to defrosting and thawing your frozen chicken in the fridge, one of which is blood.
Chicken blood might seep through the cellophane or container, so it is a good idea to wrap the chicken in an airtight zip-locked bag before transferring it to the fridge compartment. In order to prevent the chicken from either contaminating or getting mashed and mix with the other contents of the fridge, it might be a good idea to use a separate container such as a bowl to keep it secure and separate from the rest of the contents.
2. Leave it in the Open
Another method to thaw and defrost chicken is to simply leave it exposed to air.
Although this is not encouraged due to the risk of contamination, but as long as you do the prerequisite which is sealing the chicken in an airtight zip-lock, you would not have such issues to worry about because the zip-lock will protect your chicken from getting contaminated with airborne diseases.
And the most efficient, cost-effective and fastest way to defrost and thaw out frozen chicken will be discussed in the next subtopic.
3. Defrosting Chicken in Water – Is This Safe? Read More And Find Out!
Frozen chicken amalgamated in clumps is one of the most frustrating things to work with, especially if you need to cook your chicken urgently.
But with water, this task will not be much of a hindrance.
Before immersing your chicken with any water whatsoever, it is a good idea to always wrap your frozen chicken in an airtight zip-lock, sealed shut and the container in question must not have any holes or punctures. The purpose of this is to avoid contaminating the chicken once it is submerged in water.
Get a clean bowl, one that is more than big enough to fit the chicken as well as the water that it is going to be submerged in.
You can use either hot or cold water to pour in your bowl. The hotter the water, the faster the chicken will be thawed and defrosted.
Place the frozen chicken in the bowl and pour the water in. Once every few minutes, stir the chicken, eventually separating them from one another.
Change the water once every thirty minutes.
Conclusion
In this topic, we have discussed all the possible ways on how you can defrost chicken that has been frozen.
One example that was discussed is how to use the defrost function of your microwave oven.
Other ways you can defrost chicken without a microwave is to put it in the fridge, submerge it underwater or to simply let it defrost through air. Either way, it is best to wrap the frozen chicken up in an airtight zip-lock to prevent contamination.
Read my other article on defrosting meat and ground meat.
