How do you properly defrost frozen fish?

Question

I recently bought a package of frozen cod that contains about 6 pieces. How do you go about properly defrosting them? Thanks.

Asked by duchessofstokesay

Answer

There are two safe ways to defrost, one more rapid than the other.

First method is to defrost in the refrigerator. This keeps temperature below 40 degrees F, in the safe zone. This will, also, take a while.

Second method is to defrost in the sink under cold running water. The water doesn't have to run rapidly, but it should change regularly. This will defrost the fish more rapidly than in the air (water is a better conductor of heat than air) and will keep the fish in the danger zone for the shortest period of time. If you are not going to cook it immediately, then return to the refrigerator.

If you are deep frying, there are some techniques that will allow you to go direct from frozen to fried, but that is generally done in a professional kitchen where they have powerful fryers that can take the temperature hit and come back strong.

Answered by Doug Johnson-Cookloose

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Why does sauce go watery after freezing?

Question

If I freeze a sauce, particularly something with mince in it, when defrosted it produces excess water.

The sauce before frozen is nicely thickened.

I think it might be because the proteins in the meat are damaged in some way by the ice crystals so that they are unable to retain as much water.

EDIT The sauce I'm referring to is bolonaise and the only thickening agent I used is a bit of tomatoe puree.

Asked by rgvcorley

Answer

Sauces separate when frozen for several reasons.

• If it contains vegetables, the plant cells rupture when the water in them freezes. This means the sauce gets watery and the taste changes as the contents of the cells escape.
• With emulsions, the oil/fat microdroplets clump together when they freeze. When you thaw the sauce, the emulsion is wrecked, giving a runny consistency. You can defeat this by re-emulsifying as you thaw the sauce. See How can I prevent bacon mayonnaise from splitting when above fridge temperature?
• Due to colligative properties, areas of less concentrated solution will freeze first, and more concentrated solution freeze last. As the solution gradually freezes, this has the effect of concentrating dissolved thickening agents in the last regions to freeze. When the solution thaws, the thickener isn't as evenly mixed.

Answered by BobMcGee

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How to quickly and safely defrost chicken?

Question

What is the safest, quick way to defrost chicken? Microwave? Running water over it?

Asked by Smashery

Answer

I suppose that depends on what you're defrosting it for.

The microwave (on low power) is safe and quick. The downside is that you're using a microwave, which means there's a good chance you'll actually cook the outside slightly in the process, and you're killing enzymes that are normally part of the flavour. The lower the heat, the less the impact of this, but it's still a problem. If I'm preparing the meat for marinating, stir-fry, etc., something with a powerful or thick sauce, then I wouldn't worry about it, but if it's going onto a grill with just a little bit of seasoning, you might want to avoid this.

Running it under warm water would seem to work, but I've found that it takes forever to defrost this way (the exterior will loosen up but the interior stays stubbornly frozen), and you're soaking it in the process. This really isn't suitable if you need to pound or fold the meat or do anything complicated with it.

I would use the microwave if desperate, but it's really best to thaw the meat in the refrigerator or, if you're in a bit of a hurry, the sink. It takes longer, but it'll turn out much better than the microwave in terms of flavour and tenderness.

P.S. One other word of advice: If you're making a dish that requires the chicken to be cut or sliced, it's best not to defrost it all the way. It's easier to cut when frozen, and will defrost very quickly once it's in pieces. I'm mainly talking about the breast here, this doesn't work so well with meat stuck to bones.

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Update: I'm noticing a lot of recent hubbub about the dangers of defrosting in the sink / on the countertop or using warm water and I wanted to clarify something. Please note that that the advice above applies to chicken that will be immediately cooked after defrosting.

Raw chicken must not be kept at any temperature above 40° F (4.4° C) for more than an hour or so. Do not defrost a chicken breast in the sink and then toss it back in the fridge. Definitely don't try to defrost a whole bird this way - stick to the refrigerator or very cold water.

As long as you follow the above precautions and cook the chicken thoroughly (the insides should be white, not pink, and juices should run clear), you're not in any serious danger of salmonella poisoning, even if the original piece of meat was contaminated - and most chicken sold today is contaminated, for the record.

If the meat is going back in the refrigerator for marinating or you plan to delay cooking for any other reason, then you need to either thaw it very fast (using the microwave) or at a very low temperature (using the refrigerator or cold water).

Answered by Aaronut

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How do I defrost frozen flour tortillas?

Question

There is a wide variety of suggestions about how to thaw frozen flour tortillas. What works best?

Answer

If you are freezing the tortillas yourself and don't mind putting in a little extra work in the beginning to get more convenience later, I would separate the tortillas with waxed paper (actually I use the paper sheets that are waxed on one side, intended for bakeries). What this buys you is the ability to pull out one or two tortillas as you need them.

They will defrost just fine in the pan that you are going to warm/brown them in anyway.

If you customarily run through a dozen tortillas, then you probably don't want to bother. But if that is the case then you probably aren't freezing your tortillas in the first place.

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How long can fish be left out?

Question

I was defrosting fish and forgot about it. It has been left out for a long time. How long can fish actually be left out before it goes bad?

Answer

A quote from the below link;

"Do not thaw frozen seafood at room temperature. Thaw in the refrigerator or defrost in the microwave oven. If thawing in the refrigerator, allow one to two hours per pound of seafood".

http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/fsfcs100.pdf

&

Another quote from the link below;

"... If food is allowed to remain at room temperature for two hours or longer, bacteria can multiply and cause food poisoning. - Even a tiny amount of contaminated food can cause severe illness. If you have any doubt about the safety of the food, throw it out!"

http://www.calpoison.com/public/food.html

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Can I refreeze defrosted crumb topping?

Question

I have a crumb topping (margarine + brown sugar + flour) that I usually make double or triple the recipe of and then freeze. Sometimes I don't divide it evenly and end up with extra dough when I defrost a section. Can I refreeze the dough or should I just toss it because it'll affect the taste? (What about cookie dough?)

Answer

Generally, freezing and re-freezing is not a big issue. Some things just shouldn't be frozen (certain fruits and veg), because when frozen the water contained in the cell structure expands and in turn bursts the containing structure, which causes mushiness. Meats can be refrozen with a slight moisture loss. From what I was taught by my old pastry chef, this whole notion of freezing and refreezing being dangerous was started when electric freezers were just coming into the market (first half of the 20th century), and the cold storage and ice companies were scared of the potential loss of their business (which absolutely happened). It was them that advertised that this refreezing could be detrimental to health. Truth is, refreezing just sends the item into a (mostly) inert state, where bacteria can't harm the item by propagating. However, your question is about the taste and how refreezing pertains to cookie dough. It's not a matter of the refreezing that has an effect on the taste, rather how long things stay in your freezer. You can thaw, refreeze, thaw, refreeze as much as you want. Happens all the time in commercial kitchens and bakeries. The key is to not make so much that it stays in the freezer too long.

Here's and article I found, haven't looked for any others:

Safe food practices

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Appropriate way to thaw mushrooms

Question

I've put a package of sliced mushrooms in the freezer for few days. I plan to use in a vegetable stir fry. What is the appropriate way to thaw the mushrooms?

Answer

Leave them out in a cool place (or even the fridge) for 6 or 7 hours to defrost thoroughly. Nothing special required.

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