How Long to Defrost 1kg Beef Joint in Fridge

The love affair with our freezers is well and truly back, as frozen food sales have grown by 6.1% making it the most popular category across food and drink, according to Kantar Worldpanel.

Freezing is great for locking in freshness, as well as stashing away foods bought in bulk, home-made fare, dishes for a well-planned week, supplies for a rainy day... but the crunch often comes when it's time to get food out of the freezer and defrost it. There's a right way and a wrong way to do this.

'It's really important for food safety reasons to defrost items properly, as harmful bacteria can grow if correct procedures are not followed. It will also ensure that taste and texture are not impaired once the food is thawed out,' says GH cookery director Meike Beck.

Follow our basic advice and you won't go far wrong:

1. Make sure any freshly cooked food is completely cold before covering and freezing.

2. Double-wrap food with foil, clingfilm or freezer bags to protect against freezer burn.

3. Remember to label and date any food going into the freezer, so you're less likely to forget what it is.

4. Plan ahead. Food should be thawed gently in the fridge for best results and so the quality isn't compromised.

5. To defrost in a microwave: use the defrost setting or 50% setting, this will ensure that the outside of the food doesn't cook during defrosting. At intervals, break up or stir food as it is defrosting. You have to cook the food as soon as it's defrosted in a microwave.

6. Never refreeze defrosted raw fish or meat that has thawed out. However, once you have cooked the meat or fish, you can then refreeze it.

MORE: BUY THE BEST FRIDGE FREEZER - READ OUR REVIEWS FIRST!

Tips on defrosting

1. Large joints of meat should be thoroughly defrosted in the fridge before cooking, or the outside of the joint will be cooked while the inside is still raw. (If you don't have time to do this, find something else to eat!)

2 To defrost a joint of meat, place it on a tray or plate to catch the juices. Defrost in the bottom of the fridge.

3. Small pieces of meat or fish should thaw in around six hours, but large joints and turkeys can take up to 48 hours. Once the meat is thoroughly thawed, it should be cooked within 24 hours.

4. If you're short of time, casseroles and soups can be double-wrapped in plastic bags, then submerged in cold water to speed up thawing time. Never submerge frozen food in hot water.

5. Make sure food is thoroughly reheated and piping hot before serving, to prevent any risk of food poisoning.

Things you can cook straight from frozen:

-       Any ready-prepared foods that have 'cook from frozen' instructions on the packaging. Always follow the instructions carefully.

-       Frozen vegetables or ready-prepared frozen foods.

-       Baguettes can be wrapped in foil and reheated from frozen.

-       Sliced bread can be toasted from frozen.

-       Fish fillets.

-       Fruit, if it's going into a sauce, coulis or compote.

-       Pizza.

Things you didn't know you could freeze

-       Hardier herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and sage

-       Ginger

-       Chilli

-       Garlic

-       Curry leaves and bay leaves.

-       Crumble topping

-       Shelled and ground nuts

-       Raw pastry, cookie and biscuit doughs

-       Milk, butter and double cream

-       Hard cheeses

-       Raw egg whites and yolks, separately

MORE: USE OUR OVEN BUYING GUIDE TO FIND THE RIGHT ONE FOR YOU!

LIKE THIS? THEN SIGN UP TO THE GH HOMES NEWSLETTER FOR MORE!

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

arandayoublituff51.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/house-and-home/household-advice/a673658/7-rules-for-safer-defrosting/

Share this post