Tips on Defrosting Meats
Defrost your meat for best results. All meat should be cooked at room temperature. Proper defrosting can take many hours, so it always best to plan ahead allowing enough time for meats or poultry to defrost.
Defrosting time depends on the size of the cut of meat.
Small Chops – Place on the lower rack of the refrigerator on the morning of the dinner. About 4 hours before cooking time, put the chops on the kitchen counter to finish thawing and reach room temperature.
Large Steaks – A big steak, such as a two inch porterhouse, should be placed on the lowest rack of the refrigerator at dinnertime the night before. If the steak is still frozen in the morning, take it out of the refrigerator around noon and put it on the kitchen counter to finish thawing.
Roasts – Allow a large roast to “rest” in your refrigerator for a couple of days. Bring it to room temperature early on the morning of the day you will be roasting.
Microwave Defrosting – We do not recommend defrosting meat in a microwave oven. Microwaves typically defrost unevenly, cooking the meat on the outside while it is still thawing inside.
If you must use the microwave, defrost the meat only 75% so that it is still partially frozen. Then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let it finish thawing and reach room temperature on the counter. Do not use microwave to defrost small pieces of meat as it will most often dry out.