In our first #TipsyTuesday post, we talked about how the meats and seafood industries have used appropriate techniques to process and keep the products as fresh and hygiene as possible for our enjoyment.
However, contamination can still happen before the food reaches the cooking stage. How is this possible? Thawing from frozen to chilled stage incorrectly in our home and restaurant kitchens can cause a compromise in the freshness of the raw food. Hence, we will like to teach you about how to best thaw your frozen food so that it reaches your cooking pot in pristine freshness.
Defrosting your meats and seafood, should always be part of your cooking plan and process. If you plan to cook the next day, it is best that you defrost the raw food in your chiller overnight. Raw foods in a chiller of 4-5 deg C will keep fresh for at least 48 hours. A 2kg package will likely defrost within 24 hours. It is not good to defrost raw meat or seafood directly at room temperature or with hot or warm water. It compromises the quality of the raw food.
However, if you have forgotten to take your raw food out of the freezer ahead of time, then, place the meat with the vacuum packaging still intact in a sink of cold water, or under cold running water. The 2kg meat or seafood should defrost within one hour.
Microwave ovens also have the defrost function which will allow you to partially thaw your meat. Just use the lowest defrost setting and follow the manufacturer’s Instruction for time based on amount of meat (2 kg of meat defrost approximately 5-6 minutes). Be careful not to overheat during the defrosting.
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