Defrosting chicken

ArmchairTycoon

Thank you all for the advice, the curry was nice and I don't seem to be suffering any ill effects

Bunny200

Forgot to get chicken out of freezer last night and so now have a very cold chook. It doesn't need to go in the oven till 3ish but will it defrost if left at room temp for the morning or should I stick it in some water to speed it up? If not cold water or warm water?

soappie

Chicken needs to be defrosted carefully as it's one of the most common causes of salmonella poisoning. I wouldn't put it in warm water (that would encourage the bugs to breed). I'd take it out of any wrapping and untie the legs and spread it out as much as possible then stick it in cool water in the fridge. Change the water frequently. Good luck!

Penelope_Penguin

Bunny200 wrote: »

Forgot to get chicken out of freezer last night and so now have a very cold chook. It doesn't need to go in the oven till 3ish but will it defrost if left at room temp for the morning or should I stick it in some water to speed it up? If not cold water or warm water?

I'd just cover it and leave it on the counter top to defrost. Make sure it's defrosted thoroughly, all the way through, and cook it today

If it goes back in the fridge, even in a bowl of water, it's unlikely to be fully defrosted to cook today.

I'll add this to the existing thread on defrosting chicken, so you can see other ideas

Penny. x

Bunny200

Thanks for that, seems nothing to but wait.....
I've realised that my fan oven has a defrost thingy, where you put the oven on put temp @ 0 and then it defrosts a little faster without heating the chicken up. So its now in the oven and I keep turning it over to do top and bottom but I think its gonna take AGES. Never mind, my own fault for forgetting last night! Won't do that again!

nesssie1702

Over 70% of supermarket and butcher chicken is routinely contaminated with campylobacter and salmonella - both of which can cause food poisoning if not killed off during the cooking process. The contamination happens during the slaughtering process when the chickens are gutted, as it tends to be done mechanically, so there's a strong likelihood that the gut contents will spill onto the flesh.

Don't let that put you off chicken though, you just need to make sure that it's properly cooked!

Using your microwave to defrost chicken is safe, provided the chicken is cooked thoroughly afterwards.

calleyw

Yesterday I tried to de-frost some chicken breasts for lunch in cold water. By 1pm it was obvious they where not going to be ready in time.

They where still cold and frozen in the middle, I put them in the fridge to finish off over night. We decided not to have them for tea today. So will be they ok if I cook them tonight and have them tomorrow.

Yours

Calley

skintchick

i've cooked chicken from frozen, and with it half frozen and been fine. Just stick it in longer on a lower heat and make sure the juices run clear.

Anyway they will be OK tomorrow IMO, assuming they were not justa bout to go out of date when you froze them?

Otherwise, cook them tonight and use them reheated tomorrow, in a sauce.

Bongedone

In future you can defrost chicken quick by putting it on a frying pan (not on the heat). The metal draws the heat/cold and accelerates the defrost. Turn it over after 30 minutes. Only takes an hour.

Psykicpup

Bongedone wrote: »

In future you can defrost chicken quick by putting it on a frying pan (not on the heat). The metal draws the heat/cold and accelerates the defrost. Turn it over after 30 minutes. Only takes an hour.

I've done a similar thing with the trivet, after seeing an expensive cast iron ridged tray being sold for single purpose - ie defrosting
It actually worked very very well I was most impressed - its abit like the fins on a motorbike engine or the heatsink on a PC - it spreads the heat/cold away from the hot/cold item, as far as I understand it