HELP!!.....need to defrost a chicken......QUICK!!

madnessandmayhem

Sorry if this is in the wrong place!!!

as the title says i need to defrost a chicken! I have a whole chicken that is very almost defrosted, but really needs to go in oven about 15 mins ago!!! the main fleshy bits are defrosted, but the joints are still a bit 'stiff' and there is still ice inside the chicken...........does anyone know of a quick, safe way to hurry up the defrosting??!!

Thanks!

claire x

thriftlady_2

I would run it under a cold tap (not hot or warm). Not sure how safe this is considered though.

skiTTish

Personally would take a risk with chicken ,cook something else and shove it in the slow cooker in the morning for tomorrow

(oh if your quick ,supermarkets might be selling off their cooked chucks now ? )

madnessandmayhem

Well I took a risk and ran it under the cold tap-only took about 30 seconds becasue it was mostly defrosted anyway-will let you know if i'm still alive in the morning!!!!
thanks!

Gingernutmeg

thriftlady wrote: »

I would run it under a cold tap (not hot or warm). Not sure how safe this is considered though.

Not sure if it's still current advice but a couple of years back I was told by an EHO that this is the safest way to defrost meat quickly, so that's what I do on the odd occasion when I've needed to defrost something quickly. I'm not dead yet

withabix

Have you got a microwave? Has it got an auto-defrost setting?

Advise is NOT to run chickens under a tap, as the 'inside' can have large amounts of bacteria which will then be washed onto the outside and under the skin etc.

SailorSam

I had chicken earlier that i had defrosted quickly ,
and up to now i'm perfectly heal.................aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!

BitterAndTwisted

withabix wrote: »

Advise is NOT to run chickens under a tap, as the 'inside' can have large amounts of bacteria which will then be washed onto the outside and under the skin etc.

Really? I'm surprised at that. I'd figure that a nice, searing-hot oven would kill them all of in any case. I reckon the most important thing is to ensure that it's cooked for the correct length of time: 20 minutes a pound plus twenty minutes on top.

thriftlady_2

withabix wrote: »

Advise is NOT to run chickens under a tap, as the 'inside' can have large amounts of bacteria which will then be washed onto the outside and under the skin etc.

Does that mean then, that you must not put your hands inside the chicken and then touch the skin? I do this EVERY single time I roast a chicken when I pop a lemon half inside it then rub the skin with herbs and garlic.

I've run chickens under the tap a few time with no ill affects.

Churchmouse

withabix wrote: »

Have you got a microwave? Has it got an auto-defrost setting?

Advise is NOT to run chickens under a tap, as the 'inside' can have large amounts of bacteria which will then be washed onto the outside and under the skin etc.

I thought the advice to not wash inside chickens was more because of the risk of spreading bacteria all around the sink with the splashes etc.

My mum always washed the insides of all poultry and ran her finger along the spine to get rid of the blood clots invariably left. I've defrosted many a bird by giving it swimming lessons :rotfl:I'd have thought if cooking didn't kill bacteria washed onto the skin then it wouldn't kill the bacteria within the cavity, thereby rendering the chicken unsafe to eat

withabix

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I reckon the most important thing is to ensure that it's cooked for the correct length of time: 20 minutes a pound plus twenty minutes on top.

Surely that's not long enough???

(Depends on the temperature though)