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

thriftlady_2

withabix wrote: »

Surely that's not long enough???

(Depends on the temperature though)

Of course it is. That is the standard timing given in any basic cookbook. I've been cooking them like that for at least 25 year, and putting my hands inside them and then touching the outside. It is perfectly safe.

Goodness what has happened to the time when everyone knew how to cook a chicken and saw it as 'dinner' and not some kind of of health hazard?

pinkie_pie

How long does it take to defrost a chicken???!!!!

I took mine out the freezer last night and put into the fridge (thought you were meant to defrost in the fridge??) and this morning it's rock solid! So I've just stuck it on the counter (it's still all wrapped up). I need it for around 1pm!!!!!

valk_scot

thriftlady wrote: »

Goodness what has happened to the time when everyone knew how to cook a chicken and saw it as 'dinner' and not some kind of of health hazard?

Chickens nowadays mostly come from intensively reared chicken factory systems, unfortunately. Disease is rife in these places...or could be, if it wasn't controlled by large doses of preventative antibiotics. Also the slaughtering process can lead to a lot of cross contamination. There's a lot higher chance of there being something nasty on or in a factory chicken than one which has been running around living a normal outdoor chicken life, unfortunately, salmonella being the classic case. So a little bit more attention is possibly required.

However yes you're right, observe a few normal hygiene precautions, cook the thing properly and it's as safe as most foods. Wash it in the sink, stuff seasonings into the cavity or whatever, put it in the oven at 20 minutes to the pound plus the extra twenty minutes. (Remember to include the weight of any stuffing.) Then before you do anything else, wash down the sink, the chopping board, knives, worksurface and your hands using any method that disinfects. Then get on with life as normal, no?

Olliebeak

I'd heard of the 'not to wash chickens under the tap because of bacteria splashes' thing before but NOT about it going on the outside of the skin. Surely to goodness the cooking temperature deals with THAT problem.

I'm another one who's occasionally defrosted chickens by 'teaching them to swim' - cold (not hot/warm) water obviously. In fact I kept a large enamel bowl just for that very purpose - and also for defrosting turkeys in (not by the swimming method in their case) - won't let those beggars near anything used for other purposes either.

Good old scour with Ajax/cream cleanser/bleach and the oldest 'scrubby' that I can find deals with the sink AND my hands after rinsing the chicken under the tap.

Gingernutmeg

The general advice is not to wash poultry (or meat in general, I believe) because the meaty water will splash around the sink and is unlikley to be cleaned properly. However, the safest way to quickly defrost meat is to run it under a cold tap. As I said in an earlier post, this is what I was told by an EHO duing food hygiene training. Obviously you should try to take frozen meat out in time for it to defrost slowly in the fridge, but in an 'emergency' the cold tap method is, apparently, far safer than warm water, a microwave or 'leaving it in the sun' (all of which were suggested by catering professionals during that training session). Naturally if you do this you should clean round your sink thoroughly afterwards, but that's basic common sense when it comes to food hygiene anyway.

anguk

I didn't know you weren't meant to wash chickens! I've always washed a chicken before I've cooked it, inside and out. :eek:

I do always clean the sink and around it afterwards though.

kittiej

I never wash chicken, I didn't know some people did!

Sowilo_2

I had my own catering business until I retired. Do not defrost other that naturally in the fridge and wash with cold running water. A quick wipe with anti-bacterial spray will clean the sink effectively.
You do not want salmonella poisoning.

astonsmummy

Sowilo wrote: »

I had my own catering business until I retired. Do not defrost other that naturally in the fridge and wash with cold running water. A quick wipe with anti-bacterial spray will clean the sink effectively.
You do not want salmonella poisoning.

I've never done either of these things yet I've never in my life had sam and ella poisoning.
But then I have defrosted meat in warm water before

lindseykim13

bit late now as you've obviously sorted the ice problem but when i've had a chicken mostly defrosted i just bung it in the oven while it preheats finishes the defrosting off for me.