Defrost or not?

My_Feet_Hurt

Hi,

Just a quickie I hope.

I freeze portions of my own home made meals. How do I know if I`m meant to defrost them fully before reheating them - usually in the microwave - or if it`s ok to put them in the microwave and use the defrost setting then the reheating setting or if they can simply be put frozen in the microwave and just use the reheating setting?

If you look at packets of frozen ready meals, some say defrost fully and some say reheat from frozen.

Thanks in advance (from someone who is often so hungry she can`t wait to defrost lol)

m
xx

lisa26_2

The general rule I use is that if I bought it frozen I only defrost if the packet tells me to. If I froze it myself I defrost fully before cooking. I usually get something out of the freezer the night before I need it so it's fully defrosted by the time I need it. I never defrost things in the microwave.

meg72

If its HM I defrost fully ,take it out the night befor and put in fridge.

kalaika

Whatever you do, the key is to make sure it's piping hot throughout before eating.

Personally I think that if you are going to microwave something it is easier to defrost it first as I find that cooking direct from frozen leads to completely cooked parts and still frozen parts.

I see no problem with using the microwave's defrost setting to do this or letting it defrost 'naturally' as mentioned above.

valk_scot

I'm lazy so I just nuke it from frozen till it's piping hot all the way through. I mostly freeze semi liquid stuff like stew, bolognaise sauce, curry and soup though so it's easy enough to give it a good stirr part way through the heating process. On the rare ocassions that I freeze shepherds pie or lasagne or something solid I will defrost it, then reheat in the oven to get a decent crispy top.

Linda32

I do as Lisa26 does as well.

For example, tomorrow night we are having naan bread pizza. (I checked my list) So out of habit tonight after tea I will take out the courgettes (Courgettes and mushrooms on pizza) to defrost.
Leave the piece of paper on the work top to remind me to take out the naan breads during the afternoon to defrost. Then cook from defrosted tomorrow tea.

Similarly, at the moment I have mushy peas defrosting (saved half the tin) as Fridays is always chippy shop chips and I buy tinned and have half at each sitting as a tin is cheaper than the chip shop mushy peas.

I do microwave the peas and other veggies, but main meals are always re-heated in the oven.

daska

From an MSE perspective it's cheaper to let it defrost rather than using your leccy to do it

becs

We just cook from frozen. If it's things like shepherds pie just bun it in the oven. Things like spag bol or chilli just heat through on the hob.

ZsaZsa

Anything home made I reheat from frozen, part laziness and part disorganisation (which is exactly why I need to prepare "ready meals" in the first place!)

My_Feet_Hurt

Hi.

Well it seems we are all different lol.

I guess the best thing for me would be to try and be organised enough to get MY ready meals out the night before. They are usually lasagne, spag bol, chilli, curry, home made pies and roast dinners. I do get a portion out a few times a week for my husband...so he doesn`t get fed up with sandwiches. So if I can do it for him lol....

Thank you for taking the time to answer. Varied replies...!

m
xx

meritaten

I prefer to let things defrost before reheating. if i have to reheat from frozen I usually take it out part way through (a few times) to stir it to ensure its reheating evenly - nothing worse than the edges are scalding hot and the middle is cold (or worse - still frozen).