How to thaw raw meat quickly?

[susan8020]

Thawing slowly in the fridge or cold water doesn't work in our chaotic schedule. We need to thaw it quickly for immediate use. Microwave or hot water have obvious problems. Any workarounds, or other approaches?

Comments

[windtear]

Okay, reading over the replies, it looks to me like what you need, more than anything else, is to prepare your meats before freezing in such a way that they'll unfreeze fast. Basically, separate your cuts before you pop them in the freezer (I'm single, so I put each piece into its own clean ziplock baggie [can be reused if you're on a tight budget but if you do WASH THEM FIRST] and thaw a baggie at a time; waxed/baking paper between cuts also works with multiple pieces in a bag), shape your mince into thin flat disks/bars like rissoles (don't forget your cut separators between each!) before freezing, and they won't take nearly as long to thaw, and pick thinner cuts (schnitzels thaw quicker than inch-thick slabs).

With frying and roasting, I generally find that if the meat is thin enough, the meat can be cooked from frozen almost as quickly as from fully thawed (maybe add five minutes).

Also, meat can sit in the fridge for a couple of days without going off, so if it is likely your partner will be in a position later that day to forage without you, it probably won't hurt anything to pull down an extra piece and have it there in the fridge for him to grab.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's all in the prep work, really, and it's doable if you put the prep in.

[susan8020]

Woops, I meant to link my long reply about CostCo under your comment here but it went up above.

Thanks to all commenters! (More ideas welcome, pls!)