With the arrival of warmer weather and holiday weekends, you may be thinking about firing up the grill. Grilling is a great way to enjoy a variety of proteins, vegetables, and even fruits! Sometimes when grilling we are looking for a quick way to defrost items before putting them on the grill. However, it is important that food safety is also considered when you think about thawing these items.

A caller recently posed a question about a defrosting tray she had used to thaw meat on her counter. This was the first time I had heard of this equipment, so I did some research. Defrosting trays are made from a material that has a high ability to conduct heat, such as copper or aluminum. When these trays are placed on your kitchen counter, they will quickly come to match the temperature in your kitchen.

Many defrosting trays are advertised showing how quickly they can melt an ice cube. However, the trays aren’t as efficient at melting dense items, like a steak. When a frozen food item, like a steak, is placed on the tray, the surface temperature of the steak will warm up at a slightly quicker speed as compared to being just on the counter, but the interior of the steak will remain frozen. Ultimately, this method for thawing will not result in significantly faster thawing as compared to just having the item on your kitchen counter.

The kitchen counter is not where we want to be thawing our frozen items, regardless of whether a defrosting tray is involved. This is because the temperature of our kitchen falls within the Temperature Danger Zone (40° – 140°F), which is the temperature range where bacteria multiply rapidly.

So, what is considered a safe way to thaw food? Frozen items can be safely thawed in the refrigerator, in cold water, in the microwave, or cooking from the frozen state.

1. Refrigerator: place frozen items in a tray to catch any juices while thawing and place on the bottom shelf in your refrigerator. Food thawed in the refrigerator can be refrozen without cooking, although there may be some loss of quality.
2. Cold water thawing: food must be placed in a leak-proof package or plastic bag and submerged in cold tap water. The water needs to be changed every 30 minutes so it continues to thaw.
3. Microwave thawing: after thawing food in the microwave, plan to cook it immediately after thawing because some areas of the food may become warm and begin to cook during the thawing process.
4. Cooking without thawing: it is safe to cook foods from the frozen state, just keep it mind it will take approximately 50% longer than the recommended time.

References:

1. Everything You’ve Wanted to Know About Defrosting Trays https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-a-defrosting-tray-4782382
2. What is a Thawing Tray https://enewsletters.k-state.edu/youaskedit/2018/04/16/what-is-a-thawing-tray/
3. The Big Thaw – Safe Defrosting Methods https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/big-thaw-safe-defrosting-methods#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20safe%20ways,water%2C%20and%20in%20the%20microwave.

Rachel Sweeney

I graduated from Iowa State University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Dietetics and Exercise Science. I enjoy gardening, cooking and baking, food preservation, traveling, being outside, and spending time with my family.

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