TL;DR
- Thawing your hen within the fridge is probably the most hands-off technique and yields one of the best outcomes; it is usually the slowest, requiring roughly at some point to totally defrost most flat-packed cuts. Defrosting hen in a bowl of cool water provides one of the best mixture of pace and meat high quality, although it does take roughly an hour for many cuts which have been frozen flat-packed. The microwave is the quickest solution to defrost hen, however we don’t suggest it, because it partially cooks the hen and leads to robust, dry meat.
Seek for simple, weeknight-friendly recipes, and also you’re sure to return throughout many that includes hen. It’s no shock that 75 % of People eat such a straightforward, versatile protein no less than as soon as per week. Many house cooks preserve it stashed away within the freezer for comfort, able to thaw for his or her subsequent minimal-effort meal.
Whereas freezing hen is handy, defrosting it’s not—particularly in case you neglect to take it out of your freezer in time. The web is suffering from shortcuts for thawing hen rapidly, however do they actually work as quick and in addition to they declare to? Can the defrosting technique you select affect how your hen cooks? And, extra importantly, is it protected? Armed with greater than 55 kilos of hen—together with hen breasts, thighs, drumsticks, wings, and floor hen—I made a decision to search out out.
Why It is Vital to Defrost Hen Accurately
You’ve got two hours till dinner and also you’ve forgotten to defrost your hen. You place a bundle of frozen hen thighs in a bowl of sizzling water within the hopes that the warmth will thaw the poultry rapidly. No large deal, proper?
Whereas this may increasingly really feel like a suitable solution to defrost hen, you’re setting your self up for a critical case of meals poisoning by letting your poultry sit within the temperature hazard zone, which ranges from 40 to 140ºF (4.5 to 60ºC). In response to Meredith Carothers, a meals security specialist with the US Division of Agriculture (USDA), that is the temperature that dangerous micro organism like salmonella, e. Coli, or campylobacter can multiply and “attain harmful ranges,” which may enhance the chance of meals poisoning. “Relying on the kind of micro organism,” she says, “it might probably create a toxin that’s warmth resistant.”
To forestall foodborne sicknesses, the USDA has strict guidelines on how one can safely thaw hen. Although there are numerous methods of defrosting poultry, there are solely three strategies the group recommends: thawing hen within the fridge, within the microwave, or in a bowl of chilly faucet water with a temperature of 55 to 65ºF (13 to 18ºC).
How We Examined
To find out one of the best ways to defrost hen, I examined the USDA’s three beneficial strategies, together with two different widespread, even when objectionable, ones: permitting the hen to sit down below cool working water and at room temperature.
Severe Eats / Christie Rotondo
Curious to see if one of the best ways to thaw hen would rely upon the reduce, and to assemble timing knowledge for among the most typical items of hen, I examined totally different components: bone-in and boneless breasts, bone-in and boneless thighs, drumsticks, wings, and floor hen. To make sure consistency in my testing, all meat was frozen as flat as attainable in a quart-size zip-top bag. I weighed every reduce and portioned them into particular person packages that have been all an identical form and measurement, as how meat is frozen can impact how lengthy it takes to defrost.
These packages consisted of:
- Two drumsticks, weighing half a pound in whole
- 5 wings, weighing half a pound in whole
- One pound of floor hen
- One pound of boneless hen breasts
- One pound of bone-in, skin-on breasts
- Two boneless thighs, weighing about half a pound in whole
- A family-size, two-pound bundle of bone-in thighs
As every reduce defrosted, I recorded how lengthy every technique took, how hands-off it was, and if the temperature of the hen ever reached the hazard zone, which I examined with an instant-read meat thermometer. If the hen did hit a temperature in that vary, I famous how lengthy it spent inside the hazard zone earlier than the remainder of the reduce was utterly thawed. I then cooked all of the hen to see whether or not every technique impacted style and texture.
Severe Eats / Christie Rotondo
For the cooking itself, I rubbed drumsticks, wings, boneless breasts, and boneless thighs with salt and olive oil, then baked it on a rimmed baking sheet at 425°F (220ºC). I browned floor hen in a nonstick pan on the range. As for the skin-on, bone-in breasts and thighs, I first crisped them in a cast-iron skillet with butter, then baked them within the oven. My outcomes under will hopefully assist you to decide one of the best technique to defrost your hen within the time you will have—or in case you’re higher off ordering pizza for dinner.
The Most Frequent Strategies for Thawing Hen: Examined
Fridge
Technique
To thaw hen within the fridge, I eliminated it from the freezer, positioned the sealed bundle in a container or on a rimmed baking sheet to gather any leaking juices that would cross-contaminate different meals, then refrigerated it till thawed. This took about 24 hours on common, although how lengthy it would take will rely upon the scale of the reduce you’re defrosting.
Severe Eats / Christie Rotondo
How Protected Is It?
Meals security organizations, together with the USDA, Canadian Ministry of Well being, and European Meals Security Authority typically agree that defrosting poultry within the fridge is the most secure. Carothers explains {that a} fridge calibrated to take care of a temperature under 40ºF (4ºC) ensures that your hen won’t ever enter the hazard zone, minimizing danger of any food-borne pathogens and making it the most secure solution to defrost hen.
The Outcomes
This technique took the longest. As you’ll see within the chart under, the hen took between 19 and 30 hours to totally defrost, relying on the scale and dimensions of the reduce.
| Lower of Meat | Defrosting Time |
| Drumsticks (2 items; 1/2 pound) | 25 hours |
| Wings (5 items; 1/2 pound) | 19 hours |
| Floor Hen (1 pound) | 23 hours |
| Boneless Breasts (2 items; 1 pound) | 30 hours |
| Bone-In, Pores and skin-On Breast (1 piece; 1 pound) | 25 hours |
| Boneless Thighs (2 items; 1/2 pound) | 21 hours |
| Bone-In, Pores and skin-On Thighs (6 items; 2 kilos) | A bit of below 24 hours |
Microwave
Technique
To defrost hen within the microwave, I eliminated the hen from its packaging and positioned it on a microwave-safe plate. In case your microwave has a “defrost” setting, the USDA recommends utilizing that to thaw hen. (Some microwaves may have totally different defrost settings for poultry, meat, fish, or bread. Select “poultry” when thawing hen.) In case your microwave doesn’t have a defrost setting, the USDA recommends defrosting the hen at 30% energy.
Whereas defrosting, you’ll wish to regulate the hen, as skinny edges will doubtless start to cook dinner because the meat defrosts. Use tongs to flip the hen periodically, about each two minutes or so, to assist it defrost evenly. For floor hen, the USDA even recommends utilizing a spoon or offset spatula to scrape off bits of thawed hen onto a separate plate. This prevents the hen from cooking whereas additionally permitting the rest of the meat to thaw extra simply.
Severe Eats / Christie Rotondo
I used my microwave’s “poultry” defrosting setting, which recommends the period of time to defrost the hen primarily based on the load you enter. In response to the producer, my microwave varies between 20 to 30% energy in the course of the defrosting course of to make sure even thawing. Regardless of this setting, the perimeters of my hen have been totally defrosted and starting to cook dinner earlier than the middle even had an opportunity to thaw.
It is vital to notice that how lengthy it takes to thaw hen within the microwave will finally rely in your microwave’s wattage. To display this, I examined defrosting boneless hen breasts with each my higher-wattage microwave and a lower-wattage one to check the outcomes, and it took about 3 times as lengthy to thaw them in a lower-wattage microwave (see particulars within the chart under).
How Protected Is It?
The USDA considers microwave-thawing one of many most secure methods to defrost hen. You’ll must cook dinner the hen instantly after defrosting, nonetheless, because the outer edges of the hen will start to warmth up because it defrosts, bringing it into the hazard zone. Throughout testing, components of the hen incessantly reached upward of 80ºF (26ºC)—properly above the beneficial limits, however nonetheless removed from the USDA’s beneficial temperature for hen of 165ºF (74ºC). Carothers, nonetheless, says this isn’t harmful in case you plan on cooking it instantly. “The time that [the chicken] is spending within the hazard zone shouldn’t be truly lengthy sufficient for micro organism to succeed in a harmful degree,” she says.
The Outcomes
The microwave was by far the quickest defrosting technique. The smallest cuts, just like the hen wings, took as little as 5 minutes to defrost, whereas bigger cuts took about 25 minutes. You’ll must sacrifice style for pace, although: Every microwave-thawed reduce was considerably drier than hen defrosted utilizing different strategies, as you’re blasting the poultry with warmth to thaw it.
| Lower of Meat | Defrosting Time in 1200W Microwave |
| Drumsticks (2 items; 1/2 pound) | 2 drumsticks took 7 minutes and 30 seconds to defrost, however the thawing was uneven. The thickest a part of the drumstick measured 35ºF (1.6ºC) once they have been thawed, whereas thinner components close to the bone have been 135ºF (57ºC), sizzling sufficient to burn me. |
| Wings (5 items; 1/2 pound) | 5 minutes |
| Floor Hen (1 pound) | 11 minutes |
| Boneless Breasts (2 items; 1 pound) | 10 minutes and 45 seconds in a 1200W microwave however took 35 minutes in a 900W microwave. |
| Bone-In, Pores and skin-On Breasts (1 piece; 1 pound) | 8 minutes |
| Boneless Thighs (2 items; 1/2 pound) | 6 minutes |
| Bone-In, Pores and skin-On Thighs (6 items; 2 kilos) | 25 minutes |
Chilly Water
Technique
To defrost hen utilizing the chilly water technique, I positioned frozen packaged hen in a bowl of chilly faucet water. In response to the USDA, this technique is ok so long as your faucet releases water within the 55 to 65ºF (12.7 to 18.3ºC) vary. I let the frozen hen sit till totally thawed, and altered the water each half-hour to make sure it remained in that temperature vary. To keep away from bloating within the water, I stored all of the hen in its plastic packaging.
How Protected Is It?
This technique, together with the microwave, are the one two fast defrosting strategies the USDA considers protected. Although this technique takes for much longer than the microwave (the wings took a mere 5 minutes within the microwave, whereas the identical measurement bundle of wings took an hour and 5 minutes utilizing the chilly water technique), the USDA nonetheless considers it “fast.”
Severe Eats / Christie Rotondo
Relying on the scale of the reduce you’re defrosting, it could take greater than an hour for the poultry to totally thaw. The hotter the water, the quicker the thawing. To cut back the chance of meals sitting within the hazard zone, nonetheless, the USDA solely recommends utilizing chilly water, and advises towards thawing meals in heat or sizzling water, as food should not be left out for more than an hour if the temperature is above 90ºF (32ºC). The USDA additionally advises cooking poultry instantly after defrosting in chilly water, because the floor temperature of the hen could strategy the hazard zone whereas it’s submerged.
Carothers recommends altering the water each half-hour to make sure that the hen continues to defrost steadily whereas avoiding losing water by having it run constantly. The water will get colder because the frozen hen sits in it and, after half-hour, will turn out to be chilly sufficient to hinder thawing. I discovered this true in my testing: Water would come out of my faucet at round 65ºF (18ºC), and because the hen thawed, the water cooled to about 48 to 50ºF (8.8 to 10ºC).
The Outcomes
Whereas not as quick because the microwave, hen defrosted comparatively rapidly with the chilly water technique: All cuts have been defrosted in 45 minutes to 2 hours. This technique was additionally comparatively hands-off and didn’t considerably compromise the feel of the reduce.
| Lower of Meat | Defrosting Time |
| Drumsticks (2 items; 1/2 pound) | 45 minutes. The smaller drumstick defrosted in simply 25 minutes and sat within the hazard zone at 55ºF (13ºC) for 20 minutes. |
| Wings (5 items; 1/2 pound) | 1 hour and 5 minutes. Smaller wings defrosted quicker than the bigger ones, and I put them within the fridge so smaller wings that defrosted quicker wouldn’t proceed to sit down within the hazard zone. |
| Floor Hen (1 pound) | 1 hour and quarter-hour. There was a 10ºF (12.2ºC) distinction between the middle of the meat and the perimeters. |
| Boneless Breasts (2 items; 1 pound) | 1 hour |
| Bone-In, Pores and skin-On Breasts (1 piece; 1 pound) | 1 hour |
| Boneless Thighs (2 items; 1/2 pound) | 1 hour and 9 minutes. Water started getting into the bag; I positioned the thighs into a brand new zip-top bag to keep away from waterlogged meat. |
| Bone-In, Pores and skin-On Thighs (6; 2 kilos) | A 2-pound bundle of bone-in thighs took lower than 2 hours to defrost. |
Working Water
Technique
To hurry up thawing in chilly water, many cooks will place their frozen meat below working water. To see if this was the case, I positioned a bowl with frozen packaged hen below chilly working water from my faucet and let it sit till totally thawed. Relying on the scale of your hen, this may take anyplace from 20 minutes to over an hour. Whereas the USDA doesn’t discourage this fast defrosting technique, there have been some critical drawbacks.
Severe Eats / Christie Rotondo
First: It’s an unbelievable waste of water. (A faucet that leaks at only one drip per second releases more than 3,000 gallons of water a year.) Plus, even with the poultry in a plastic bag, this technique results in water that’s doubtlessly contaminated splattering throughout your sink and counter. This technique was additionally loud: at 78 decibels, the amount of this technique is about the identical as a working vacuum. Lastly, this technique was not considerably quicker than defrosting packaged hen in a bowl of chilly water, and likewise had rather more uneven outcomes. That is doubtless as a result of the tap is targeted on only one space of the hen, inflicting that one space of the hen to thaw a lot quicker than the remainder of it.
Let Sit at Room Temperature
Technique
After taking the hen out of the freezer, I positioned it on a rimmed baking sheet and let it thaw on my kitchen counter. Defrosting occasions will fluctuate relying on the temperature of your area. I used an instant-read thermometer to verify on the floor temperature each 10 minutes, and moved the hen into the fridge when its temperature reached above 40℉ (4.4ºC) and had been out of the fridge for 2 hours.
How Protected Is It?
The USDA tells shoppers to keep away from this technique, as leaving hen at room temperature for lengthy durations of time places meals most in danger for bacterial development, making this probably the most hazardous defrosting technique. It’s particularly harmful if folks deal with it as a hands-off technique; some house cooks could neglect they’re defrosting hen and cook dinner the meat after it’s been at room temperature or sitting inside the temperature hazard zone for a number of hours. Although you received’t get sick each time you do one thing dangerous like this, Carothers says it may be particularly harmful for at-risk populations like kids, pregnant folks, and the aged.
The Outcomes
My house was at 74ºF (23ºC), and my cuts have been all defrosted in two to 4 hours, then promptly cooked. I additionally took the temperature of the floor space at a number of intervals, and whereas some cuts did attain the hazard zone, they weren’t sitting at this temperature for very lengthy. (In response to the USDA, chilly meals shouldn’t be ignored of refrigeration for longer than two hours if the room is under 90ºF or 32ºC. If it’s above that temperature, it shouldn’t be ignored of refrigeration for greater than an hour.) To ensure that micro organism to multiply, each situations (time and temperature) have to be met, Carothers explains.
With that stated, most house cooks usually tend to take cuts out of the freezer and depart them on the counter for for much longer with out carefully monitoring the temperature of their poultry, growing the chance of meals poisoning. Until you intend on maintaining a detailed eye on the thawing course of by repeatedly checking the meat’s temperature, it’s greatest to make use of one of many USDA’s beneficial thawing strategies as a substitute.
| Lower of Meat | Defrosting Time |
| Drumsticks (2 items; 1/2 pound) | Simply over 3 hours |
| Wings (5 items; 1/2 pound) | 2 hours and 10 minutes |
| Floor Hen (1 pound) | 4 hours and half-hour to hit 31.4ºF (-0.5ºC) within the middle and 43.5ºF (6.3ªC) across the edges. I moved it into the fridge to keep away from leaving the hen within the temperature hazard zone and it took one other 2 hours to thaw within the fridge. |
| Boneless Breasts (2 items; 1 pound) | A 1-pound bundle of boneless breasts took 3 hours and 18 minutes. |
| Bone-In, Pores and skin-On Breasts (1 piece; 1 pound) | Simply over 4 hours |
| Boneless Thighs (2 items; 1/2 pound) | About 2 hours |
| Bone-In, Pores and skin-On Thighs (6 items; 2 kilos) | A 2-pound bundle of bone-in thighs took about 4 hours and quarter-hour to defrost. |
What Is the Quickest Technique to Defrost Hen?
No matter reduce or measurement, the microwave was unmatched in its capability to defrost meals rapidly. Within the microwave, two kilos of bone-in hen thighs totally defrosted in 23 minutes, whereas floor hen took simply 11 minutes to thaw, and the wings took a mere 5 minutes to defrost.
That pace actually comes at a value, although. As a result of the microwave kicks off the cooking course of, the meat is usually dried out, generally nearly to the purpose of being inedible. This was much less noticeable in fatter, juicier cuts like bone-in thighs.
Which Technique Produced the Greatest Outcomes General?
Whereas defrosting within the fridge usually took a considerable period of time—generally greater than 24 hours for bigger cuts—the cooked outcomes have been one of the best, no matter reduce.
How Ought to You Thaw a Entire Hen
In response to the USDA, an entire hen could take one to 2 days to thaw. The Hen Farmers of Canada, the group accountable for managing hen manufacturing in Canada, estimates that it takes about 5 hours to thaw every pound of hen within the fridge. A four-pound hen will take about 20 hours to thaw within the fridge; if you already know if you plan on cooking your hen, thaw it no less than at some point earlier than you intend to cook dinner it. For those who’d like to offer your hen a day to dry brine earlier than cooking, thaw it two days earlier than you intend on brining and cooking it.
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