• Ground beef can exist safely defrosted in the fridge, a basin of cold water, or in the microwave.
  • Defrosting in the microwave is the fastest option, merely then you must cook the beef correct away.
  • If you lot thaw ground beefiness in the refrigerator, it is prophylactic to refreeze once more.

If you, like many other home cooks, go on a supply of footing beefiness in the freezer, you're likely familiar with the defrosting process — which ways you're probably too familiar with the frustration that comes with forgetting to have the beef out of the freezer alee of time.

Defrosting ground beefiness properly ensures yous steer clear from potential harmful bacteria. Dr. Darin Detwiler, a food regulatory skilful and professor at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, says that "in that location will never be an cease to pathogens in our food, but we tin tin change the civilisation around the time to come of food condom."

The side by side time you lot demand to bring your beefiness to room temperature, follow the methods beneath.

Method one: In the fridge

"The safest mode to defrost footing beefiness is to do then in the fridge for at to the lowest degree 24 hours," Detwiler says. The refrigerator method is safest considering information technology "keeps ground beefiness out of the danger zone, which refers to temperatures betwixt twoscore degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, where pathogens and bacteria can abound."

Detwiler says the fridge keeps the meat safely cool and warms it enough to fully defrost, which is crucial for "cooking the meat thoroughly to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which is required to kill whatever remaining pathogens."

To defrost ground beef in the refrigerator, place the bundle of frozen footing beef on a plate that'south big enough to grab any possible drippings from the meat as it defrosts. Next, identify the plate on a low shelf in the refrigerator, which will assistance yous lot "avoid the possibility of juices dripping onto other foods." The ground beefiness should remain in the fridge for at least 24 hours to fully defrost.

If you lot don't utilize all of the defrosted ground beefiness right abroad, Detwiler says that information technology's safety to shop the leftovers dorsum in the freezer every bit long every flake you lot practice and so within 48 hours of the original defrosting. Even and then, for extra prophylactic insurance against pathogens and bacteria, Detwiler advises to cook the meat thoroughly before freezing information technology again.

Method ii: In cold h2o

Yous cannot refreeze raw footing beef if you lot defrosted it using the cold h2o method or the microwave method.
Oscar Wong/Getty Images

If you lot need to defrost your basis beef and don't have a total 24 hours to wait, you tin can defrost it in a bowl of common cold water. This method should accept less than an hour, and it'southward prophylactic equally long as the water is changed out as it warms to room temperature.

To defrost basis beef in common cold water, make sure the beef is sealed in a leak-proof packet, like a resealable plastic bag. "Prepare the plastic bag with the frozen meat in a sink or, preferably, in a big basin, cover with common cold water, and counterbalance the package of meat downwards with something heavy," Detwiler says. The weighing-downwardly keeps the meat submerged, which is essential to keep the meat at a safe temperature for even defrosting.

Leave the package submerged in cold h2o for 20 to xxx minutes. Afterward that, you can "examination" the meat's readiness by gently poking information technology with your fingers. If you lot experience ice crystals or stiffness, and then it needs more time (and a fresh circular of common cold h2o). Once the meat is thawed, take it out of the water bowl and cook immediately.

Method 3: In the microwave

For the quickest possible defrosting method, yous tin defrost the ground beef in the microwave.  This method yields condom-to-eat footing beef, but with one major caveat: you take to cook information technology right away.

"Remove all packaging, and so identify the meat on a plate. Use the microwave'southward defrost settings or ready it at l% ability for 2 to three minutes, rotating and flipping the beef every xxx seconds, until it is fully thawed. Cook immediately and thoroughly to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit," Detwiler says.

ane important notation: You shouldn't refreeze beef if you thaw it in the microwave. Because the meat is exposed to high temperatures (and has therefore spent fourth dimension in the danger zone), stashing it in the fridge to cook later isn't a safe motion, either. Salvage this method for when yous're ready to get cooking immediately.

What to avoid

To ensure the all-fourth dimension quality and taste, use your frozen ground beef within 4 months.
Claudia Totir/Getty Images
  • Never thaw ground beefiness at room temperature. "Some people get out frozen meat out on the counter to thaw and will get out it in that location for one-half-dozen to viii hours, thinking that this will definitely become the chore done. In reality, this allows information technology to get also warm and allows pathogens to grow," Detwiler says.
  • Never thaw footing beef using hot water. Simply every bit thawing meat on the counter leaves information engineering science exposed to danger zone temps, then does thawing the meat in hot h2o.  The sudden daze of hot water on frozen meat will accept negative furnishings on its texture, and equally the water cools downwardly, the meat becomes vulnerable to dangerous temperatures. Plus, the hot h2o could brainstorm to "cook" the meat, which gives you lot a totally inconsistent block of footing beef that's partially cooked on the outside and notwithstanding frozen on the inside.
  • Don't keep ground beef in the freezer for longer than four months. Information technology's tempting to presume that ground beefiness can exist kept in the freezer indefinitely. The USDA recommends using it inside four months for the all-time quality, taste, and texture.

Insider's takeaway

Defrosting basis beef in the refrigerator is the safest selection, merely data technology takes a full 24 hours. For faster results, submerge the frozen ground beefiness in cold water for i hour. The quickest method is the microwave method, which will defrost the ground beefiness in but a few minutes, merely yous'll have to cook the meat immediately.

Taylor Tobin is a contributing author for INSIDER and a Brooklyn-based writer roofing food & drink, beauty, style, and popular culture. Past works can likewise be establish at Observer, Brokelyn, and UrbanDaddy. She's a fan of bikes, books, and bourbon (non necessarily in that social society).