How long to thaw frozen beef in refrigerator?

[KateH21]

We have a little over 2 lbs. of frozen beef. How long will it take to thaw this in the refrigerator?
I think it needs to be put in 24 hrs before cooking time. Another family member thinks 6-8 hrs will be fine. I told them if it isn't thawed, I ain't cookin' it (they bought it and requested I make a certain dish for us all). I can't stand thawing beef in the microwave, yuck!

I'm supposed to make tacos, nothing fancy, lol. But I want to make sure it's thawed in a way that tastes good and is also safe.

 

[GinnyPNW]

If you put it in a bowl/pan/sink of cool water, it will likely thaw in an hour or so. Make sure the packaging is pretty water-proof. Then, just put it back in the fridge until needed.

 

[dragnlaw]

Depends on the packaging. But for 2 lbs, 24 hours in the fridge is perfect. To my way of thinking most people put their frozen meat in the fridge the day before wanting to cook it.

I'm assuming it is ground beef - it is not going to go bad. Especially if left in the original pacage.

 

[Marlingardener]

Putting it in the refrigerator for 24 hours as opposed to six to eight hours, what is the difference? If it thaws in 24 hours, fine. If it thaws in six to eight, it is still refrigerated and won't go bad.
You are cooking it, you get to make the decision!

 

[taxlady]

If you put it in a bowl/pan/sink of cool water, it will likely thaw in an hour or so. Make sure the packaging is pretty water-proof. Then, just put it back in the fridge until needed.

It goes faster if the water is flowing. That carries away any water that has been cooled by the frozen meat.

 

[Texmex]

It must depend on the refrigerator. I made chili this week so I moved 1 lb of foil wrapped ground beef from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before, and it was still hard as a rock noon the next day.

However I put it on defrost for 5 minutes in the microwave and it came out absolutely perfect. There was no brown or any discoloration and it was evenly thawed. So I'm going to be doing that more often. So on my fridge it's 2 days for a pound of ground beef and even longer for a roast.

 

[Jusa]

Yeah it totally depends on your frige's temperature and even where in the refrigerator it is while you're thawing it. My frige is colder near the top than it is on the bottom so I keep milk, cream, etc. on the top shelf and I keep my frige pretty cold in general. If I put a 2 lb frozen package of meat on the bottom shelf in my frige it could take 2-3 days to thaw.

 

[taxlady]

It must depend on the refrigerator. I made chili this week so I moved 1 lb of foil wrapped ground beef from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before, and it was still hard as a rock noon the next day.

However I put it on defrost for 5 minutes in the microwave and it came out absolutely perfect. There was no brown or any discoloration and it was evenly thawed. So I'm going to be doing that more often. So on my fridge it's 2 days for a pound of ground beef and even longer for a roast.

You might be running your fridge really cold or maybe it has cold spots. Have you ever stuck a thermometer in there to see how cold it is?

 

[Jade Emperor]

It goes faster if the water is flowing. That carries away any water that has been cooled by the frozen meat.

Sorry, but as much as this advice is correct, I can’t possibly agree with this practice.
The amount of water that is just running down the drain is abhorrent to me. I used to rail against this when I worked in the restaurants because this was how so many items were thawed.
I live in a country where drought is always a concern and we pay a lot $$$ lot of money for water, so there is that.
Then when I consider the amount of people on this planet who don’t have access to clean, running water…for us to use it to thaw our food from the luxury of our freezer is just heartbreaking.
I am so sorry if this sounds like soapboxing, but it has always grinded my gears!

 

[taxlady]

Sorry, but as much as this advice is correct, I can’t possibly agree with this practice.
The amount of water that is just running down the drain is abhorrent to me. I used to rail against this when I worked in the restaurants because this was how so many items were thawed.
I live in a country where drought is always a concern and we pay a lot $$$ lot of money for water, so there is that.
Then when I consider the amount of people on this planet who don’t have access to clean, running water…for us to use it to thaw our food from the luxury of our freezer is just heartbreaking.
I am so sorry if this sounds like soapboxing, but it has always grinded my gears!

I live where that's not an issue. I live on an island in a large river. If I don't use the water, it won't make more water available for people elsewhere. But, it is a good point. I should remember that when suggesting it in a forum where it could be relevant to people reading it. Now I'm trying to think of a way to recirculate that water, instead of wasting it.

 

[Badjak]

Plenty fresh water here as well
And if I don't use it, it becomes salt water.
But I still think it is good practice not to spill (too) much

I generally defrost in a cooler box and check every now and again. If it goes too fast, I move the whole lot to my chest fridge. If too slow, and I really want to eat it today, then it moves to the water defrosting system.

 

[dragnlaw]

taxy, I believe that is false thinking about your water supply. Beaconsfield often had water restrictions. St. Lazare does almost every year. And many towns have their water taxed, not only to pay for the works but to measure and pay for the use and the distance that might be needed to bring it in. How many of you other members here pay a tax on water?
Having a plethora does not mean to waste.

I have rarely used the water method and when I have, certainly not with running water. Think about it - that water will always be warmer than the frozen object. How many times have you seen the water around a defrosting object become frozen itself. Give the water a swirl if you want to even out the temperature.

To go along with all that - I hate the habit of many people who run water while washing too. Fill a pan with water for the soap - and we used to even have a second water tub for rinsing. I don't have a 2nd tub for rinsing anymore but I also don't leave the water running between each rinse.

I live in Waterdown/Hamilton- on a lake. You could even call this Land O'Lakes - except that was taken by some a little west of us. We are taxed for our water use.

rant over

 

[Texmex]

You might be running your fridge really cold or maybe it has cold spots. Have you ever stuck a thermometer in there to see how cold it is?

It is set on five out of 10. I like my milk cold, so I wouldn't want to lower it.

 

[Marlingardener]

Trying to convince Texas towns that water is a resource and not a commodity is almost impossible. It has become easier with two summers of extreme drought.
Here on the farm we are served by a local water company, which has suggested voluntary conservation twice. We have three 250 gal. rain cubes that guttering feeds rainwater off the house roof and the barn roof, and two 55 gal. barrels by the house to catch water from shorter sections of roof. We use this water for the flower and vegetable gardens, and to water the hens and to fill the waterers for the wild birds. We chuckle when we hear folks complain about their water bills!

 

[Texmex]

Before I freeze ground beef or sausage, if it isn't already kind of flat in one of those meat trays from the grocery store, I flatten it out so it's not thick and put it in a freezer bag.

I froze that pound of ground beef just like it came from the store because it was in a flat tray and I left the tray and packaging on and just wrapped it with foil. But if it's a chub roll or large amount, I'll remove it and flatten it in put it in freezer bags.

Defrosting the ground beef it's very quick and easy and doesn't do it any cooking to the meat if done for the right amount of time on defrost.

It is not as good of an idea to use defroster microwave on chicken because it's not a uniform shape and some parts of it will start cooking.

I usually just thaw chicken in the refrigerator and don't try to cook it if it's not not thawed yet. I usually only freeze chicken pieces and then I divide those up and repackage them three or four to a freezer bag. Needless to say you don't want to stack them or anything but want to keep them all separate and laying flat when freezing so they're not all glommed together and hard to thaw.

 

[Texmex]

Trying to convince Texas towns that water is a resource and not a commodity is almost impossible. It has become easier with two summers of extreme drought.
Here on the farm we are served by a local water company, which has suggested voluntary conservation twice. We have three 250 gal. rain cubes that guttering feeds rainwater off the house roof and the barn roof, and two 55 gal. barrels by the house to catch water from shorter sections of roof. We use this water for the flower and vegetable gardens, and to water the hens and to fill the waterers for the wild birds. We chuckle when we hear folks complain about their water bills!
View attachment 66419

I'm in Texas too. My neighbor had one of those to water his garden. But I have to say the last two summers there wasn't any rain to catch! I got no rain at all this summer

 

[taxlady]

taxy, I believe that is false thinking about your water supply. Beaconsfield often had water restrictions. St. Lazare does almost every year. And many towns have their water taxed, not only to pay for the works but to measure and pay for the use and the distance that might be needed to bring it in. How many of you other members here pay a tax on water?
Having a plethora does not mean to waste.

I have rarely used the water method and when I have, certainly not with running water. Think about it - that water will always be warmer than the frozen object. How many times have you seen the water around a defrosting object become frozen itself. Give the water a swirl if you want to even out the temperature.

To go along with all that - I hate the habit of many people who run water while washing too. Fill a pan with water for the soap - and we used to even have a second water tub for rinsing. I don't have a 2nd tub for rinsing anymore but I also don't leave the water running between each rinse.

I live in Waterdown/Hamilton- on a lake. You could even call this Land O'Lakes - except that was taken by some a little west of us. We are taxed for our water use.

rant over

I don't do it when the city asks us to conserve water. I don't do it often. Of course I know the water running into the bowl is warmer than than the frozen food. If I just put the food in a bowl of cold water, ice forms around the food.

I guess the cities that have had restrictions want their reservoirs refilled by rain water, rather than getting water from the Saint Lawrence River. If ever the level of the Saint Lawrence starts going down, I will not be using running water to defrost food. Obviously, I try to plan the defrosting, but I never know for sure that I will have enough spoons the next day to actually cook the food. I usually determine that early in the day that I will be doing the cooking. It can be tricky to figure out what is less environmentally friendly: running the water to defrost, throwing away meat that was defrosted and didn't get used because I ran out of spoons, or ordering out because there isn't any meat defrosted. BTW, I have taken a tip from a YouTuber I follow. I cut chicken and pork into very thin slices and freeze in very flat ~225 gram portions. Those defrost very quickly and work great in stir fries, among other things.

When I wash dishes, I usually rinse the dishes in running water. But, I turn the water off while I am not actively rinsing, which means I do a lot of turn the water on, turn the water off.

 

[pictonguy]

Ground beef for tacos I'd just hack away on it until it was useable, maybe an hour, probably less.

 

[jennyema]

A 2 lb chunk of ground beef will take at least 24 hours in the fridge.

it’s always better to freeze everything flat, as it defrosts much faster.

if you have an aluminum skillet or griddle, place it on that for an hour. It really speeds up the thawing.

 

[taxlady]

A 2 lb chunk of ground beef will take at least 24 hours in the fridge.

it’s always better to freeze everything flat, as it defrosts much faster.

if you have an aluminum skillet or griddle, place it on that for an hour. It really speeds up the thawing.

I do that with a cast iron skillet flipped upside down or just on the stove top, 'cause it's metal and is pretty good at "sucking the cold" out of the food. And absolutely, flat things thaw faster. I have started freezing chicken and pork, sliced into small thin pieces that are handy for stir frying. I put them in a sandwich sized zipper bag and flatten it. That works out to around 250 grams / ~8 ounces of meat. Once frozen flat in the freezer, they can be labelled and stored standing, like in a filing cabinet.