Frozen chicken is the most popular convenience food. Each housewife must keep one or two carcasses in the refrigerator in order to cook a delicious dinner in a hurry one day. And of course, sooner or later they face one problem. The chicken is completely frozen, it’s evening in the yard; dinner is urgently needed. How to quickly defrost a chicken without a microwave, let's consider together.
Problem and Solution
In principle, thawing meat quickly is not a big problem. But how to do it right? Is it possible to guarantee that after thawing the bird will retain all its qualities? In the freezer, all the water in the meat turns into ice. And if these crystals melt quickly? As you can see, there are a lot of questions. Of course, judging by the classical canons, you need to get the meat from the freezer in the evening. Let's start by recommending professional chefs.
Classic way
In no case should you spread the product in heat. The chicken is determined to the bottom of the refrigerator and left in this form until morning. Usually by this time it is already quite possible to cut it into pieces. There are a number of points to consider.
- Once the chicken has been removed from the freezer, peel the film off of it.
- Put it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
A fairly low temperature promotes slow defrosting. The structure of the meat will not be broken and the chicken will look like from the counter. And having stood the night in its own juice, it will acquire a natural smell. The result is achieved and the meat has retained the most beneficial properties. And if there is no time to wait? How to quickly defrost a chicken without a microwave? There are several solutions to this problem.
In accelerated mode
It is not always possible to wait 8-10 hours. Often the following picture. Early in the morning, the hostess recalls that she needs to cook dinner with chicken, which has not yet left the limits of the freezer. That is, ahead is not night, but just a few hours. In this case, the technology remains the same, but instead of the bottom shelf of the refrigerator you need to choose a kitchen table.
If you want to speed up the defrosting process, make a few cuts along the entire surface of the carcass. The more they are and the longer they are, the more warm air will gain access to chicken meat. If you are looking for a simple but not the fastest way, then pay attention to it. The only negative is that the cuts can spoil the appearance of the bird if you are preparing it for baking.
Defrost in cold water
We continue to look for the best way to quickly defrost chicken without a microwave. If time is short, but a couple of hours are in stock, then you can use the following method.
- Remove the bird from the freezer.
- Pour cold water into a large pot and lower the carcass into it so that the water completely covers.
- After about two hours, you can start cooking.
But a very quick defrost still does not work. That is, you need to use this method if there is a couple of hours in stock. In this case, the bird must be left in a plastic film. The meat is then not saturated with water and will fully retain its taste.
Kitchen assistant, slow cooker
She helps out the housewives in any situation. With her help, cooking becomes easy and effortless. If you need an answer to the question of how to quickly defrost a chicken without a microwave, then you can assume that you have already received it.
- Take out the carcass.
- Put it on the stand.
- Install the appropriate program and wait 10 minutes.
Indeed, a very convenient and fast way. If your chicken is not whole, but in pieces, then the process will go even faster. No need to try to maximize the speed of cooking due to the initial processing. If the meat is partially boiled, it will lose its juiciness. Therefore, the quality of the prepared dish will lose its charm. If you have tried chicken at a party, but it doesn’t turn out so tasty at home, it is possible that you are making this mistake.
Oven helps out
Almost every housewife has this unit. Defrosting a chicken is the minimum of what it can help. But there are some nuances. If you are preparing a carcass for a subsequent deboning, you should handle it as gently and carefully as possible. Overextend it in the oven - and it will boil inside and dry out.
- Put a wooden board on a baking sheet, and place a bottle on it.
- Place the chicken on top of the bottle and place the structure in the oven.
- At a temperature of 180 degrees, you need to withstand the carcass for about 5-10 minutes.
The bird is perfectly processed with heat from all sides and at the same time does not burn. But you need to keep track of time. That is, check the bird every two minutes, and as soon as it becomes soft, immediately stop heating and proceed to butcher the carcass.
We use a double boiler
Since you can quickly defrost a chicken at home at any time, it is worth exploring all the ways. Almost every housewife has a double boiler. Some have an old, aluminum. Others have a modern one with timers. But this does not play a special role. The main thing is that they perfectly know how to defrost meat. What is required for this:
- Remove the chicken from its packaging and place in a steam basket.
- Put her on the top tier. Your task is not to cook, but to defrost.
- Pour the minimum amount of water into the container. That is approximately 1/4 of the volume of the bowl.
- We choose the function of manual heating, if we are talking about a modern double boiler.
- You can adjust the time manually. But even in this case, there is a risk of slightly scalding the meat. How much to defrost a chicken? It all depends on its size and weight. Usually, 8 minutes is selected automatically.
And if at hand aerogrill
It would seem that this unit is not at all suitable for solving such problems. Put the chicken in a frying pan - and it will immediately be fried on top in the same manner. But no, in an air grill it is really possible to prepare meat for cooking in an emergency.
- Put the bird in the baking sleeve. This will evenly distribute the heat.
- Set the temperature to about 50 degrees.
- Set the timer for 6 minutes. At the same time, the air grill lid should be slightly open.
The method is really very convenient. But you need to consider that under the influence of high temperature, tender meat loses part of its properties, it turns out less juicy. In a restaurant, a cook will never resort to a quick defrosting method. Otherwise, the number of satisfied customers may be reduced.
Emergency method
If there is absolutely no time, you have to make some concessions. Of course, it's good when everything is done according to technology. But if you returned home, where a hungry family is waiting for you, and no one guessed to take out a chicken, then the question is already posed by the edge. How to quickly defrost a whole chicken? Submerging it in hot water.
Just note that experts do not recommend using this method. When immersed in hot water in the upper layers of the meat piece, protein coagulation occurs. Whether to use this method, everyone decides for himself.
- Leave the carcass in a plastic bag.
- Pour hot water into the pan and put the chicken in it.
- As you cool, you need to change the water to a hotter one.
- After 10 minutes, the carcass can be removed and proceed to cutting.
The disadvantages of this method are many. Many chicken recipes emphasize that the carcass must be thawed in advance. And this is not surprising, because with the above method, the meat is dry and hard. Do not forget that it is impossible to repeat the defrosting procedure several times, and regardless of the method used. In this case, you will not get tasty and tender meat.
What can be cooked from chicken
Chicken recipes are in the cookbook of every housewife. Tender meat is cooked very quickly and goes well with cheese and vegetables, rice and any other cereals. The most popular are the following options:
- Noodle soup.
- Chicken baked whole on a baking sheet.
- Chicken breast or thigh rolls with cheese or other filling.
- Fried legs in a pan.
- Breast baked in sour cream.
The list goes on and on. But in order to get all these dishes perfect, you need to know how to defrost chicken properly. It is from this that the failures of novice housewives grow. They win in time, but lose in quality. Today we examined enough ways, each of which is good in its own way. You can choose the one that will be more convenient in a particular situation.
Instead of a conclusion
So, if we talk about proper defrosting, then you can’t rush here. The meat should be at a minimum plus temperature. In doing so, he needs to be given as much time as he needs. It is then that it will retain all its qualities. If you want to make the perfect bird, follow this recommendation.