How long does it take for a frozen chicken breast to defrost?
Are there any recipes I could do without defrosting?
>>7531170
>How long does it take for a frozen chicken breast to defrost?
Depends on the size of the breast, the temperature of the room you're defrosting it in, whether you're defrosting in water or defrosting in the microwave, etc.
>Are there any recipes I could do without defrosting?
Not really, the outside would probably end up being tough with the inside raw.
You can boil it without defrosting without much negatives. Chicken soup? Wont be the best quality but if you are sitting there hungry with only the frozen breast it will do the job.
Put it in a bowl in the sink and run a small stream of COLD water over it for 15-20 minutes and it should be fine. Put it in a ziplock bag with the air removed if you want.
>>7531175
>defrosting in the microwave
I've tried in the microwave before, and one bit always seems to turn white and cook whilst some of the rest is still frozen in the middle
I'm more interested in having a lovely thawed breast than quickness
>>7531184
interesting, wanting to know how long just ambient though
>>7531197
>wanting to know how long just ambient though
Ten times longer than it would take under cold running water.
>>7531215
2.5 to 3 hours then?
>>7531185
>>7531197
You should never defrost to room temperature for food safety reasons. The outside will come to room temperature quickly and breed bacteria for hours before your entire piece is up to temperature.
Also, defrosting is often unnecessary. The primary requirement for meat to cook properly is that the temperature is somewhat even throughout at the beginning. So either get it right out of the freezer or right out of the fridge and cook it.
The main difference is that ice has half the specific heat capacity of liquid water and 4 times the thermal conductivity. So the thermodynamics of heat transfer are slightly different for the small period of time the meat is still frozen.
Given that you have to bridge a temperature gap of 80°C to cook frozen meat, and 60°C to cook fridge meat, the difference is negligible.
>>7531266
You're ignoring the fact that frozen food may be in an odd shape. That doesn't matter if you are boiling or steaming the food, but it fucks things up if you are going to pan-fry or grill the food because you want it to be soft so that it makes proper contact with the pan/griddle/grill/etc.
>> The outside will come to room temperature quickly and breed bacteria for hours before your entire piece is up to temperature.
Meh. While I agree that there could be a risk in certain situations, this isn't as bad as you think it is. Foods with a small cross section thaw quickly. The food will be done thawing well before "hours" have past. Thicker foods may take hours to thaw but the outside is hardly at room temp all that time. Put a frozen roast on a counter and come back 6 hours later and touch it. The outside is hardly "room temp", it's actually quite cold.
I have been defrosting my chicken in slightly cold water for like 5 years and it usually takes about an hour. This is by far the best method.
>>7531275
You are right, it's also true that the temperature of the outside is going to depend on a lot of factors and can stay pretty cold due to heat transfer throughout the piece.
Every restaurant in the world uses the running it under cold water method because it's the fastest and doesn't put the food in the temperature danger zone.
If you're still not sure look up the Good Eats episode where AB did an experiment and proved it's the fastest, while also explaining why.
>>7531323
This. I'm amazed by the looks of disbelief I get when I tell people that it's faster than putting it in an
Oven.
