The Step You Should Never Skip When Thawing Meat In The Microwave

If you've decided on a lark to make dinner that requires some meat you previously stashed in the freezer, what can you do to get it thawed quickly enough to eat? You don't want to leave it out on the counter, since that drops your meat into the danger zone of 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, encouraging the growth of dangerous bacteria. Instead, learn how to thaw your meat in the microwave safely. If you know the dos and don'ts, you won't have to worry about overcooking the meat or dealing with pesky germs. One of the best tips? Always flip your meat.

Thanks to the spinning turntable at the bottom of the appliance, your microwave can only rotate the meat in one circular direction. That means you need to manually flip, manipulate, and rotate your meat so every corner gets defrosted at about the same rate. Otherwise, you could end up with parts of the meat that are still frozen and other areas that have begun to cook. It's an important step in safely defrosting meat.

First, never use your fingers to flip your thawing meat. Not only will that potentially transfer bacteria from the meat to your hands (which you could then accidentally transfer all around your kitchen), but it could also contaminate your meat with bacteria already on your hands. Use chopsticks, tongs, forks, or other utensils instead. You should break up big chunks of meat where possible, like cubed beef for stews. When working with larger pieces like whole chicken breasts, turn and rotate the meat more often than you would do for thinner meats like bacon. As an aside, make sure you remove all food packaging before defrosting and only thaw on microwave-safe plates, too.

At the very least, you will want to rotate and flip your meat once, halfway through the defrosting process. We also like putting a damp paper towel over it. This doesn't really speed up the defrosting process, but it does keep the meat more moist as it goes through the microwave, which is important for your final dish. Once you know how to thaw your frozen food the right way, you'll never have to worry about being meatless for dinner because you forgot to pop your chicken in the fridge the night before.