You'll Never Defrost Meat In Hot Water Again After Finding Out About This Rule

Freezing meat is one of the most useful moves in a home cook's arsenal. It lets you keep plenty of food on reserve for future meals, and it takes the pressure off if you'd rather have takeout instead of a home-cooked meal. But once you're ready to cook, how do you defrost your meat in a timely fashion? You've heard about using water to defrost meat — so why not give it a bath in some hot water? That makes it thaw quicker, right? Maybe so, but experts warn us that it could also increase your risks of foodborne illness.

When discussing 11 mistakes to avoid when defrosting your meat, experts tell us to avoid submerging your frozen meat in hot water. According to David Rose, the executive chef at Omaha Steaks, "Hot water can raise the temperature of the meat, putting it in the bacteria danger zone." Basically, bacteria dislikes very cold temperatures and very hot temperatures — so what happens when you put your chicken or steak in a lukewarm bath? It can rise over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is when bacteria really starts to get busy.

So if defrosting your pork tenderloin in a pot of hot water could give you some nasty food poisoning, what are your alternatives? Well, the absolute best way to defrost meat is just to leave it in the refrigerator until it thaws on its own. That way, it will come up to temperature safely without setting up a playground for bacteria. But we understand that you may have responsibilities to juggle, children to drive to soccer practice, and/or dogs to help with SAT prep, so you can make use of a quicker way to defrost meat.

Courtney Luna, a self-taught chef and TikTok personality, tells us to use cold water instead of hot water to defrost: "[I] seal the meat in a leak-proof plastic bag and submerge it in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes. This method is faster than refrigeration." It's maybe a little more finicky, and again, it's not quite ideal — you don't want to forget about it and leave the meat on your kitchen counter, as room temperature defrosting will attract more bacteria. But it'll work in a pinch, and you can make dinner easier for yourself by using side dishes from Trader Joe's you should look out for.