We ’re ranking popular options from best to worst . Spoiler : keep your money and jump that defrosting tray …
Carson Downing
Every November , fans write to us nervously asking abouthow to defrost a joker in time for Thanksgiving . “ Am I too late ? ! ” they interest . ( Our regulation of pollex , by the way , is to merely pop the still - wrapped Bronx cheer in the electric refrigerator and allow for 1 Clarence Day of thaw time for every 3½ to 4 pounds of turkey . )
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But all throughout the year , many American menage have another poultry mathematical product on ice : chicken . And we eat a lot of it . According to theNational Chicken Council , the typical American eats 104 British pound of chicken ( and about 14 pound of turkey ) per year .
Since we cook with and consume so much of this versatile protein , we figured it was about time to create your guide for how to de-ice chicken safely . Read on to fall upon the no . 1 style food for thought safety pros elevate , a few others they say are satisfactory , and the one proficiency that “ works in a speck , ” but comes with a warning label .
How to Defrost Chicken Safely, According to Food Safety Experts
When see how to de-ice chicken safely , there are two very important details to keep top of thinker , says Donald Schaffner , Ph.D. , a professor of food microbiology and denotation medical specialist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick , New Jersey .
Now that we get it on why it ’s authoritative to proceed with caution when refreshen frozen chicken , lease ’s speak terms . Many time when we ’re referring to frozen vs. quick - to - James Cook items , many cooks use the Word of God “ thaw ” and “ deice ” interchangeably . But they ’re actually different : “ Thawing is the gradual or hands off operation of letting a nutrient item thaw in a icebox . Defrosting is typically the active process of using a cooking method acting like a microwave , water , or the oven to warm a frozen item , ” clarifies Sarah Brekke , M.S.,Better Homes & GardensTest Kitchen brand name handler .
The No. 1 Way to Defrost Chicken Safely
Now that we ’ve solve up the vocabulary , the food prophylactic pros elucidate that when folk ask them how to defrost Gallus gallus safely , their answer is that we should actually thaw the fowl . Brekke , Dr. Schaffner , and Meredith Carothers , food safety specialist for the USDA ’s Food Safety and Inspection Service in Washington D.C. agree that your honest stake is toplace wimp in the icebox overnight .
“ If you have the time , de-ice in the fridge overnight inside another container is probably the most foolproof , ” Dr. Schaffner explain . “ Since the refrigerator is at a food - good temperature , we do n’t need to vex about the ontogenesis of pathogenic bacteria . And since the volaille is in a secondary container we do n’t have to worry about the juices thwartwise - foul anything . ”
This proficiency for how to defrost crybaby safely trumps the other options because it has the least wallop on the caliber of the chicken , Brekke adds . But it does take some planning . A pound of background volaille or bonelesschicken breastsrequires 12 to 24 hours , Carothers says , and plan on a full 24 hours for a 5 - poundwhole chicken .
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Dr. Schaffner coaches ups through the safest way to thaw chicken :
Test Kitchen Tip : One bonus benefit of dethaw chicken in the refrigerator ? You do n’t need to falsify it immediately ; something that ’s necessary for most of the ways to defrost poulet . TheUSDAverifies that you’re able to keep a thawed volaille in the fridge for up to 2 day after they ’re back to their raw state .
How to Defrost Chicken Quickly and Safely
The second dear means to deice chicken is in a bowl of coolheaded water ; review the water every 30 minutes . Although this technique is “ a mo more hands - on , it results in standardised quality chicken to the overnight thaw and it ’s much quicker , ” Brekke read .
How fast ? Allow for 30 arcminute per dog pound of ground poulet , chicken bosom , backstage , or thighs , and estimate about 2 to 3 hours for a whole chicken .
Here ’s how :
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Once the poulet has thawed , “ it must be cooked straight off after thaw , ” Carothers say .
2 Common Methods For Defrosting Chicken That Food Safety Experts Avoid
The USDA include microwave de-ice in their list ofsafe defrosting method , but our Test Kitchen does n’t prefer this road : “ This operation can be used in a soupcon , ” Brekke tells us . “ But it often bear upon grain as the heating system can potentially ‘ fix ’ the outside , thinner edges of the chicken before the middle completely defrosts , negatively impacting texture and quality of the de-ice chicken . ”
As for those voguish defrosting trays , “ I ’m not certain that they work out , ” says Dr. Schaffner , who did a deep - nose dive into inquiry and reappraisal on these for an episode of his podcast , Risky or Not . In case you ’re unfamiliar , these trays are made from heat - bear alloy like aluminum or copper , and are say to transfer the rut from the external environment ( aka your kitchen ) to the food . While some superfans affirm by them , upshot can deviate and our Test Kitchen has found these defrosting trays to be rarely as effective as promote . Plus , even with the tray in town , you ’re defrosting the volaille at room temporary . This presents a jeopardy for portions of the protein to reach the danger zona scope while the rest is still frigid .
“ Not many people have these trays , and in all reality , it is n’t much fast than the frigid body of water method . Keep it childlike , ” Brekke recommend .
Can You Cook Chicken From Frozen?
Here ’s a agile recap on where we landed .
Some weeknights , we ’re so crunched for time that we do n’t have clock time for either . As a oecumenical rule it ’s in all probability good not to fake from a frozen province , Dr. Schaffner believe . Still , we have great news for all of our fellow procrastinators : It is safe to ready food from the frozen state , concord to theUSDA . Just keep in mind that the cooking will take or so 50 % longer than the recommend time for fully thawed or fresh poultry , Carothers say . Avoid slow cooking or microwave oven due to food for thought safety equipment and timber business , but Brekke and the Test Kitchen approve of any of the following selection for cookery chicken from frozen :
" We do n’t recommend cooking whole chickens or big pieces of Gallus gallus from frozen , but chicken piece such as drumsticks , wings , tenders , thighs , boneless breasts , and smaller bone - in breasts are all beneficial choice , ” Brekke says .
No matter how you cook the chicken , and whether you do so when it starts out unused , defrosted , or stock-still , slip in an crying - readmeat thermometerinto the thickest portion of the protein to see it has reached 165 ° F ( for breast meat ) or 175 ° F ( for thigh and drumsticks ) .
