The 10 Most Common But Dangerous Meat Defrosting Mistakes

Apr 27, 2018

Cooking is tough. It seems like there are endless rules to follow and you can't keep track. When it comes to handling meat, though, you need to prioritize these rules to your memory. Mishandling meat in the worst cases have lead to death. Avoid making you and your family sick by never making these common defrosting mistakes.
 

Putting frozen meat in hot water is actually a terrible idea because bacteria thrive in these conditions. Instead, place your meat in room temperature water and change the water every 30 minutes to prevent bacterial growth. This trick works fast!

Don't leave your meat out! Depending on how big your cut is, it can take several hours for it to defrost. Leaving any meat out for more than two hours will cause it to spoil. Always leave your meat in the fridge.

Fridge space can be tight, but never place your meats anywhere else besides the bottom shelf. If juices drip, which happens often, you'll contaminate your other food.

Listen to the professionals and always wash your hands before and after handling food each time, especially meat. You don't want any of your germs contaminating your food, and you don't want your raw food contaminating anything else you touch after. Stay hygienic.
 

There is a strong divide on how safe microwaves are for processing meat. Play it safe and only use microwaves that have a defrost setting specifically for meat.

Washing your meat can do more harm than good. If you must wash your meat, keep track of everywhere your meat drips and be sure to sanitize it once you're finished.

This is safe but leads to terrible results. If you don't have the patience to wait for your meat to defrost, just keep in mind that cold meat gets really tough when it comes in contact with direct heat.

Don't let tools touching raw meat handle the cooked meat. Never place cooked meat on a plate where your raw meat was. Don't cross-contaminate because the results could be deadly!

The tools you clean with have to be cleaned, too! If your sponge or rag is scrubbing raw meat juices, then you'll spread those germs to all your other dishes. Make sure you clean or replace any cleaning products that have touched raw meat.

Always flavor your meat in a tightly closed plastic bag in the fridge. Leaving it out in the open could cause your meat to spoil or contaminate nearby foods.

Make sure all your meat lovers know how to avoid food poisoning!