How to Defrost Any Meat

The freezer is one of our favorite assets in the kitchen. We've constantly got ours stocked with frozen sausages, fish, ground beef, and other proteins that make quick weeknight meals in a pinch, all without having to run to the grocery store.
There's just one thing: Integrate a freezer pantry into your home cooking and you'll need to become a defrosting pro. Yes, cooking directly from frozen is technically an option, but doing can result in watery protein and an overall loss of quality.
Essentially, you've got three choices when it comes to safely thawing protein. Which one you choose comes down to how much time you have.

IDEAL: The Refrigerator

Say you've got all the time in the world and really planned ahead for tomorrow night's dinner. If that's the case, the absolute best and safest way to defrost your frozen meat is in the refrigerator—your meat will defrost at a consistent temperature that's below the USDA's magical safety mark of 40 °F.
Simply place your meat—either in its plastic packaging, or removed and covered with plastic wrap—on a plate in your fridge the night before you plan on cooking it. The plate ensures that any moisture produced during the thawing process doesn't end up all over your fridge. Check back the next night and you'll find perfectly thawed pieces of chicken, fish, or steak ready to get seasoned and cooked. If you're working with a larger piece of meat like a whole chicken or a roast-size cut of beef you'll want to allow more time to ensure the meat thaws all the way through.
Really want to get ahead? Ground meat, stew meat, poultry, and seafood will be safe in the fridge for an additional day or two after defrosting; beef, pork or lamb roasts, chops and steaks can keep for 3 to 5 days.

IN A PINCH: Cold Water

More often than not, this is the situation: We get home from work and need to get dinner on the table in less than an hour. In these cases, place your protein in a resealable bag and submerge it in a large bowl of cold tap water. Just as with the refrigerator method, thawing times depend on the size of the protein. Small items like sausage, boneless chicken breasts, and thin cuts of steak such as skirt will defrost within an hour. Thawing larger cuts will take 2 to 3 hours, and you'll need to change out the water every hour to ensure things stay cold.
If you have a change of plans and decide you don't want that chicken breast you've been defrosting in cold water for dinner, make sure you cook it through before putting it back in the fridge or refreezing.

Leftovers Are Actually Good For

Your Leftovers Are Actually Good For

Tossing things prematurely happens more often than you might think (the USDA says almost a pound of food is wasted per person per day). Are you jumping the gun?

Egg, Tuna or Chicken Salads

We were surprised to learn that homemade egg, tuna or chicken salad can last up to seven days in the refrigerator. Just remember that your fridge should be set to 40 degrees or colder, says Jen Tong, global managing director of integrity and process excellence for a division of the public health and safety organization NSF.

Cooked Meats

Poached chicken, grilled steak and roast pork tenderloin all keep well for three to four days in the fridge, says Tong. She recommends putting the items in the refrigerator within two hours, since the less time the food spends at room temperature, the better (and safer).

Pizza

Just as with cooked meats, pizza is usually good for three or four days in the refrigerator. (Wrap it tightly to keep it tasting fresh.)

Soups and Chilies

Whether you've made a pot of minestrone, chicken noodle or chili, when it comes to soups and chilies, there are almost always leftovers (and often, the meals taste even better after a day). You can keep enjoying them for three to four days once refrigerated, says Tong. The important thing is to get the temperature down quickly to keep the food in a safe temperature zone (below 40 degrees, or above 140).

Everything—and We Mean Everything—Else

While three to four days is a good rule of thumb for most leftovers, there are exceptions (for instance, leftover raw shellfish, such as ceviche or sushi, has a lifespan of just one to two days). For an easy way to determine whether to toss something, there are a number of free apps that can help; one is Is My Food Safe? (a collaboration between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and ConAgra Foods), where you can scroll through by category, say, desserts, and go from cakes to puddings. Another is USDA's new FoodKeeper app; among other features, it lets you enter the date you made something and then receive notifications when the food is nearing the end of its recommended storage time.

How-to…Cook an Egg

You think it’s such a simple thing, but a perfectly cooked egg is actually kind of an achievement, particularly when you’re trying to get a specific result. Anyone who has served their share of rubbery scrambled eggs knows that well. That said, they’re also awesome. They’re cheap, they’re packed with protein and healthy fat, and throwing one on top of pretty much anything makes pretty much anything better. Here’s a goop tutorial, along with some really important information about buying eggs, including what those labels on the cartons actually mean.

Boiled

1 egg
water

Fill a small saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil.
Using a spoon, gently slide in the egg and set your timer.
Keep an eye on the water while the egg cooks, and try to maintain a soft boil.

• For a soft-boiled egg with set whites and a liquid yolk set for six minutes.
• For a perfectly hard-boiled egg with a slightly soft center set for nine minutes.
• For a completely cooked through yolk set for ten minutes.

When the timer goes off, remove the egg to an ice water bath for one minute to stop the cooking.
Crack, peel, and enjoy.

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