Have you ever thawed sealed frozen meat in a bowl of water only to return and see water inside the sealed meat?
Besides looking a bit unpleasant, people start to wonder if the meat is still safe to eat?
After all, a little water should just be able to get dried off or cooked off right?
Meat that has excess water in it while thawing is still safe to cook and eat as long as the meat has not been thawing with internal temperatures of 40° to 140°F for more than 2 hours. Simply dry off the excess water and cook the thawed meat as you normally would.
Keep in mind that meat cannot sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours. The USDA warns that any meat that is left in the danger zone of 40°F to 140°F for 2 or more hours will be unsafe to eat due to bacteria growth.
This is why you can safely thaw frozen meat in your fridge overnight or for multiple days since refrigerators are usually kept at temperatures below 40°F.
Now let’s cover the best ways to thaw frozen meat so that no water seeps in.
We’ll also provide tips on what to do if water does seep into your sealed meat while defrosting.
See this article to learn if it’s bad if water got in your chicken while defrosting.
How to Thaw Frozen Meat
Thawing frozen meat can be tricky, but there are three common methods for thawing frozen meat.
1. Thaw Frozen Meat In Cold Water
To speed up the defrosting process of your frozen meat, place the meat in a bowl of cold or cool water.
See this article for more tips and reasons for defrosting frozen meat in a bowl of water.
Tips For Thawing Frozen Meat In Water
- The meat should be in a leak-proof package or plastic bag.
- Submerge the sealed meat in cold tap water. Never use warm or hot water as this can cause harmful bacteria to start growing.
- Change the water every 30 minutes to speed up the thawing process.
- Gently poke the meat with your fingers to see if the meat has thawed out. If you feel ice crystals or stiffness, give the meat more time to thaw out.
- To avoid bacterial growth, make sure that the thawed meat is cooked as soon as it comes out of the water bowl.
Note: If you use the cold water method to defrost your frozen meat, it should be cooked immediately after thawing.
Never refreeze raw meat that has been defrosted in cold water. Once cooked, though, you can then freeze the cooked meat if you want.
2. Thaw Frozen Meat In The Fridge
The easiest way to defrost frozen meat is by placing the frozen meat overnight in the refrigerator.
However, thawing frozen meat in the refrigerator is the slowest but safest way to thaw frozen meat so plan ahead.
Tips For Thawing Frozen Meat In The Fridge
- Place the frozen meat in a container or on a plate so that any excess juices do not drip on other foods in the fridge.
- Place the frozen meat in a refrigerator and ensure that the fridge temperature is set to 40°F or below.
- When thawing frozen meat in the fridge, allow for about 12 hours for ground meat and up to 2 days for bone-in meat and whole roasts.
Note: You should always keep your frozen meat in the fridge after thawing it out.
Here are the timelines of how long frozen meat that has thawed out in the fridge can be safely stored:
| Frozen Meat Type | Fridge Timeline After Thawing |
|---|---|
| Ground Meat | 1 to 2 days |
| Bone-in and Whole Roasts | 3 to 5 days |
So generally frozen meat that has been thawed in the fridge can last in the fridge for an additional 1 to 2 days for ground meat and an additional 3 to 5 days for whole roasts and bone-in meat.
Meat that has been thawed out in the fridge can be placed back in the freezer and refrozen if your plans change and you no longer want to cook the food.
3. Thaw Frozen Meat in a Microwave
Microwaves are a quick way to defrost frozen meat. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you place frozen meat in the microwave.
Tips For Thawing Frozen Meat In The Microwave
- First, before thawing frozen meat in the microwave, check the power level settings and use a lower power setting.
- Place the frozen meat in a container or on a plate to capture the excess juices as the meat thaws in the microwave.
- Thaw the frozen meat for 2 to 3 minutes before flipping the meat over and continuing until thawed.
Note: Frozen meat should always be cooked immediately after defrosting in a microwave.
Reasons For Never Thawing Meat At Room Temperature
You may have noticed that for the 3 methods of thawing meat listed above, thawing meat at room temperature wasn’t an option.
The reason why you never want to thaw meat at room temperature is because of the “Danger Zone.”
The USDA warns that any meat that is left in the Danger Zone of 40°F to 140°F for 2 or more hours will be unsafe to eat due to bacteria growth.
So a frozen chunk of meat thawing out at room temperature will have the surface of the meat thaw faster than the middle. By the time the middle of the meat has thawed, the surface of the meat will have spent a lot of time within the Danger Zone of 40°F to 140°F.
In order to avoid parts of the frozen meat spending too much time in the danger zone, you can either thaw the frozen meat slowly in the fridge or quickly in a bowl of cold water or the microwave.
The risks of having meat in the Danger Zone is why we do not recommend thawing meat out at room temperature.
How To Get Water Out of Frozen Meat
After thawing your frozen meat, you may notice that there is excess water in the meat.
The best way to dry out or get water out of frozen meat is by allowing the meat to thaw out slowly in the fridge.
Allowing the meat to slowly thaw out will gently remove all of the excess water from the frozen meat. The excess juices will come out of the meat into the bag or the plate or container that you placed the frozen meat on.
Once the meat is thawed, you can use a paper towel to gently pat the thawed meat to get the outside dry.
Thawed meat is safe to cook even if there is some water in the meat since the heat will cause all the water to evaporate away.
Can You Still Cook Meat If It Gets Wet?
Meat that has gotten wet from thawing out can still be cooked.
Generally, it’s best to pat the exterior of the meat dry with a paper towel before cooking.
However, even if you do not let the meat dry out, you can still cook wet meat. Keep in mind that you do not want to place wet meat in a pan or pot full of oil since the water needs to evaporate before the meat starts cooking.
If you’ve ever accidentally dropped some water in hot oil, you’ll know this causes the oil to start bubbling and popping. So just make sure you’re not placing any wet meat in hot cooking oil.
Final Thoughts
We’ve all been there, you want to cook that nice steak for dinner or use that extra ground beef but you forgot the meat in the freezer.
The best ways to thaw out frozen meat are slowly in the fridge, although this takes a lot of time, or by thawing the frozen meat in a bowl of cold water or in the microwave.
Keep this in mind if water does get in the meat as it’s thawing out:
If water gets in the meat as the meat is thawing out, the thawed meat is still safe to cook and eat as long as the meat has not been sitting out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Meat that sits in the Danger Zone of 40° to 140°F for more than 2 hours is not safe to eat.
After the frozen meat has thawed, just drain off any excess water and cooked the thawed meat as you normally would.
So get that frozen hunk of meat thawed out so you can safely cook your next meal!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it alright to defrost ground beef on the counter?
Thawing frozen ground beef on the counter at room temperature or in hot water can put you at risk of food poisoning because the surface of the meat will be at bacteria-breeding temperatures. The USDA warns that any meat that is left in the Danger Zone of 40°F to 140°F for 2 or more hours will be unsafe to eat due to bacteria growth.
So do not defrost frozen meat at room temperature or in warm water.
Why is my ground beef white after thawing?
Freezing meat can cause the meat to change color and lose flavor. If the meat turns gray after being defrosted, this indicates that you’ve had the meat for too long without freezing or refrigeration, resulting in an off-taste no matter how much time has passed since the purchase.
Why is my defrosted beef brown?
The browning of meat is a sign that it has been stored in an oxygen-rich environment for too long. Browning meat is caused by changes in myoglobin, and if left unchecked, maybe a sign that the meat has spoiled. Make sure to not cook any meat that has spoiled since cooking spoiled meat does not make it safe to eat.
How do you dry out wet ground beef?
Ground beef that has gotten wet from thawing out can still be cooked.
Generally, it’s best to pat the exterior of the ground beef dry with a paper towel before cooking.
However, even if you do not let the ground beef dry out, you can still cook wet meat. Keep in mind that you do not want to place wet meat in a pan or pot full of oil since the water needs to evaporate before the meat starts cooking.
Can you still cook ground beef if it gets wet?
Ground beef that has gotten wet is still safe to cook and eat as long as the ground beef has not been sitting in the Danger Zone temperatures of 40°F to 140°F for 2 or more hours.
Wet ground beef can be cooked in a pan where the excess water will evaporate leaving you with just the ground beef. Just make sure not to drop wet ground beef in a pan or pot full of oil as the water can cause the oil to start popping and bubbling, which is dangerous.
Is it bad if water gets in chicken while defrosting?
As long as the chicken has not been defrosting in the Danger Zone temperatures of 40°F to 140°F then the chicken is still safe to cook and eat even if there is water in the chicken.
Excess water can be dried and cooked off the chicken. So if the chicken is defrosting in the fridge overnight or in a bowl of cold water and water gets in the chicken, then simply pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before cooking the chicken.
