Never Defrost Meat At Room Temperature

Meat and poultry should never be defrosted at room temperature the exterior will warm up faster than the interior and encourage bacteria growth shelke said.

Never defrost meat at room temperature.

As soon as raw meat or even cooked meat begins to thaw and reach a temperature warmer than 40 f bacteria that may have been present before freezing can start to multiply. To keep a steady chilled temperature the refrigerator is the safest place to defrost all types of meat including steaks ground meat and poultry she said. The machine cooks meat at a temperature and rate that can allow bacteria to grow rapidly. Swipe to advance 2 12.

Department of agriculture cautions consumers against thawing raw meat at room temperature. When frozen food gets warmer than 40 degrees or is at room temperature for more than 2 hours it s in the danger zone where bacteria multiply quickly. Thawing on the counter is not safe period. If your microwave has a defrost setting you can give it a go for small cuts of meat.

Put the raw meat on a plate in the microwave and utilize the defrost setting on the microwave to thaw. You should never thaw frozen meat poultry fish or seafood by placing it on the counter at room temperature or by running it under warm tap water she said because bacteria like it warm like we do and multiply rapidly at room temperature. The limit is one hour if the air temperature is above 90 f. Some people may say that their families would thaw meat at room temperature and never get sick.

For this reason meat defrosted by the microwave thawing method must be cooked immediately. First it s crucial to know that perishable foods should never be thawed in hot water or left at room temperature for more than two hours. The following methods will show you how to thaw meat and keep it out of the temperature zone that allows bacteria to grow 40 degrees to 140 degrees f which is. Never allow raw meat poultry seafood eggs or produce that requires refrigeration to sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

According to the usda you should never thaw meat at room temperature or in hot water. In fact raw meat should never sit out in temperatures above 40 f for extended periods of time and never longer than two hours for any reason. This also means microwaving defrosting risks putting meat in the danger zone. When you utilize this method you will need to cook the meat immediately.