Refreezing meat

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Refreezing meat
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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 05 11:50 am Post subject:

cab wrote:

Guest, slow defrosting gives a longer time for certain other microbes that thrive at lower temperature to take over. Not something I'd fancy.

So, where's the best place to defrost meat and especially a frozen bird? When I last took a pheasant out of the freezer and left overnight in the fridge it was still solid as a rock the next day. Next time I will have to leave it for 36 hours in the fridge to defrost but is this better than leaving in a cool room for 12 hours?

Aled

Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 123
Location: Anglesey

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 05 12:15 pm Post subject:

cab wrote:

In principle, you're right Wellington. In practice, you have to be confident that the stock you're dealing with hasn't had any bacterial growth in it; repeated re-sterilisation doesn't remove any bacterial toxins that may have accrued in there, despite the fact that it kills bacteria. Stock is of particular concern because it's an idealised medium in which to grow pathogenic bacteria.

Blimey - I think I'll carry on playing it safe then, especially with the young one. I don't know what pathogenic bacteria are, and I'm p;retty sure I'd rather not find out.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 05 12:42 pm Post subject:

Aled wrote:

Blimey - I think I'll carry on playing it safe then, especially with the young one. I don't know what pathogenic bacteria are, and I'm p;retty sure I'd rather not find out.

Sorry... Pathogenic bacteria are the ones that cause disease.

Think about what stock is; it's basically animals very like us boiled up to solubilise them a bit. That means it's full of broken down proteins and suchlike; you would struggle to make a better place to grow bacteria that might be dangerous. So you have to be cautious with it.

But that said, get yourself a pressure cooker to cook the stock faster, and then make the baby food the same day before freezing. That's what I'd do.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 05 12:49 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Either ought to be safe, as long as you avoid putting it somewhere too warm. You're marginally better defrosting at a low temperature, but the most important thing to avoid is defrosting at high room temperature.

Psychrophilic bacteria, those thriving at low temperatures, can cause trouble. Some of them are pathogenic (e.g. Listeria), some can produce toxins, but frankly there aren't MANY of them that are problematic.

Bacteria in meat you want to be most worried about, Salmonella, Eschericia coli, Campylobacter, etc. aren't going to thrive at that temperature. But if the meat is left too long at room temperature in summer... Well, you catch my drift.

Best bet is to make sure what you freeze is in good condition, to be honest.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 05 4:19 pm Post subject:

I defrost a joint every for every sunday, and usually take it out of the freezer friday night or saturday morning, depending in the size and type. On Sunday morning, I give a poke, and take it out to come up to room temp, although I might leave it till lunchtime for say a chicken in summer, to start cooking at five. Works for most things, although we once had a 5 bone rib that took the best part of week to defrost in a cool garage!

Absolutely agree about the stock. Looks like big cook ups are on the cards for Aled! I like big cook ups - they make you feel so prepared for anything!

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