Gerry Atrick wrote:
> I'm a bachelor and unlike most women, I am not very organized with
> cooking. When I finish my days work I want something to eat and want
> it fast. That usually means some tv dinners or a frozen pizza or lots
> of instant mashed potatoes in the microwave coated with ketchup.
>
> But there are times I really want something more. I am not a good
> cook, but I can make a hamburger or something like that. The problem
> is that I live in a rural area and the stores are not open late. I
> have to get my food in advance. If I buy some ground beef or
> something like that, it ends up sitting in the fridge. Some days I
> work late, other days I am too tired to cook when I get home, often I
> will stop at a fast food place on my way home from work, or get
> invited to a friends house to eat. The next thing I have forgotten
> about tis ground beef and it's gone bad in the fridge.
>
> After far too many instances like that, I now toss all meats in the
> freezer. But that seems to be where they permanently "live". I know
> it takes a full day to thaw out something like that, and then I am
> often back to the same issues. I take it out of the freezer, forget
> about it, and once again I have bad meat.
>
> Is there any way to defrost frozen meat quickly. Can I do it in the
> microwave, the oven, or anywhere else? I want it to defrost in under
> an hour if there is a way. Can anyone please help....
>
> Thanks
>
> Gerry


Joe and I were just discussing this yesterday in a different thread.

Freeze the meat as flat as is reasonable. To thaw it quickly, unwrap it
and put it in your heaviest aluminum pan. (aluminum requires a lot more
heat to change temperature, I can't think of the technical term, than
does iron or steel.) You can speed it up by putting the pan on a warm
burner on the stove.

A better solution would be to remember to take the meat out of the
freezer in the morning and put it on the warmest shelf of the
refrigerator (usually the front of the top shelf, or maybe the shelf on
the door) It will be partially thawed by the time you get home, and you
can cook it without thawing all the way. That especially works well for
steaks if you like them well browned on the outside and pink in the middle.

Best regards,
Bob