Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I'm sooo excited: I scored some 1 pound packs of frozen, grass fed ground beef at Trader Joes.

Question:

What's the fastest / best way to thaw it?

Whenever I've tried it in the microwave it seems to always start cooking the outer most area while the inside is still frozen.

BTW, the dimensions of the pack is 1" X 6" X 4".

One more consideration: I'm doing a 30 day LOW-HISTAMINE PALEO trial. For those who might not know, some people are sensitive to the histamines which develop as protein starts to age/rot/spoil/decompose. It doesn't actually need to be spoiled to be a problem: leftovers (even refrigerated) are a problem. So, THE QUICKER it can go from frozen to thawed to cooked to eaten, the better! Therefore, I don't want to thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours like I previously would have done.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mike

flag	asked Jun 10 at 2:57 CaveMan_Mike 4,633●13●51

Christopher Gagnon · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-04 01:41:42Z UTC

I know this answer is very late to the discussion, but I heard this very topic addressed on NPR recently, and it seems that immersing the meat, sealed in plastic, in HOT water is the safest. Why? Because it thaws in a fraction of the time it takes either in cold water or in the fridge. Small amounts only, though, not large roasts.

New York Times: A Hot-Water Bath for Thawing Meats

AmandaLP · Answer 2 · 2012-06-10 03:20:35Z UTC

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If you are using it as loose ground beef, you can actually defrost and cook it at the same time. Add your fat of choice to the pan, chunk of ground beef, and keep turning the chunk as the bottom cooks. Scrape off the cooked part, and repeat.

answered Jun 10 at 3:20

AmandaLP
3,017●2●5●14

I do this all.the.time. I make chili, paleo-sloppy-joes, stirfries. Works great. – arugula Jun 10 at 12:56

Sol · Answer 3 · 2012-06-10 03:11:38Z UTC

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Soak it in water for an hour.

answered Jun 10 at 3:11

Sol
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Agreed. In the pack in a bowl of cool water will quickly thaw it. – January Jun 10 at 3:13

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better yet, put it in a bowl in the sink with a drip of water, keeps the water moving. – Moonablaze Jun 10 at 6:01

3

Second the running water into bowl. I've fully defrosted many of those one pound packs in 15 minutes. – malapert Jun 10 at 6:36

You can do it in 7 minutes (with a couple stirs) in hot water. See link above from New York Times. – Christopher Gagnon Jul 11 at 3:59

JeJ · Answer 4 · 2012-06-10 04:11:19Z UTC

If you can control the level of your microwave, my mom usually defrosts it on the lowest setting for several minutes and flips it at least once. If you do it on regular, you're right, it doesn't work well- on low it doesn't cook it. That would probably be the very fastest method if you want speed!

As a microwaveless person, I throw mine in some lukewarm water. To speed it up, I put it in a big freezer bag then break it into chunks as it softens (up the surface area!). When it is mostly defrosted, if I'm using it in a hash or shepards pie, I just start cooking it. If using it for burgers or meatballs, I just keep breaking it into smaller pieces and allow it to defrost fully before processing.

Sandy · Answer 5 · 2012-06-10 04:13:49Z UTC

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For the Histamine intolerance, Google a product called "Histame". This has been a lifesaver for me to be able to eat a lot more things.

answered Jun 10 at 4:13

Sandy
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Best thaw method for 1 pound pack frozen Grass Fed Ground Beef

5 Answers