Best way to thaw a frozen butt?

JMSetzler

JMSetzler

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I have two frozen butts... about 5lbs each that I intend to grind up. What's the best way to thaw them? The last time I thawed a butt in the fridge (8.1lb) it took 4 or 5 days. How long can I safely let these sit out on the counter outside the fridge?
 
What he said. NY Times had an article on warm water thawing. A few weeks ago.
 
I always thaw mine in a sink full of cold water, dont know why, but cold water works faster than warm
 
Depends on how fast you want them to thaw. :heh:

Seriously though, I try to only let them set on the counter as long as the outside temp is around 36-38 degrees, once they start to go over that, then in the fridge they go. Think of it like this, if you plan on cooking them right away, you can do all sorts of things to "speed thaw" them such as the bucket of water method mentioned above, it does work quite well. But, if you plan on thawing them today and grinding them tomorrow, it would probably be a good idea to take a slightly slower approach.
 
The cold water vs. warm water is a rather interesting thing. Do you know that if you fill your ice trays with hot water, they freeze faster than if you fill them with cold water? It's all in the speed of the electrons moving around and what not. Fascinating stuff. Same thing with the thaw, hot water will cool down faster and cause the meat not to thaw out as evenly due to drastic swings in activity but, the cold water while cold to us, is still warmer than the icy butt and therefore causes the thaw to occur at a nice even rate. :becky:
Or atleast, that's the way I understand it. :crazy:
 
Personally, I would thaw them in cold water and get the grinding/processing done as quickly as possible. The longer you have the meat in an uncooked and unprocessed condition, the more time it has to grow bacteria on the surface and no matter how many ways to Sunday you wash it, when you grind it, the bacteria goes every where in the meat. (Thus why I only eat well cooked ground meat) This is one process you do not have time on your side for. IMHO anyway!
 
cameraman said:
What he said. NY Times had an article on warm water thawing. A few weeks ago.
Click to expand...

If I remember that bit of info correctly that was for thinner cuts of meat and steaks that thaw in 10 mins +/- and well under the 4 hour danger mark.

Cheers
 
JMSetzler said:
:)

I have two frozen butts... about 5lbs each that I intend to grind up. What's the best way to thaw them? The last time I thawed a butt in the fridge (8.1lb) it took 4 or 5 days. How long can I safely let these sit out on the counter outside the fridge?
Click to expand...

You must have a kick ass freezer and fridge. I can get my butts thawed in 2-3 days max.
 
Just to add, you want to grind any meat still a tad frozen. It makes grinding easier and helps keep the meat out of the danger zone for too long. I also freeze my grinder parts for about an hour prior to grinding.
 
BigButzBBQ said:
Do you know that if you fill your ice trays with hot water, they freeze faster than if you fill them with cold water? :crazy:
Click to expand...

That's one of those stories that's been around for a while. It sounds
really neat; but it's just a myth. Kind of like the myth that eating eggs
will raise your Cholesterol.

Always thaw large cuts of meat in cold water. You can do steaks and
other thin cuts in warm water.
 
Last edited:
{Midnight ☼ Smoke};1771508 said:
Maybe just me, but I prefer to wait 4-5 days. Meat seems to taste better when slow thawed.
Click to expand...

yep, shouldn't take much more than 3 days though.. If you're in a hurry, submerging in cold water is your best bet
 
Throw it in a sink full of tap water or in a cooler with ice water.
 
jestridge said:
Throw it in a sink full of tap water or in a cooler with ice water.
Click to expand...

che22879 said:
Put them it a plastic bag and then in a bucket of water, works really well.
Click to expand...


Agree with both. If they product is vacuum-sealed when you purchased and the seal has not been broken, let it sit in the sink or bucket with tap water. I think it takes us about 2-3 hours, but then we also might put it in the frig depending on when we are actually going to cook, or prep.

Since you are going to grind the pork, we have let our stuff thaw almost all the way and then cut it up to somewhat small pieces for grinding. We always have to put ours back in the freezer for a few minutes (10-20) to get it stiff again for the grinding part.

(Damn, is it just me, or did that last part sound kinda funky??? :wacko: )

wallace
 
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