How to quickly defrost chicken fillet: using water, microwave, slow cooker or oven

There are quite a few methods for defrosting chicken fillet. To speed up this process, you can use water, a slow cooker, a convection oven, an oven and a microwave. Depending on the volume of meat and the chosen method, defrosting takes from 5 to 2 hours.

Quick defrosting methods

It is difficult to use chicken fillet just taken out of the freezer for cooking, because... It is quite difficult to divide it into portions and pre-process it. Many people buy only a chilled product so that it can be cooked immediately, but it has a short shelf life, so it is not always convenient. There are some subtleties to thawing chicken meat to preserve its texture and flavor as much as possible. You should consider in detail all the features of defrosting this product.

In water

Many housewives leave frozen meat in the refrigerator so that it defrosts as slowly as possible, believing that only in this case can the taste be preserved. However, this takes a lot of time. To speed up this process, you can use cold water. This will not affect the taste and beneficial properties of the product.

The process includes the following steps:

1. Place the meat in a pan that is at least 5 times the volume of the product.
2. Pour cool water over the meat.
3. Add a few pinches of salt to the water.
4. Wait for the fillet to defrost.

Some people use hot water to defrost chicken. This method allows you to prepare the product for further cooking in just 10-15 minutes. However, trying it on is not recommended. Contact of frozen meat with hot water causes the protein in the surface layer of the product to be destroyed. In addition, the use of this method often causes a decrease in juiciness and deterioration in taste.

It is worth considering that to defrost the product you have to change the water several times, because... it cools down quickly. If this is not done, only the surface layer will defrost, but ice will remain inside. Among other things, it is believed that chicken dishes thawed with hot water will spoil faster, so they should be consumed immediately after cooking.

In the oven

At home, you can use the oven to defrost chicken meat. Pour about 2 cm of water into a large baking dish. You need to place a grate on top of it, on which you need to lay out pieces of frozen fillet. Then you should preheat the oven to +160 °C...+180 °C and place the form with the chicken inside. The heat will gradually warm the water in the baking dish. At the same time, abundant evaporation will reduce the risk that the fillet will cook on top, but remain raw inside.

Defrosting should be done with the oven door slightly open. It is advisable to turn the fillet every 3 minutes. This will ensure uniform heating and defrosting of the product. In most cases, defrosting chicken fillet takes no more than 10 minutes. If the pieces are large, this may take up to 20 minutes. To speed up the defrosting process, you can make shallow cuts on the product.

It is extremely important not to overexpose the product, because... this will cause it to cook on the outside and become dry on the inside. In addition, when using this method, there is a slight loss of protein in the surface layers of the meat caused by exposure to hot air.

In the microwave

Often modern housewives use a microwave oven to defrost chicken meat. First, you need to remove the original packaging from the fillet. Rinse the top under running water to remove any ice that may be present on its surface.

After this, the fillet should be placed in a deep plate and placed in the microwave. The device must be set to 30% power. You need to set the operating mode for 6-10 minutes depending on the size of the fillet. You should open the door every few minutes and turn the food over to the other side. This will promote even heating. In addition, this will reduce the risk of overcooking the fillets.

Some devices have a defrost function, which eliminates the need to turn the fillets. These microwave ovens have a function that automatically lowers the temperature during defrosting. This reduces the risk of baking the surface layer of the product.

In a slow cooker

If desired, you can quickly defrost chicken fillet in a slow cooker without a microwave. In this case, you need to pour a little water into the bowl and install a grate for steaming food. The product must be removed from its original packaging and thoroughly washed under running water to remove any ice. The defrosting process may take up to 15 minutes.

In this case, it is advisable to lift the lid every 2-3 minutes and turn the product over.It should be noted that in many modern multicookers food is cooked under pressure. In this case, do not close the lid so that the device does not build up pressure. Only in this case can you avoid boiling the surface layer of meat.

In a convection oven

Chicken fillet can be easily defrosted in an air fryer without losing taste. In this case, the product should be thoroughly washed and placed in a baking sleeve, and then placed in the appliance. The temperature must be set to +60 °C…+65 °C. The fan is set to medium speed. First you need to program the air fryer for 4 minutes. If the fillet pieces are large and this time is not enough to defrost, the time should be increased by another 2 minutes. After this, you need to remove the chicken from the baking sleeve and cook it using the chosen method.

Is it possible to cook chicken fillet without defrosting?

The question often arises: is it necessary to defrost chicken fillet before cooking, because when boiling or frying, the product will still defrost. In reality, the defrosting process is extremely important. Only thawed fillets can be washed well. It should be taken into account that during preparation and packaging various contaminants may have entered the product and they must be removed. If you do not thoroughly wash the fillet during cooking, dirty foam will form on the surface of the broth.

Please note that if you cook frozen fillet, it will become dry and tasteless. In addition, there is a possibility that the meat inside will not be cooked sufficiently. Problems can also arise when frying frozen chicken fillet. In this case, the surface layer will quickly defrost and begin to burn, while the inside of the piece will remain raw.If you leave the dish on the fire, the fillet inside will cook. When frying frozen fillet, it will significantly lose its taste and become dry.