whats a safe way to defrost hamburger?

Question

I need it thawed in about an hour and a half-can I run hot water over the package? is that safe?...or how do I do it in the microwave? thanks

Answer 1

According to Serve Safe, there are few ways to defrost meat without getting tons of bacteria (potentially hazardous) infesting it.

You are supposed to keep under running, cold water. This allows the temperature to decrease without having some parts reach bacteria-breeding-ground temperature.

If it is just a burger, it should be thawed in time.

Answer 2

Microwave - but use it on lower power or else you'll cook the meat instead of thaw it. E.g., for about a 1/2lb of frozen ground beef I'll put it on 1/2 or 1/3 power for about 3 minutes to start. Then take a look at it and if it's still icy in the middle, break it into chunks and put it back in for a shorter period of time.

Answer 3

I've used the microwave many a times. It'll just defrost layer by layer, so you'll just end up scraping it off then microwaving it again, more scraping, more microwaving and so on. Just make sure the meat is placed in some sort of microwavable container as it will bleed/water out.

Answer 4

unwrap it. put it in a microwave safe bowl and zap it on low for 5 minutes.
Take out the thawed parts....leaving frozen center in the bowl & zap it again.
Do this until all the meat is thawed. Cover it & keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Answer 5

Actually, cool water would probably be best. It's safer than hot water, but it should still do the job in well under 90 minutes.

Answer 6

set your micro-wave on defrost

Answer 7

microwave is best, or let it just sit.