hamburger frozen and need it defrosted?

Question

i am making taco's tonight and i just took the hamburger out from the freezer. can i leave the hamburger on the counter so it can defrost or should i just let it defrost in the fridge? thanks

Answer 1

I never put frozen meat in the fridge to defrost because it takes two days. When I leave for work in the morning I sit what meat I need in the sink so it will drip there and not on the counter.
As long as the temp in your house isn't too hot then you will be fine. Just be sure and cook until good & done.

Answer 2

The P.C. answer is to defrost in your fridge to prevent bugs from multiplying and the meat from spoiling, and then to further defrost on low power in the microwave.

My answer is to leave it on the counter....for tacos you're gonna cook the meat well-done anyways so any germs and bacteria that may be in the meat will die anyways. I actually left frozen chicken on the counter overnight last night to make sure it was thawed by dinner tonight (it would still be frozen if thawed in the fridge). Whenever I try to quick defrost in the microwave I always end up partially cooking the meat, even on low power.

Answer 3

I would put it in the fridge. If it's not completely defrosted when you're ready to use it you can always let it sit in a bowl of water for a few minutes or just let it finish while cooking in skillet.

Answer 4

don't leave it on the counter...unless you want to get sick...the safe way to defrost would be in the fridge. also, if you have a microwave, you can use the defrost option (lower temp...longer time). i can usually defrost a 1lb chunk of ground beef on defrost for about 4 minutes, flip and then another 4 minutes.

Answer 5

Just defrost it in the skillet as you're cooking it. I do that more often than I brown fresh ground beef!

Answer 6

I would leave it out for up to 6 hours.

Answer 7

Put the package in COLD water, that works best.

Answer 8

well you shoul leave it out