Have You Ever Forgotten To Take Meat Out Of The Freezer? Discover The 5 Benefits Of Defrosting Trays

Have you ever got home from a long day of work and realized that you forgot to take your steaks or chicken out of the freezer to defrost for dinner? With a defrosting tray, you won’t have to suffer the consequences of the microwave or order takeout the next time you make that mistake. Instead, you’ll be able to defrost any frozen food in about half the time it usually takes.

Defrosting trays are made of a material that has a high ability to conduct heat, such as copper or aluminum. Since these metals are such great heat conductors, heat at one part of the metal rapidly moves through it. Meaning the metal heats up quickly and cools off quickly. 

Compare this with a material like a cast iron. Your experience likely tells you that a cast-iron skillet stays hot for a very long time after you're finished cooking with it. That's because cast iron is a very poor conductor of heat. The heat stays trapped in it rather than dissipating into the air around it.

When you place a piece of frozen meat on a defrosting tray, heat from the tray is transferred to the food. The temperature of the food increases, while the temperature of the tray decreases. Because of the tray’s contact with the air, it stays relatively close to room temperature, so it’s able to continue bringing up the temperature of the food.

1. Defrosts safely and quickly: Typically a defrosting tray can reduce the thawing time for frozen foods by half or more. Additionally, you don’t have to worry about bacteria developing because the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) lists defrosting trays as a safe way to thaw food.
2. Thaws food uniformly: You don’t have to worry about some parts of your steak, chicken, or pork chop remaining frozen while other areas fully defrost because the tray helps all parts of the food thaw at the same rate.
3. Defrosts without using the microwave: While you can defrost food quickly in a microwave, this alters the texture of your meat. No one wants rubbery meat! A defrosting tray allows you to quickly thaw your food without turning on the microwave.
4. Stores easily: A defrosting tray is a fairly slim, flat tool, so you can easily find a spot for it in your cabinet.
5. No More Food Waste: Do you ever take meat out of the freezer only to have it pushed to the back of the fridge for a few days and it goes bad. Now you can just defrost on-demand right before cooking

1. Leave frozen food in a plastic bag to thaw. When you thaw food on a defrosting tray, you can leave it in a plastic bag to spare you meat juices and ice water on your countertop.
2. Use two trays for even faster defrosting. If you need to defrost your food more quickly, place a second defrosting tray on top of your meat with the defrosting surface touching the food.
3. Warm the tray to restore its effectiveness. If you need to defrost food in batches and the defrosting tray is getting too cold to work effectively, run it under some warm water for a minute or two between batches.
4. Make sure to get a size large enough to accommodate your meat. Bigger trays are better if there are more people in your family.