Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Thawing game meat - what is your preferred method

Just that & curious.

Pints

Always in the refrigerator

In fridge or under a towel/cloth in the sink. Fridge preferred though.

Usually in the sink with cold water, meat is in sealed vacuum bag. If I plan ahead I thaw in the fridge.

In the fridge

In the fridge, but if in a hurry in water, meat is in vacuum sealed bag.

I've thrown it in the kitchen sink at 6:45AM to fix that evening for over 30 years

That worked for me on everything but moose meat. If I didn’t thaw it out of the bag and on some sort of rack above a dish so it would drain the excess blood and not sit in it, the iron/metallic taste would be very strong. Almost like licking a battery, even in the hamburger. Not a big sample size but it’s been true to two Shiras moose. One bull I tagged in Idaho a few years ago and meat from a bull a friend tagged in Utah before that.

This

I use to take it out of the freezer and let it sit and thaw over night. I always had a bit of a squeazy stomach, especially when I slow cooked it like in a stew or crock pot. Since I have been thawing everything in the refrigerator for about a year now, I never experience that.

Yep, this !

me three^^^^^

Same here. Been doing that my entire life. Works and is easy peasy

Varies.. In fridge overnight or 24 hours, set in sink, with or without standing or flowing water for faster thawing, throw it frozen in the crock pot with veggies.

The approved food service way is in a sink under flowing cold water.

Put it in the kitchen sink when I leave for work at 3:30. Ready to go for dinner when I get home.

Pretty sure a bunch of you should be dead.

FDA says so.

Knew a guy who would microwave it till it was steaming hot. Smelt like burning leather.

Most of my venison ends up jerky, by far. I go from freezer to microwave, in short stages with breaks. I want it half frozen and firm so it slices thin.

Don't over think it.

Thaw. Cook it. Re-freeze of you want.

No wrong answers.

Fridge for me, as it's easier to remove the silver skin when partially frozen.

If I’m on the ball, put it in the sink the night before, put in the fridge in the morning and cook when I get home. Usually a few hours after I get home so I will put back in sink to bring up closer to room temp. Some of the best has been wet aged for several days in the fridge before use, like 3-5 days before cooking.

I like to take mine out of the freezer to thaw it.....

refrigerator if you have the time to wait, out on the counter 2nd, and microwave 3rd

^ this works for me too ^

I'm working on it....

As a matter of fact, I promise it

I just thaw it then cook it.

Fridge, sometimes counter top for a couple hours then fridge.

I’m a fridge guy mostly but have used the water bath if I’m running late. Heck I leave it in the sink too. I’m conscious of the 40f/4hr rule for food safety so I err on the side of caution there and use the fridge if the meat isn’t rock solid.

27 replies and not a single use of dethaw. Impressed!

Don't hurry.
It's the journey.......😉

Same here.

I have put it in warm water in the sink to thaw it faster and my caveman palate couldn't tell much if any difference.

I've put a bunch in the sous vide tank as well. I tend to like that method the best myself.

What works best for me: every time I cook some venison I take another package out of the freezer to put in the refrigerator meat drawer...every time. That way I don't have to worry about it. It will be thawed by the next day, but I'll probably be eating on the last batch anyway (just the wife and I are at home most of the time.) This way, I always have some thawed venison ready to fix. It might be one day, or two or three days, but as soon as I fix it, I replace it with another frozen package from the freezer. I've almost always got ground venison thawed anyway, because it's my default lunch when I'm home at lunch time. I almost always have a package of chicken thawing or thawed in the meat drawer because my wife likes a break from the red meat. Cook up some chicken, put another package from the freezer to the refrigerator meat drawer. Not really planning ahead so much as always having something to fix without having to thaw it out in a hurry. Makes the whole meal preparation thing much easier going and stress free. There's no good way to thaw meat in a hurry and no need to worry about keeping thawed meat in the refrigerator for a few days or a week.

Absodamnedlutely.

Makes the meat taste funny. BTDT. The Dachshund doesn't mind tho. (via wife- hec an damned well eat his kibbles - or not- for me!)

Ok- I sometimes lie like a lawyer.... I save doggie food when butchering - and might cheat a little otherwise, sometimes...

I do this nearly every time... if there is something wrong with it, I'm not sure what it would be.

Incidentally, a buddy was packaging moose burger and he smashed each vacuum sealed package flat between two boards before freezing. Gives it more surface area for the given volume, so it thaws out much faster in water, and it stacks nicely in the freezer.

I’m in several crowds..

Usually it’s thrown in the sink before work. Cook it after work.

If I plan right thaw it out most of the way in the sink then toss it in the fridge to finish it off…

If I don’t plan ahead. In the sink with water works to get burgers on the grill in a hurry

Crank up the Green Egg with some oak lump charcoal and some pieces of mesquite. Hold the temperature to 225 degrees or less. Throw the frozen meat on for 30-45 minutes until it thaws in the smoke. Pull the meat, crank the vents open to get it to 500-600 degrees, season the meat and sear each side for a little while. Done.

I flatten them- never thought of the board trick tho.

thanks!

I also flatten my ground meat packages. Just with my hands though, not with boards.

Fridge is preferred. However, I have thawed several times in the sink with no issues.

Here lately, I have been cooking roasts in the Instant Pot that come straight out of the freezer. No thawing. I have found several recipes for this, and they work just fine.

I thaw serving size packs of meat in the sink in water in the bad it is stored in.

Yes. Better storage, easy/fast thaw.

We always thaw it on the counter, then leave it in fridge one more day. Might be in my head but seems like it becomes a bit more tinder. Give it a try.

Hot water

Sounds like some guys use water from the hot water heater to unthaw their meat.

I don't overthink it.

Set it out the night before in the refrigerator.

Set it on the counter in the morning.

Pull it out and run it under water.

Whatever

I'm not refined enough to notice the difference.


-Jake

The one I hear most is "unthaw" LOL
Mine gets thawed on the counter or in the fridge.....
Cat

I got a metal flat plate with ridges.

It’s about half the size of a big cutting board.

Set it on the counter, with the paper removed.

It will un thaw in a matter of hours.

I been using it 4 decade…..not dead yet.

Look up defrosting tray.

They cost about $20

Didn't Ron Popeil sell those?

A man after my own heart

I forgot to mention this in my previous post, but I also have good luck quickly thawing out meat by placing it on my granite countertop. It seems to do a great job of dissipating the heat and thawing quickly.

Out on the counter over night.

Or, if it’s vacuum sealed, under running water.

How about for unthawing? 😎

Put it back in the freezer

I just take frozen roasts of moose or caribou, whole taters,water, salt, pepper garlic and put them on woodstove before bed. Usually tender by 8 hours atop wood stove.

No matter who shows up, no matter what time of night or day, always Dutch ovens full of moose, taters in broth.

big pot hot water for tea or coffee.

Come spring, whatever meat is left gets canned or smoked. I don't have refrigerator, freezer or electricty.

The better check points along the Iditarod race will have wood stoves dressed out with stew and hot water 24/7

Pull it out and put it in the sink before I leave for work in the morning. Cook it up as soon as I got off for the day.

This, however if I forget or there's a change in plans and I don't have time then I thaw in a hot water bath in the sink. Replenish hot water as it cools for faster thaw. If I'm doing backstrap on the grill I keep replacing the hot water until the meat is almost hot to the touch.
Keep meat in vacuum bags or burger bags until thawed. Water should not touch the meat! If it does pat dry with a towel. Never thaw in a microwave, that's just wrong.

Some kinda thawing... who cares? Its gonna get cooked or re-froze.

In warm water in the sink.

Same here.

^^ This ^^ is the best way to thaw any meat. It keeps the outer thawed part refrigerated while the center thaws. I will thaw a turkey in a bucket of cold water as it keeps it cold throughout.

Thawing in warm water is not a good idea.

I put mine away in 1.5lb lots in quart zip lock bags , the ones with a two , three layer zipper , run about two inches of water in ziplock with meat , fold to remove air and seal , then wrap it tightly in Saran Wrap . About a dozen layers cross crossing . I have found the water sealed in with meat stops freezer burn
Then when I want to thaw it , I run hot faucet water over it and remove Saran wrap .
Then toss it in sink if hot tap water and let it thaw , takes about 45 minutes or so . If it’s cut meat , I beat it with a hammer , season it and fry it .
Never an issue with quality of meat or freezer burn .
Kenneth

All mine is vacuum sealed so I just put it in a big bowl in water in the sink.

Informative thread! Thanks you all who continue to share.

Asked my processor the limits of thawing game meat. He said, "As long as you don't let it draw blood, you'll be fine."

Refrigerator here..

Great thread gents! Thank you for all of your suggestions!

Having worked in a school cafeteria, the only officially approved way is under cold running water.

Screw that at home!