Did you forget to thaw your meat? Don't panic!
Today we're testing out a defrosting tray. It promises to be a faster way to defrost meat using the traditional leave-it-on-the-counter method.
But does it work? Let's try it!
First up, we wanted to see how a standard ice cube does. We placed three ice cubes on a paper plate, on top of the defrosting tray and in a stovetop pot to compare.
Within minutes, the ice cube began to melt on the defrosting tray, the saucepan was a close second and the ice cube on the paper plate was not melting. It dissolved on the defrosting tray within ten minutes, and a few more minutes behind it was the saucepan, but the paper plate cube was barely sweating.
Then, we had three equal bags of frozen pizza sauce. We placed one on each of the different surfaces simultaneously, and the defrosting tray came out the clear leader. While the bag was too big for the saucepan, it still thawed it out a bit. But, like the ice cube, the paper plate didn't help it thaw.
Our final test was with frozen chicken breast. Again, we lined these up on the different surfaces to see how they do. The defrost tray took about one hour to defrost the chicken breast thoroughly, and the paper plate again was still hours behind it.
The defrost tray might not be as fast as running it under cold water or using a microwave, but it will speed up the process if you like to leave thawing food on the counter. Plus, it has a drip tray to catch any extra moisture that might collect.
Now, the results!
The positives:
- It works better than leaving it on the counter
- Drip tray for excess moisture
- Easy to clean
The negatives:
- It takes up the space of a small sheet pan
The defrosting tray worked better than other methods you might try when leaving it out on the counter, so if you are one to always leave food out, we rate this a "Buy It."
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