Is it safe to thaw whole chicken in hot water...

[bobbeym]

...if I only need it thawed enough to pull out the giblet bag before tossing it in the crockpot?

 

DH didn't thaw the chicken yesterday and I didn't realize until this morning that it came with giblets.  I have it soaking in a sink of cold water right now, but I need to get the bird cooking fairly soon if we plan to eat at a decent time tonight.

[Lanny]

I went into the kitchen to ask my wife about this. She said that if you are going to cook the chicken, immediately, after thawing in hot water, that is OK. 

[Lady Marmalade]

It will actually thaw faster if you have cold water running over it.  See if you can prop up the bird so that the water comes out of the tap and runs right over the cavity- keep checking it until it's thawed enough to pull out the bag.

[regentrude]

Sure. It is going to be heated in the crockpot anyway. Just don't let it sit around.

you could also thaw it in the microwave.

[regentrude]

It will actually thaw faster if you have cold water running over it.

 

No, that will not be faster than throwing it in hot water. thermodynamics.

[Lanny]

My wife says that if you thaw in the Microwave, it may change the flavor. And, that although it says it is defrosting, it actually begins cooking what is in the Microwave.

[bobbeym]

Thanks y'all.  The cold water was a good start; I can at least leave a small depression when I poke it. I just changed out the sink with hot water. Hopefully 30 minutes or so and it'll be good to go.

[EKS]

No, that will not be faster than throwing it in hot water. thermodynamics.

 

This.

 

[Mergath]

I always thaw frozen meat in slightly warm water, and we haven't died from it yet. ;)

[PeterPan]

Didn't Alton Brown have an episode on thawing where he found that running tepid water thawed the food faster than sitting in hot?  It had to be running though.  

 

In any case, I wouldn't put it in the crockpot after that.  I'd put it in the oven and blast the bejeebees out of it.  Roast at 425.  Gets done fast.   :D

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2008/01/defrosting-meat.html

[*Lulu*]

Nm

[bobbeym]

I love Alton Brown. We watch his shows just to watch them.  :laugh:

 

I rarely roast anything in the oven. I'm not even sure where my roaster is.   I prefer the crockpot because I can set it and forget it, and it'll make the house smell yummy on a chilly day, and once the chicken comes out tonight, the bones go back in for some nice healthy yummy stock.

 

Now I need to go find a recipe for my gnocchi to go with the leftover chicken and broth I'm going to have. :)

[PeterPan]

Hehe, I got some AB cookbooks for dd to read and work through. Fun stuff!  :)

 

I never really roasted happily till I got my swanky (I'm joking here) Kenmore oven.  Actually, it really is nice.  It has convection, but it also has this roast setting.  I put my meat in on whatever pan and it comes out all golden, yum.  I don't know what it really does to it though.

 

Just for your trivia, I have this larger roaster (think overgrown crockpot) that I can cook up to a 30 pound turkey in.  For that, you can crank the roaster up to high, cook the bird for an hour, then turn it down for the remainder of the time.  Then, like you say, throw the bones back in to make stock.  Stock is so crazy expensive, I've been trying to get more diligent about this and can it.  Then you have liquid gold on the shelf!  :)  We had been freezing, but we seem to run out of space that way.

 

Enjoy your chicken!  If I made gnocchi, my family would love it.  Make gnocchi?  Mercy, I'd buy it.  If I served boughten gnocchi my family would love me, lol.  You're the woman!  :D

[bobbeym]

Hehe, I got some AB cookbooks for dd to read and work through. Fun stuff!   :)

 

I never really roasted happily till I got my swanky (I'm joking here) Kenmore oven.  Actually, it really is nice.  It has convection, but it also has this roast setting.  I put my meat in on whatever pan and it comes out all golden, yum.  I don't know what it really does to it though.

 

Just for your trivia, I have this larger roaster (think overgrown crockpot) that I can cook up to a 30 pound turkey in.  For that, you can crank the roaster up to high, cook the bird for an hour, then turn it down for the remainder of the time.  Then, like you say, throw the bones back in to make stock.  Stock is so crazy expensive, I've been trying to get more diligent about this and can it.  Then you have liquid gold on the shelf!   :)  We had been freezing, but we seem to run out of space that way.

 

Enjoy your chicken!  If I made gnocchi, my family would love it.  Make gnocchi?  Mercy, I'd buy it.  If I served boughten gnocchi my family would love me, lol.  You're the woman!   :D

 

My gnocchi is store-bought.  I don't even have a clue how to go about cooking it - forget making it!  LOL

 

The chicken came out wonderful.  Goofy me always manages to cook it upside down so the meat was extra tender.  I served it with white rice and fresh-from-the-farm zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, and purple onions sauteed in Kerrygold and then cooked down in chicken stock until soft. 

 

Stock's been simmering on low since about 10:30 with a little ACV and all the bones and dark meat we didn't eat.  I'll up the temp while I'm gone this morning and tackle it after church.

[Word Nerd]

Cold water is safer, as unlike hot water, it keeps the meat out of the "danger zone" temps that are ideal for bacteria growth.

[PeterPan]

What is ACV??  If you'v got some magic, I wanna know!  :)

[bobbeym]

What is ACV??  If you'v got some magic, I wanna know!   :)

 

apple cider vinegar

 

Adding something acidic like ACV or lemon juice to stock softens the bones and draws more nutrients out of them. If you crack the bones, you'll also get more marrow and usually a nice firm gelatin stock.

[PeterPan]

Interesting!  But does it make it taste gross?

[Robin M]

When chicken hasn't thawed enough and ready to cook it and still too cold to get the giblets out, I let it sit in hot, hot water for 15 to 30 minutes.  But leave it in the bag.  We also use an old engineers secret and put two heat sinks on top of it. I use them for fast defrosting on all my meats.  Absorbs the cold as well.  Once it's thawed enough, run cool water over and through it, remove the giblet, wipe down and cook.  Never had any problems.

[bobbeym]

Interesting!  But does it make it taste gross?

 

If you used enough it probably would, but I only use a couple tablespoons for a full 5qt crockpot and have never noticed it tasting off.

 

 

When chicken hasn't thawed enough and ready to cook it and still too cold to get the giblets out, I let it sit in hot, hot water for 15 to 30 minutes.  But leave it in the bag.  We also use an old engineers secret and put two heat sinks on top of it. I use them for fast defrosting on all my meats.  Absorbs the cold as well.  Once it's thawed enough, run cool water over and through it, remove the giblet, wipe down and cook.  Never had any problems.

 

Yep, that's pretty much what I ended up doing.  It had a nice long cold soak and then a short hot soak, still sealed in the bag. Then I opened it up and realized it was still semi-frozen inside, so ran warm water through it long enough to pull out the giblets and then shook out the extra water and put it in the crockpot.

[Farrar]

No, that will not be faster than throwing it in hot water. thermodynamics.

 

But comparing the cool water that continues to flow from the tap vs. letting the bird sit in hot water, I think this could easily be true (because the frozen bird quickly lowers the hot water's temperature) and that's what was being proposed.  Obviously running hot vs. running cold water, the hot water would go faster.

[Liz CA]

It will actually thaw faster if you have cold water running over it.  See if you can prop up the bird so that the water comes out of the tap and runs right over the cavity- keep checking it until it's thawed enough to pull out the bag.

 

Definitely in cold water. That way you don't "pre-cook" some parts.

[klmama]

I wouldn't waste a lot of time trying to thaw it enough to get it out.  I would just start cooking the chicken in the crock pot and come back in an hour or two to remove the bag.  

[bobbeym]

I wouldn't waste a lot of time trying to thaw it enough to get it out.  I would just start cooking the chicken in the crock pot and come back in an hour or two to remove the bag.  

 

Unfortunately, that's not an option in our house.   Our dog eats a raw diet and only gets kibble as a snack, so all giblets go to her and she can't eat chicken bones once they're cooked.  I'm sure she considers chicken necks a nice change from drumsticks.

 

Heck, DH even fussed at me for not cutting off the wings and drumsticks before I cooked the bird for her.  As if I'm going to cut a raw chicken.  :smilielol5:   You'd think after 20+ years he'd remember that there are strict limits to my ability to touch raw meat without getting grossed out, and cutting a whole chicken apart clearly surpasses those limits.

[JFSinIL]

It will actually thaw faster if you have cold water running over it.  See if you can prop up the bird so that the water comes out of the tap and runs right over the cavity- keep checking it until it's thawed enough to pull out the bag.

 

This is what I do when the blasted bird needs to go into the oven and the guts are still frozen inside.

[Mrs_JWM]

We also use an old engineers secret and put two heat sinks on top of it. I use them for fast defrosting on all my meats. Absorbs the cold as well. Once it's thawed enough, run cool water over and through it, remove the giblet, wipe down and cook. Never had any problems.

How do you make the heat sinks? An engineer's wife who is away from her engineer wants to know!