For me, the hardest part of buying beef in bulk this past year has been planning dinner two days in advance to allow for the meat to defrost in the refrigerator. The refrigerator has always been recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture as the ONLY safe method of defrosting beef. It was said that every other method keeps meat in the “danger zone” of temperature too long, possibly permitting the growth of bacteria that can make you ill.
According to this article in the New York Times, the government is getting ready to change its mind. A study has determined that dunking a package of frozen beef in a bath of hot water will defrost it safely, and the resulting meat is just as juicy and tender as refrigerator-defrosted meat. And it only takes ten minutes! Yay!
Now if only the government would also discover that we don’t have to exercise 30 minutes every day…
Cow in Bathtub by Michele Bornert
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