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I recently bought a package of frozen cod that contains about 6 pieces. How do you go about properly defrosting them? Thanks.

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I put one filet under each arm and go for a stroll. – user5266 Mar 12 '11 at 23:04

1 Answer

up vote 12 down vote accepted

There are two safe ways to defrost, one more rapid than the other.

First method is to defrost in the refrigerator. This keeps temperature below 40 degrees F, in the safe zone. This will, also, take a while.

Second method is to defrost in the sink under cold running water. The water doesn't have to run rapidly, but it should change regularly. This will defrost the fish more rapidly than in the air (water is a better conductor of heat than air) and will keep the fish in the danger zone for the shortest period of time. If you are not going to cook it immediately, then return to the refrigerator.

If you are deep frying, there are some techniques that will allow you to go direct from frozen to fried, but that is generally done in a professional kitchen where they have powerful fryers that can take the temperature hit and come back strong.

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This is also a great site for a BUNCH of different options in addition to Doug's suggestion. foodsubs.com/Defrost.html – FoodTasted Nov 27 '10 at 20:29
In the fridge is always best, but you need to plan ahead properly :-) Otherwise what's wrong with leaving it on the bench? It's still covered etc. It's not being fiddled with by unwashed hands etc. Most countries in the world don't have the water and energy to spare to be running the tap for any length of time. If free-flow'ish they should be defrosted enough for cooking in a couple of hours – TFD Nov 28 '10 at 10:49

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