What if I don't wait for it to defrost. Does it affect taste in a bad way? Or is it unhealthy? How does it compare to thawed meat?
2 Answers
Yes, it is perfectly safe (as long as you continue to thaw the meat in a safe manner, as in the refrigerator).
The marinade will not begin to have much effect until at least the outer layers of the meat are thawed, but it will not otherwise have any side effect. It may get slightly better penetration due to the changes in the texture of the meat from ice crystals, but the effect should be negligible at best.
In fact, you can freeze the meat in its marinade if you so choose, and know what you are going to use it for when you thaw. It will get the benefit of marination time until the outer layers are frozen, and then again during the thawing.
Marinating from frozen can help fish retain moisture and flavors which would otherwise drain out during defrosting
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1While this answers the question, advising that a marinade will slow down or stop the fish from becoming bad is very dangerous from a food safety perspective. As it’s not part of the question, I had to remove that part.– Stephie ♦Feb 9, 2020 at 14:06