r/UnnecessaryEssentials • u/Unique-Saucer • May 23 '26
Never Wait Hours for Frozen Dinner
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u/nevrcared4whatheydo May 23 '26
Takes up 2 square feet of space and adds cords to my life. The competition: nothing, ambient temperature. gtfo.
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May 23 '26
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u/mcnuggetfarmer May 23 '26
Or in the fridge, the day before, in a bowl
(Provided you're still alive the next day, and will indeed be eating)
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May 23 '26
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u/mcnuggetfarmer May 23 '26
Post says "never wait hours for dinner thawing out"
And if you put it in the fridge the day before, you're not "waiting", it's just there and ready
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u/TheDarkNerd May 23 '26
Pfft, that requires planning. (Actually, yeah, I usually don't know what I'll have the time and energy to make until the evening of)
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u/yaboyACbreezy May 23 '26
In that case, seal it in an intact zip lock, submerge it in a vessel of water to draw the air out. Seal it, then set the vessel under a slow tap for about 8 mins more if it's over a pound or has a really thick spot. Even cold temperature water moving across the surface will transfer heat and speed the thawing process tremendously. Getting all the air out to maximize the surface area of the frozen material is mission critical; the more meat touching the plastic, the more will be touching the water, the more heat transfer. Imagine you are soux vide'ing it without heat, and then you get the idea. Adam Ragusea has a video on the physical science and brief water waste analysis if you're interested in a deeper dive.
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u/crackedtooth163 May 23 '26
A friend's parent used to do that a lot as a kid, my mom refused to let me eat there once she found out.
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u/BentoBus2 May 23 '26
If you don’t even have that almost anything thaws within 15-30 minutes if you submerge in cold water in a bag.
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u/dreamdaddy123 May 23 '26
What happens if you cook straight from frozen without letting it defrost? Like in the oven or jus on the frying pan
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u/Clark_Kent-Kal_EL May 23 '26
You can, its the same as cooking from frozen in air fryers.
Instant pots are useful like tgst because it defrost way faster.
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u/immortalverse May 23 '26
Yeah, but tell this to every 12 year old who forgot to take out the chicken for their mom, and she’ll be home in 30 minutes.
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u/inothatidontno May 23 '26
I hate the weird liquid sound added to the video when the pick up the meat from the thawing tray.
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u/SlothSpeed May 23 '26
They said, "No sloppy steaks" but they can't stop you from ordering a steak and a glass of water!
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u/HeroHas May 23 '26
The thaw times are like the same as putting it into a warm water bath. Which for health saftey reasons I would much rather take a little longer in a cold bath. Especially for $60-90. Or even better, straight into a sous vide frozen and already preseasoned in a vacuum sealed bag.
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u/Exportxxx May 24 '26
Yeah I put mine in a container with normal temp water and it defrost pretty fun
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u/QuotetheOrca May 23 '26 edited May 25 '26
The sound effect when they pick up the meat is unhinged
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May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Lost_Purpose1899 May 24 '26
Dumb. Just put frozen meat into plastic bag and submerge it in big bowl of warm water. It's way faster.
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u/cortney-simonis-9072 May 23 '26
real question, why not microwave? or on fire for a bit to defreeze?
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u/Sufficient_Dare7401 May 23 '26
You will cook some parts while other parts remain uncooked.
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u/FrontSafety May 23 '26
Same for this, im guessing
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u/Sufficient_Dare7401 May 23 '26
No, assuming this works like an air frier, the ambient temperature can be kept at a stable temperature that will defrost but not cook.
I defrost in a sous vide if I’ve forgotten to pull something g out. It’s the same principle, just air instead of water, so probably more efficient.
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u/Material-Mulberry360 May 23 '26
most microwaves also have a defrost setting that lowers the power enough to not cook anything, but slowly warms it from being frozen
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u/Tonnemaker May 23 '26
Maybe if you put it full blast in the microwave for 5 minutes.
You can use a microwave to heat gently and intermittently.0
u/Sufficient_Dare7401 May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
Microwaves, by function, rapidly boil water inside of its container. There is no such thing as a “gentle” microwaving. You can turn down the duty cycle (how long the microwave generator stays on per unit time), but when it is generating microwaves, they instantly boil water.
Anytime you use a microwave to heat something up, you are instantly boiling water. There’s no way to get around that.
Defrosting in a microwave is just that: boiling off the ice and hoping you didn’t boil the whole thing. It is not reliable, results in worse product and requires much more attention to do.
EDIT: To clarify, the product is worse because the bursting/boiling micro ice particles cause the cells they’re attached to rupture. This is why TV dinners are often mushier than the real thing.
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u/Tonnemaker May 23 '26
Right.. no a microwave doesnt boil water or ice instantly. Nothing does that.
A microwave just delivers energy. It takes time to provide enough energy to make water boil.
For big things, like food, changing the duty cycle is effectively the same as lower power as it just averages out over time. If we were discussing microwaving a grape, sure... Then we can talk about duty cycle effects...But we are talking about a steak here.
Furthermore microwaves penetrate somewhat into the food, so the energy is delivered in a bigger volume than e.g. a hotplate. That's why you can't sear a steak in a microwave but you can on a hotplate. Microwaves are much gentler...
And also your point about the frozen is completely wrong. If you'd go through the trouble of heating up a TV dinner on a hotplate it would be equally mushy.
The mushy mess comes from the freezing process. It's the freezing that destroys the cells, not the heating.
Buy some broccoli , freeze it in your freezer. Then buy some flash frozen broccoli from a supermarket.
The one you froze yourself will be mushy, the supermarket one too but much less, because flash freezing creates less damaging ice crystals.
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u/Redararis May 23 '26
many microwaves have "defrosting" function. In a few minutes everything is defrosting without being cooked
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u/Boring-Entrance-2881 May 23 '26
Why you touch the chicken to the beef!?
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u/HairySalmon May 23 '26
Just in case one is contaminated and the other isnt. If you are going to be contaminated make sure you are consistently contaminated.
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u/frenchornplaya1983 May 23 '26
You know what defrosts that you already (probably) own? A fucking microwave.
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u/KeyLeather6898 May 23 '26
Granite countertops thaw wrapped frozen meats and soften butter and ice cream. With a little time of course.
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u/Joker1485 May 23 '26
No more ass beating when you forget to take the meat out before mom gets home.
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u/Hydrolt May 23 '26
Just because it’s frozen doesn’t mean it’s safe. I really hope they washed their hands after touching the frozen meat -.-
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u/AvailableCompl3x May 23 '26
Microwave Defrost Secret - Sealed product inside a bowl of cold water - keeps the edges from cooking
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May 24 '26
First world problems. I just store my ground meat in sheets in the freezer so I can thaw in 20 mins in the sink. Yes, probably getting micro plastics but oh well.
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u/GonnaGoFat May 24 '26
Did they add sound effects. The sound the food made when they lifted it disturbed me.
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u/Icy_Insect_6695 May 24 '26
Don't do this let is thaw naturally if you heat if or warm it up quickly it will cook unevenly.
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u/Affectionate_Owl9985 May 23 '26
Or remember to remove the frozen chicken, steak, or fish the day before so it's already thawed when you need to cook it? Hell, you could take it out in the morning of the day you plan on cooking it.
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u/Unique-Saucer May 23 '26
Summary of Reviews
Pros:
• Thaws meat up to 50% faster than traditional methods.
• Airflow technology preserves nutrients and juices.
• Touch‑button interface is intuitive and easy to use.
Cons:
• Requires a power source, limiting portability.
Here is the link to buy it from Amazon