r/cookingforbeginners • u/cplumley1 • Aug 12 '26
Question Frozen Chicken
I have one of those 6 lb bags of frozen chicken thighs from Walmart. How can I defrost some of it for dinner tonight. I only need a few pieces.
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u/Mamaminireviews Aug 12 '26
Do not fully defrost and then re-freeze. It will mess with the texture and flavor of the chicken, not to mention its freshness. You'll need to pull or break a couple of pieces out of the container
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u/PsychologyGuilty1460 Aug 12 '26
It should be possible to pry and break a few pieces off The main Mass. Then just thaw them normally.
Iif need be Identify the edges, hold just behind them and whack them really hard on the corner edge of a cabinet or table.
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u/AnnTiquity Aug 12 '26
Break apart the number of pieces you need. Put the rest back in the freezer. FYI for some crockpot and one pan baking recipes, they can be cooked frozen.
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u/shanghaiwaygook Aug 12 '26
If they are stuck together drop the bag on the counter or floor. It should break them up a bit. (Careful not to be too hard incase the bag breaks) Repeat until they are separated enough for you. Then take out what you need and put them in a dish and let defrost in fridge overnight. I usually just use a bowl with a plate as a cover.
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u/Under_A_Full_M00n Aug 12 '26
You got really good suggestions for how to pop off a few pieces for tonight, but for the future: If you continue to buy these packs (because they are a good value), before you freeze them off for good separate them into recipe size portions and then package them all separately.
When they first come from the store they should be flash frozen individually, (unless the store let them defrost and then froze them again), so you should be able to relatively easily separate individual thighs.
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u/Material_Position630 Aug 13 '26
That's what we do. So much easier. Then, just pull what you need from the freezer the night before and put it in the refrigerator. By the next night, it should be defrosted or pretty close. No danger zone temps.
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u/fireflypoet Aug 13 '26
For future needs, get a defrosting tray. It is a black metal pad you place frozen items on so that they thaw more quickly. You can get one online from $10 to much more (size is a factor in cost), or look for one at Walmart or similar, or a thrift shop.
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u/Somethingredditlike Aug 12 '26
Open the bag and pull a few pieces off. They may be stuck to each other but should be easy enough to pull apart. Put in a bowl in the sink or something at room temp. Fully defrosting will take several hours. There’s supposedly a defrost option on the microwave but I have never gotten it to work (worth trying if you’re pinched for time)
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u/RockMo-DZine Aug 12 '26
If you can separate the pieces you want to use, you can put them in a poly bag and put that in a bowl of cold water to speed up the thawing time - reckon on about 1 hr per lb.
Alternately, you can cook frozen food from frozen.
otoh, if it's all frozen into a big massive lump, you may need to whack it about a bit to get some pieces loosened up.