Do you thaw meat on the counter?

[Meriweather]

Another counter thawer here too
Steak is on the counter right now....oh no!
Another one who has done it this way forever. No ill effects. I do cook the meat

 

[doxdogy]

The only thing I don't thaw on the counter is poultry. My mother thawed on the counter and we never got sick. I have always thawed on the counter and no one has gotten sick.

 

[TaraPA]

The pork chop wound thread.


And yep- round these parts, we thaw on the counter.

Jo

Keep in mind that her terrible infection has NOT been proven to come from her pork chop wound!

In case you weren't following - another poster was thawing chops on her counter & cut her hand on a sharp pork bone sticking up - and her cut got severly infected that she had to go to the hospital & have it lanced. Some posters were like "serves you right for thawing nasty meat on your counter!" But there was never mention by the doctors that the bacteria from the pork casued the infection. She cut her hand Sunday & it just became inflamed yesterday, so anything could have caused the flare-up.

And if she doesn't get a tag for her pork chop wound then the tag fairy's alseep!

 

[harleyquinn]

Maybe we are immune because we are not overly neat freaks and have allowed our immune systems to develop without all of the hand sanitizers and whatnot.

You mean people still do that?

 

[harleyquinn]

Keep in mind that her terrible infection has NOT been proven to come from her pork chop wound!

In case you weren't following - another poster was thawing chops on her counter & cut her hand on a sharp pork bone sticking up - and her cut got severly infected that she had to go to the hospital & have it lanced. Some posters were like "serves you right for thawing nasty meat on your counter!" But there was never mention by the doctors that the bacteria from the pork casued the infection. She cut her hand Sunday & it just became inflamed yesterday, so anything could have caused the flare-up.

And if she doesn't get a tag for her pork chop wound then the tag fairy's alseep!

Ooooooh! Thank you for explaining.
I don't eat pork chops, so I guess I'm safe.

 

[JoBird]

Keep in mind that her terrible infection has NOT been proven to come from her pork chop wound!


And if she doesn't get a tag for her pork chop wound then the tag fairy's alseep!

OMG I so totally agree---

The DIS has been so freaking hi-larious this afternoon, I can't get anything done.

Poor thing- she was attacked by a pig in it's afterlife. I've heard of Chickens coming home to roost- but never a Poke by a Porker.



Jo

 

[TaraPA]

You mean people still do that?

I actually am a germ freak - but for some reason thawing meat on the counter doesn't phase me at all. Now I do clean up with bleach after handling raw meats in the kitchen...I guess that's the germ-o-phobe part of me. I also can't stand when the kids come in from school & start rummaging through the cupboards & touching everything with their grubby germy school hands. My rule is that they wash their hands as soon as they get home, and they fight me every single day on this!

But thawing meat on the counter is just the norm around here.

 

[TaraPA]

Ooooooh! Thank you for explaining.
I don't eat pork chops, so I guess I'm safe.

It's only chops thawed on the counter that attack!!

 

[harleyquinn]

I actually am a germ freak - but for some reason thawing meat on the counter doesn't phase me at all. Now I do clean up with bleach after handling raw meats in the kitchen...I guess that's the germ-o-phobe part of me. I also can't stand when the kids come in from school & start rummaging through the cupboards & touching everything with their grubby germy school hands. My rule is that they wash their hands as soon as they get home, and they fight me every single day on this!

But thawing meat on the counter is just the norm around here.

Washing hands and using bleach are great practices!! I just can't stand hand sanitizers. I understand them in an emergency, but they get more use because of laziness than I can deal with. Good old soap and bleach are our friends!

But that is a whole different thread!

 

[harleyquinn]

It's only chops thawed on the counter that attack!!

Darn! I was hoping I could use it as an excuse to never eat them again. "I'm sorry Grandma, but pork chops can attack you and cause infection! You don't want me to get an infection do you?"

 

[Feralpeg]

I run cold water in my sink and thaw meat there. Periodically, I run more cold water until the meat is thawed.

 

[TheZue]

Another 30+ years here thawing on the counter & no one has ever gotten sick. My generations before me have also always thawed on the counter.

I never thaw in the microwave because then it becomes partially cooked in parts, which alters the cooking time, and the end result if I'm not aware of how to manipulate the time/temp.

I grew up on a farm, and you wouldn't belive the things we've seen & done with meat & dairy products. We've eaten fresh meat & dairy (and I mean fresh - uncured meats & unhomogonized milk. Animals went from the slaughterhouse to the oven within minutes. Milk went from the udder to the cup in seconds. My grandmother would pack bologna sandwiches & a bottle of milk for the men & they'd keep them in their hot trucks or in the barn all day til lunchtime, no one ever got sick. Maybe my family is just immune because of this.

I'm not saying we don't take risks exposing raw foods to bacteria - but there's the chance for food contamination in EVERYTHING we put in our mouths. I'm not about to become obsessed with fighting that.

You know I think that the difference now is we have these stupid mega food plants that breed bacteria. When it was fresh on the farm it wasn't like it went through a bunch of processing and came in contact with another piece of food that was contaminated which turned a small rare problem into a giant common one. I won't eat bagged lettuce but wouldn't have any qualms about fresh food on the farm.

And yes I thaw on the counter; I also cook the ever living crap out of my food.

 

[kimluvswdw]

I put it in the sink to thaw. Always have.

 

[Nancy]

In 33 years I've never had a problem with this. Thawing in the microwave is gross and uneven. I'll take my chances.

Yeah, edges are cooking and middle is still frozen, no thanks. Thaw on the counter a lot, sometimes in the sink with the cold water if in a hurry, sometimes in the fridge if I actually plan ahead and get the stuff out of the freezer on time.

I too have been doing this forever and never had a problem. We have some chicken thawing on the counter right now as a matter of fact. Maybe we are immune because we are not overly neat freaks and have allowed our immune systems to develop without all of the hand sanitizers and whatnot.

Another non neat freak here. I have never bought hand sanitizer for my families use. I did have to buy it for my kids to take to school.

Ooooooh! Thank you for explaining.
I don't eat pork chops, so I guess I'm safe.

I don't eat pork jobs that have bones in them..only boneless for me. I'm a pork snob!

 

[mom2boys77]

me too..never had a problem.

I run cold water in my sink and thaw meat there. Periodically, I run more cold water until the meat is thawed.

 

[LindaG4458]

I run cold water in my sink and thaw meat there. Periodically, I run more cold water until the meat is thawed.

I do the same. It's actually faster and the temperature is more constant than setting on the counter.

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

Well, I was kind of scared to check back here! Seems lots of people still thaw on the counters.

I, in no way, was impugning the poor DIS'er who cut her hand and had the problem. That's why I didn't mention it in the thread.

Tradition plays a large role in people's actions. I honestly thought people no longer thawed on the counter, but I was wrong. I guess I now say Chaque a son gout (To each his own).

 

[Frankiesmom]

I do it too.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I usually thaw in the fridge. Once in a while I thaw on the counter (actually in the sink, because I don't want that on the counter)...but never all the way. If it thaws all the way, I toss it.

I grew up with a mom who thawed on the counter and I lived through it. I just don't.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Do it all the time. My mother did it. My grandmother did it. No one died.

Me too. I will take my chances. I try to limit microwave use.