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Thaw frozen meat using your sous vide?

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WeberWho
WeberWho Posts: 11,025
in EggHead Forum
Have any of you thawed out frozen meat using your sous vide? I'd imagine it's somehow possible. I have a couple pork butts in the deep freeze that I need to cook up sometime around Christmas. I'm looking to thaw out and cook on the egg. I could just cook them frozen on the egg if need but my sous vide had me thinking.....
"The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

Minnesota
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  • GregW
    GregW Posts: 2,677
    edited December 2020
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    I think you can thaw them in the refrigerator in a few days time.
    You could use the SV, but I think it might be risky from a food safety standpoint. The heat output of the SV is relatively low compared to the thermal mass of the butts. I believe it would take a long time to thaw, and the meat would spend a long time in the danger temp zone. 
    I wouldn't be worried about thawing something with low mass such as a chicken breast in the SV, it would thaw quickly.
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
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    I bet you could, but I would just pull out of freezer now and it will warm up enough by Christmas to hold the rub sitting in the fridge,
    But I’m sure you could SV to thaw depending on how low you can set your SV. But I know meat picks up smoke at its lowers temps so I wouldn’t want to start it on the Egg at room temp.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • FanOfFanboys
    FanOfFanboys Posts: 2,615
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    I do it all the time. Never for something as large as a butt but steaks and pork chops. It's really quick. Just set to lowest temp and turn on. The moving water thaws it quickly
    Boom
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
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    FanOfFanboys said:
    I do it all the time. Never for something as large as a butt but steaks and pork chops. It's really quick. Just set to lowest temp and turn on. The moving water thaws it quickly
    What is your lowest setting?

    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • EastTNBGE
    EastTNBGE Posts: 74
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    Photo Egg said:
    FanOfFanboys said:
    I do it all the time. Never for something as large as a butt but steaks and pork chops. It's really quick. Just set to lowest temp and turn on. The moving water thaws it quickly
    What is your lowest setting?

    I always use the SV to thaw frozen meats, so quick and easy. For smaller mass items like steaks, I use 50 degree F.  The SV that I have will go down to 32 so I might use closer to that for a large item like a pork butt.  

    East TN- Large BGE, Cyber Q, Kick-Ash-Basket, Smokeware Cap, Anova Sous Vide, Pizza Stones

    #BBN

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  • BigGreenKev
    BigGreenKev Posts: 253
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    Sure do but haven't done anything that large.  I use it for days I forget to pull out protein to thaw.  I think mine goes down to like 68 degrees and I figure it's like leaving it on the counter during the day to thaw before cooking.
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  • FanOfFanboys
    FanOfFanboys Posts: 2,615
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    Photo Egg said:
    FanOfFanboys said:
    I do it all the time. Never for something as large as a butt but steaks and pork chops. It's really quick. Just set to lowest temp and turn on. The moving water thaws it quickly
    What is your lowest setting?

    32 degrees. The moving water really helps with time
    Boom
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    Canugghead said:
    My go to method with aquarium pump. No heat needed, in fact I added ice cubes to keep it safe.  Got the idea from commercial kitchen defrosting sink that wastes tons of water with running tap.
    https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1189388/defrosting-frozen-meat-with-aquarium-pump

    Nice.

     If there's a hack out there, Gary, you either know it or invented it!

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    So I think what we concluded here is:  if your SV can manage a setpoint under 40F, you can use it primarily for the recirc pump and maybe heating to 40 or less.  Problem is catching it before it sits for hours/days above 40.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,512
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    nolaegghead said:
    So I think what we concluded here is:  if your SV can manage a setpoint under 40F, you can use it primarily for the recirc pump and maybe heating to 40 or less.  Problem is catching it before it sits for hours/days above 40.

    Great point, see the temp probe wire in my cooler? It was set to 42 to alert me it's time to add ice. Not necessary this time of year since the porch is like a fridge.
    canuckland
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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,512
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    caliking said:
    Canugghead said:
    My go to method with aquarium pump. No heat needed, in fact I added ice cubes to keep it safe.  Got the idea from commercial kitchen defrosting sink that wastes tons of water with running tap.
    https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1189388/defrosting-frozen-meat-with-aquarium-pump

    Nice.

     If there's a hack out there, Gary, you either know it or invented it!
    Haha, have to confess swmbo complains about living with broken stuff because I go overbroad with fixing and hacking  :)
    canuckland
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  • Hotch
    Hotch Posts: 3,564
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    I have a few times. Just set it at 32 and fill container with cold tap water.
    Large BGE, MiniMAX BGE, 2 Mini BGE's, R&V Fryer, 36" Blackstone Griddle, Camp Chef Dual Burner 40K BTU Stove
    BGE Chiminea
    Prosper, TX
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  • dannys
    dannys Posts: 164
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    If I have a container big enough to hold the meat, I just trickle cold water over it until it is thawed. Put the meat in the container, put the container in the sink then start the cold water. It will soon be thawed.

    If I'm cooking steaks or chops or something sous vide. I don't bother to defrost the meat. I just start cooking it straight from the freezer.
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,025
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    Thanks guys. I thawed them out in the fridge. I was just curious how that would have worked. 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 19,036
    edited December 2020
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    You can also smoke the butts frozen.  After the surface softens up a bit, add your seasoning.  Just takes longer.

    @Canugghead your defroster is the bee's knees.  Thank you for sharing.
    A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS
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  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
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    Immersion circulators work great for defrosting. Set the circulator to 32°F so it doesn’t add any heat. Use a remote probe thermometer set to 40° if you are concerned about it getting too warm. 
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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