We Now Know The Worst Way To Defrost Chicken Breast
If we were asked to come up with the official mantra for TikTok food hacks, it might be that just because we can, doesn't mean we should. That is exactly how many viewers felt witnessing a new tip for what to do when you forgot to defrost the chicken. It happens too often and was probably the cause of many household fights growing up, so many were excited to hear about a workaround — until they saw what it involved.
One TikToker notes that there's a way to thaw your chicken without waiting. That's when the person in the video pulls out a cheese grater. Yes, you read that right — a cheese grater. They proceed to shave off bits of the raw chicken into a frying pan full of oil. After they've successfully grated two full raw chicken breasts into the oil, they give it a stir before mixing in plain white rice and an unknown bottle of sauce. The image is shudder-inducing, to say the least. As one TikTokker put it, "I am willing to wait than eat whatever that is."
There actually is a better way
Now, there's no getting around that this method of grating and lightly cooking chicken without seasoning is, quite frankly, horrifying. As one TikTok commenter wrote, "I'm never looking at chicken the same way again." But does it effectively cook chicken? Probably yes, though not everyone agrees with this method.
Consider it similar to cooking with ground meat, or even pounded chicken cutlets. The less thick the meat, the quicker it is to cook through thoroughly. You'd still want to wait for the chicken shavings to get some color, if only for flavor's sake, and you should still measure that the meat is fully cooked at 165º Fahrenheit, though that may be difficult considering it's in paper-thin shavings.
@nomad.taiter Sometimes you just need to cook with what you have. #cooking #cookinghacks #cookingtips #lifehacks #vanlife #chickenrecipe
In order to avoid this ick-inducing hack and protect yourself against the classic unthawed chicken breast disaster, you have a few options. For one, consider just opting for ground chicken at the grocery market. It's very lean and can be cooked from frozen, similar to ground beef. Be sure to go for the premium stuff, and always make sure it's cooked to food-safe temperatures (also 165º F). With the power of ground chicken behind you, you can hopefully always avoid this so-called hack. Or, when you first get chicken from the grocery store, quickly pound it or separate it into strips before putting it in the freezer. Both of these tips help to quicken the defrosting process.