How To Defrost Ground Beef With Sous Vide
The sous vide is a cooking appliance that uses water circulating at a constant temperature to cook food. This method can also be used as an easy way to defrost your ground beef before making hamburgers, tacos, or any ground beef recipe. Learn how to defrost ground beef with sous vide!
Can you use the sous vide to defrost or thaw ground beef? Yes! We’ll show you how to thaw your ground beef quickly and easily using sous vide cooking. You can use it as an alternative method of thawing out frozen meat or as a way of prepping your meat before cooking it on the stovetop or grill.
Sous vide is one of those techniques that’s easy enough for anyone to do at home with minimal equipment (a pot and some ziploc bags). It’s also incredibly versatile – once you know how to cook something using sous vide, there are endless possibilities!
For example, if we were making burgers tonight instead of just plain old ground beef, we could use our sous vide machine to prep them ahead of time by sealing them up in plastic bags and placing them in a water bath until they’re cooked through. Then all we’d have left to do is sear them on the stovetop when it’s time for dinner.
The best part about this technique is that it doesn’t matter what cut of meat or thickness level you choose – everything will come out perfectly tender every single time because the temperature never fluctuates during the entire process.
🔧 Ingredients & Equipment
- Sous Vide (Immersion Circulator)
- Large Pot
- Water
- Ice (if needed)
- Frozen Ground Beef
📕 How to Thaw Ground Beef with Sous Vide
- Place your ground beef in a freezer bag and seal it. Make sure there are no air bubbles inside the plastic bag.
- Fill up your sous vide machine’s pot halfway with water, then place the sealed ground beef into its own smaller Ziploc bag within the larger one.
- Attach your sous vide machine to its corresponding outlet, then set it for 35°F. Make sure you use an accurate thermometer as you don’t want the beef to be in the danger zone for bacteria. When the water is at temperature, lower the beef into it. If needed, add ice into the water bath.
- Wait until there are no longer any ice crystals in between the meat’s edges, then pull it out.
- You can store your ground beef in the fridge for up to 48 hours or freeze them until you’re ready to use them!
IMPORTANT: The length of time will depend on the thickness and amount of your ground beef. Defrosting can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
👩🏻🍳 Chef’s Tips
To ensure even ground beef cooking: Ensure your ground beef is completely defrosted before using it in any recipe or searing it on the stovetop! Otherwise, you run the risk of overcooking them because they will be in the pan for too long while still frozen inside.
Water Displacement Method: If you don’t have a vacuum sealer the water displacement method is a technique where you place an item in a plastic bag, then seal it. You submerge the sealed bag into another pot of water that’s at or above the desired temperature for your food, making sure there are no air bubbles trapped inside. The food will cook evenly and retain its flavor as the pressure and heat from the surrounding water cooks it. This is a common sous vide cooking method that can be used for meats, vegetables, and even eggs!
If you don’t have a sous vide: If you don’t have access to sous vide machine, you can also defrost your ground beef by placing it in the fridge overnight or all day instead. This will be much more tedious than using the sous vide technique though because there’s no way to track how long it takes for your meat to thaw out properly.
❓FAQ
Yes, you can! You’ll just need to set the immersion circulator’s temperature a little higher (around 145°F) in order to ensure that it cooks all the way through.
The fastest way to defrost ground beef is by using this sous vide method, or by submerging it in cold water.
This sous vide method will defrost ground beef in 30 minutes! You can also submerge it in cold water if you don’t have a sous vide machine.
More Ways To Use Sous Vide
How To Defrost Ground Beef In Sous Vide
Equipment
- Sous Vide (Immersion Circulator)
- Large Pot
- Water and Ice
- Freezer Safe Ziploc Bag or Vacuum Sealer
Instructions
- Place your ground beef in a freezer bag and seal it. Make sure there are no air bubbles inside the plastic bag. You can also use a vacuum sealer.
- Fill up your sous vide machine’s pot halfway with water, then place the sealed ground beef into its own smaller Ziploc bag within the larger one.
- Attach your sous vide machine to its corresponding outlet, then set it for 35°F. Make sure you use an accurate thermometer as you don't want the beef to be in the danger zone for bacteria. When the water is at temperature, lower the beef into it. If needed, add ice into the water bath.
- Wait until there are no longer any ice crystals in between the meat’s edges, then pull it out.
- You can store your ground beef in the fridge for up to 48 hours or freeze them until you’re ready to use them!
You say to cook to 35F, assume you mean 135F rather than 35C (95F).