I’ve been using my Anova to defrost meat for grilling when I forget to take it out of the freezer early enough. My current method is essentially to put the frozen sealed meat in an ice bath in a small cooler then put in the Anova and set it for 34F. Once the temp starts to rise above the set point I know the meat is thawed. I always try to get it out before it gets above 38F so that I’m sure it has stayed in the “safe refrigeration” temp range below 40F.
I tried using Ice Bath mode but the lack of constant circulation results in a much longer time before the meat is thawed out.
The ice bath feature is meant to leave the food colder for longer. With the constant circulation, water bath’s temperature will rise faster. What you do now for defrosting works and definitely makes sense.
Yeah it works really well I just wish I could get an alert when the temp hits a set point. I’m always paranoid I’ll forget about it (happens with kids) and end up with meat going above 40F for too long.
I can also support a defrost mode as there a number of other frozen foods besides ground beef that would benefit. Frozen pre-cooked shrimp that folks often just thaw under cold running water is one I could have used the Anova for last night.
Regular sink cold tap water, put the sealed container in the water face down (to maximize exposure to the water) - you’re looking at about half an hour or so before it’s thawed - thicker pieces, about an hour.
Set a timer when you put it in, so you make sure you take it out in time.
No APC required just to thaw meat. (unless you’re going to cook it in the APC, then you just add time to your cook).
