Tip: Defrosting Chicken Without Cooking It

Thought I was leaving you high and dry today? Nope. I've been indulging in the beginning of my weekend. DJ let me sleep in today, we've enjoyed a breakfast in our jammies, and finally went to buy his costume and fixings for treat bags for the 14 kids in his class. And what's an 80 degree-ish day without a trip to the park?

So now we're home and I just realized that we're having chicken tonight for dinner. Not a problem - except the chicken is frozen solid in a bag in the freezer. When I first started cooking and had frozen solid chicken, I would throw it in the microwave on defrost. The pieces of chicken would be partially cooked when the defrost was done. Gross. 

I'd love to share my preferred method of defrosting chicken without cooking it before, well, cooking it. 

Step One: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. 
Step Two: Place chicken on aluminum foil in a single layer. 

Step Three: Turn off the oven and place chicken in, setting the timer for 25 minutes. I've tried 20 minutes for smaller batches. 

Step Four: Take the chicken out of the oven and begin preparation for the delicious meal that you have ahead of you tonight. For us, it's Chicken Chop Suey. Another clean plate club recipe, maybe?

DO: 
Preheat oven to 200 degrees and turn it off when you put chicken in. 
Set the timer and forget about it. 
Dispose of the foil properly. No one enjoys salmonella. 

DO NOT: 
Peek on the chicken to see how it's doing. Precious heat will be lost. 
Try to eat the defrosted chicken raw. This process is purely for defrosting without cooking it, allowing you to totally control the cooking process. And everyone loves control. 

Enjoy!