Defrost Mince In Microwave

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Do you want homemade meatballs for dinner and only have frozen mince? Then let me show exactly how to defrost mince in microwave.

Whether you call it defrosting mince, defrosting ground beef, or defrosting hamburger meat, let me show you how to defrost fast your frozen mince in the microwave.

defrost mince in microwave recipe
Defrost Mince in Microwave Recipe

How To Defrost Mince

I often get asked about how to defrost food fast. Especially when you have forgotten to get food out of the freezer ahead of what you have planned for dinner.

Something I feel that we all do at some point, or when we have unexpected guests for dinner and then realise, we need to create a lot more food than we had planned.

I find one of those go to foods in the freezer is the mince as it can be used in so many different ways and can then be defrosted in the microwave first and then used for dinner.

Today I wanted to share with you a real life example of how to defrost mince using the microwave.

We are making air fryer thai meatballs for dinner that we are serving with our favourite soup maker lentil soup and will be using the microwave first for the defrosting.

Then whilst the microwave is defrosting the mince, we can get the lentil soup cooking.

If you want the quickest way to defrost mince then you will love this microwave method.

Can You Defrost Mince In Microwave?

Yes, you can defrost mince in the microwave. It’s a simple yet quick way to defrost your mince ready for cooking with for dinner.

Though of course, the time taken to defrost mince can vary depending on the quantity of mince you need to defrost.

Can You Defrost Ground Beef In The Microwave?

Yes, you can defrost ground beef in the microwave. Ground beef is just another name for mince and mince aka ground beef, defrosts perfectly in the microwave.

You can also use different types of mince in the microwave too such as pork mince, beef mince, lamb mince, chicken mince etc.

Can You Cook Mince From Frozen?

Another question I get asked is can you cook mince from frozen and the answer is YES, but it doesn’t work well with a lot of recipes that way.

Whilst I love cooking air fryer frozen hamburgers or air fryer frozen meatballs, they are already prepped and don’t need anything doing to them.

But in my Thai meatballs recipe that I am making now, I need to prep the meatballs so can only do this with thawed mince.

Can You Cook Lamb Mince From Frozen?

Yes, you can also cook frozen lamb mince from frozen. Such as air fryer frozen lamb burgers, or some lamb koftas that you have previously prepped.

Though do note, that if you are air frying frozen lamb it is higher fat and you are likely to get smoke coming from your air fryer.

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Defrost Mince Microwave Ingredients

Defrost Mince Microwave Ingredients

Mince – We used a pack of 500g (1.1lb) frozen minced pork or as you might call it ground pork.

Water – Because we are using our microwave steamer basket for an even defrost of the mince, we need a little water into the steamer basket.  

Steamer – Then our favourite steamer basket. We picked it up from Lakeland but this one will work too. You just add a little water to it and your mince and then microwave your mince to fully defrost them.

Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this defrost mince in the microwave recipe it has just been our Panasonic Microwave Oven. We have this one and its wonderful for many types of microwave recipes.

How To Defrost Mince In Microwave?

defrost mince in microwave step by step
  • Water. Start by adding a little water to your steamer basket.
  • Load. Next remove the packaging from the mince and load your frozen mince into the steamer basket add the lid and microwave on the defrost meat setting for 4 minutes.
  • Beeps. When the microwave beeps, remove the paper from the mince and microwave for a further 12 minutes on the defrost meat setting.

And I am sure you can see now how easy it is defrosting mince in microwave and why it is one of my favourite defrosting hacks.

How Long To Defrost Mince In Microwave?

We found that it took JUST 16 minutes to defrost mince in the microwave. BUT we did another batch and found with a quick defrost hack that we could reduce the thawing time to 12 minutes, knocking an extra 4 minutes off.

The method is to pull defrosted mince from the edges of the block of mince and then you are breaking it down and it means that the centre of the mince is getting smaller and smaller and defrosting quicker.

We also found that if done on just a plate it would be quicker, but this will cause browning at the edges which is why I recommend covering using the steamer basket.

How Long To Defrost 1lb Ground Beef In Microwave?

Our pack of pork mince was 1.1 lbs so just over 1 pound and found that ground beef would be as quick as ground pork, meaning that our same cook times of 16 minutes would also work for ground beef.

Why Not Try Microwave Veggies?

Beyond defrosting ground beef in the microwave, one of my all time favourites is to use the microwave and the steamer basket for steaming veggies.

Here are a few microwave veggie recipes to get you started:

Defrost Mince In Microwave

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Defrost Mince In Microwave
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5 from 1 vote

Defrost Mince In Microwave

Do you want homemade meatballs for dinner and only have frozen mince? Then let me show exactly how to defrost mince in microwave.
Prep Time2 minutes
Cook Time16 minutes
Total Time18 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Microwave
Servings: 2
Calories: 658kcal

Ingredients

  • 500 g Frozen Pork Mince

Instructions

  • Add a tablespoon of water to the bottom of the steamer basket.
    How Long To Defrost 1lb Ground Beef In Microwave?
  • Remove frozen mince from the packaging and place into the steamer basket.
    How Long To Defrost 1lb Ground Beef In Microwave?
  • Add the lid and then place in the microwave. Microwave for 4 minutes on the defrost meat setting.
    How Long To Defrost 1lb Ground Beef In Microwave?
  • Then remove the paper packaging if it was stuck the meat.
    How Long To Defrost 1lb Ground Beef In Microwave?
  • Place the mince in the steamer basket back into the microwave and microwave on the defrost meat setting for a further 12 minutes or until the mince is fully thawed in the centre.
    How Long To Defrost 1lb Ground Beef In Microwave?
  • Or you can speed up the process by removing mince already thawed from the edges to create a smaller block of mince and it will be done 4 minutes sooner using this method.
    How Long To Defrost 1lb Ground Beef In Microwave?

Notes

Swap – You can follow this same method with any mince/ground meat. I have demonstrated the defrost microwave process with pork but you can do beef, lamb, chicken etc.
Thanks for reading defrost mince in the microwave on Recipe This. We have many more microwave recipes for you to check out next. Though if you would like ideas with your thawed mince, do check out our air fryer cheeseburgers.

Nutrition

Calories: 658kcal | Protein: 42g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 180mg | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 718mg | Vitamin A: 18IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Recipe This

Hi! I am Sam and along with my chef hubby Dom we love sharing with you easy everyday recipes using kitchen gadgets. We are also the authors of The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook, an amazing air fryer cookbook filled with 140+ everyday air fryer recipes. Beyond the air fryer we also love the instant pot, slow cooker, soup maker, ninja foodi, pie marker and several other kitchen gadgets. CLICKING HERE →

1 thought on “Defrost Mince In Microwave”

  1. 5 stars
    I have always wanted to know how to defrost meat in the microwave, there is no instructions on the packets to tell me so many thanks for these.

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