Core temperature development in frozen versus refrigerated meat

To simulate a cut of meat, I vacuum-sealed a 30mm thick pile of wet rags with a temperature probe inserted through foam-tape into the center of the pile. The tissue could hold 62% of water, which is similar to meat: Lamb chop is 52% water and beef tenderloin is 75% water.



Heating from 5 to 55°C took 67 minutes, Douglas Baldwin's table 2.3 predicts 69 minutes. The curve is comparable to Douglas Baldwin's figure A.2 using a slab of Mahi-Mahi. The time in the "danger zone" (5°C to 54.4°C) is 40 minutes.



Heating from -10°C to 55°C took 98 minutes (or 75 minutes to 54.9°C), Douglas Baldwin's table 2.4 predicts 84 minutes. Please note the stall at 0°C. The time in the "danger zone" (5°C to 54.4°C) is 52 minutes. This is only 12 minutes more than in the experiment starting at 5°C despite the 31 minutes longer total heating time.

--PedroG 01:08, October 9, 2010 (UTC)