When it comes to thawing ribs, you have three options. You can leave them in a refrigerator until they thaw, which could take 24 hours. You can place the frozen ribs in an airtight bag and submerge the bag in cold water on your sink or counter, changing the water every 30 minutes until they are thawed, which could take several hours. Or you can use your microwave to gently heat the frozen ribs until they are ready to cook. The speed of the thawing process depends on your microwave, but it is the fastest of the methods.
Step 1
Remove the ribs from their packaging and place them on a large, microwave-safe plate.
Step 2
Use your microwave's interface or manual to select the appropriate thawing time and power setting based on the weight of the ribs. Note that some microwaves have different settings based on the type of meat. Contact your microwave's manufacturer if you are unsure how to choose an appropriate setting.
Step 3
Use the lowest power setting if your microwave doesn't provide a customizable defrost setting. Check the ribs frequently and remove them as soon as they thaw. You want the ribs to soften but not to start cooking.
Step 4
Rotate the plate occasionally if your microwave doesn't offer this feature. Changing the position of the ribs helps avoid uneven thawing.
Tips and Warnings
- A disadvantage of the microwave method is that you can't refreeze the ribs until after you cook them fully. The temperature of the ribs might have remained high enough for bacterial growth during the thawing process. For the same reason, you also must cook ribs thawed by the cold-water method immediately. But ribs defrosted by the refrigeration method can be refrozen without cooking.
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