Placing the chicken breasts into a bag will help the chicken defrost evenly without leaking juice in your kitchen.
If you’d like to be able to use the sink while your chicken defrosts, put the chicken into a large bowl instead and fill the bowl with cold water.
If you’re defrosting chicken breasts that still have the bones, they’ll take about 10 to 15 minutes longer to defrost than boneless chicken.
Since you’ve warmed up the chicken breasts, you won’t be able to store them in the refrigerator. Plan on cooking them right away to prevent bacteria from growing.
If you’re defrosting individually wrapped chicken breasts, leave them in the packaging and place as many as you want to defrost on the dish. If you don’t wish to use the packaging, for instance if it’s damaged or you didn’t get the chicken in packaging, then rest the chicken breasts on a plate lined with paper towels. Then cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
Keep in mind that if you’re defrosting a block of chicken breasts that are frozen together, it may take an extra day.
If you change your mind about cooking the chicken, you can keep it in the package and return it to the freezer.
Plan on thawing 1 to 2 chicken breasts at a time so you don’t overcrowd the microwave. It’s important to use a dish with sides so that it can catch juices from the defrosting chicken.
Don’t worry if the chicken breasts are frozen together in a block at this point. If your microwave has a defrost button, you can press it and enter the weight of the chicken breasts. Your microwave should automatically alternate power levels as the chicken thaws. It is important to check the manual for your microwave to be certain as to its recommendations for thawing chicken. This will prevent accidentally starting to cook the chicken.
If the chicken breasts were frozen together, separate them now and turn them over.
Avoid storing the defrosted chicken breasts in the refrigerator since you need to cook them immediately. If you’re going to grill the chicken breasts, consider turning on or lighting the grill before you start defrosting the chicken.
