How to defrost frozen meatballs

Whether you make your own ahead of time and freeze them or you buy them from a supermarket, frozen meatballs are a convenient ingredient to have around. Meatballs need to be defrosted and heated before they are ready to eat. Like any other meat product, meatballs must be treated in a safe manner when being defrosted to avoid food poisoning. Follow basic food safety rules and your meatballs will be safely ready to cook.

Count out the number of meatballs you need for your particular recipe. Many bags of commercial meatballs contain 50 meatballs or more, so you will only use a portion of the bag.

Remove the meatballs for your recipe from the bag, and seal the remaining meatballs in the bag and return it to the freezer.

Place the meatballs for your recipe into a plastic or glass container. Place a lid on the container or cover the container with cling film. This will allow the meatballs to defrost without suffering any cross-contamination.

Place the container with the meatballs into the refrigerator. Allow the meatballs to defrost in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Remove the meatballs from the refrigerator when they are thawed out and pan fry them or cook them in a sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy or spaghetti and tomato sauce.