How to defrost meat in minutes — without a microwave

We already know how to chill a beer in two minutes flat, but what about defrosting steak in five?

A video from CTi, a Taiwanese cable network, is showing us how. Even without subtitles to translate the Chinese, we're impressed.

The next time you forgot to transfer your frozen meat from the freezer to the fridge the night before, simply grab two metal pots and let science wow your impatient dinner guests.

Turn one pot upside down and place the frozen meat on top of it. Then fill the other pot with water to give it some weight and sit it on top of your meat. Wait five minutes and — Ta-da! — your steak is ready for grilling.

According to the show, a 5 cm-thick steak would take longer, up to 10 minutes.

Women's Health explains how it works:

"Metal conducts heat, and aluminum in particular is a great conductor of ambient heat—which is actually enough to thaw a steak quickly. The weight from the water also presses the metal on top of the meat, increasing its surface area so it can conduct more heat from the air—all of which results in a faster thaw time."

For those with good planning-ahead skills, the Food Network offers some tips on defrosting meat the old-fashioned way: in the fridge or in cold water.

The Kitchn suggests placing frozen meat in a bowl of tepid water in the sick "under a rapidly dripping faucet" to speed up thawing time.

And The New York Times claims it's actually safe to "quick-thaw" thin cuts of meat in hot water:

"[There's] no downside to quick-thawing steaks, chops, fillets and other relatively thin cuts in warm water right before cooking. Large roasts are a different story. They take long enough to thaw that there may be time for significant bacterial growth on their surfaces. Prompt cooking might well eliminate that problem, but until this has been studied, it’s safest to continue thawing roasts in the refrigerator or in water under 40 degrees."

How do you defrost your meat?