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FLAMING EVIL HOMER posted...

What is proper procedure for defrosting?

Chef here. You don't want any kind of meat to reach a temp above 40 F for very long before cooking. 40 F is the point where you start seeing rapid bacteria growth that can ruin meat and cause food poisoning. The safest way to defrost meat is to move it from a freezer to a fridge that will keep the meat between 33 F and 39 F (so just above being frozen but below the red zone for bacteria growth). This can take quite a bit of time, though, since it is a very small change in temp. A faster way is to put the meat in a sink with cold running water over it (preferably in a ziploc bag or wrapped in saran wrap). Running water, even cold, can thaw meat very quickly. It is actually faster than just letting it sit out and as a result foods typically will not be out of refrigeration long enough to really start growing bacteria. You don't use hot water to thaw unless you're on standby ready to toss the meat into a pan immediately because hot water will unevenly thaw the meat and the outer edges will quickly be pushed into the red zone while the center is still slightly frozen.

It is worth noting that lots of stuff can just be cooked frozen, especially like hamburger meat for tacos and the like.

FLAMING EVIL HOMER posted...

Never liked buying extra meat to freeze because of waiting to defrost and thinking quality wont be as goood.

As to the quality of frozen meat, if you've ever eaten at a restaurant basically anywhere you've almost certainly had meat that was shipped to them and stored frozen before thawed out to cook. Restaurants typically get in 1 truckload of food per week, will keep out in regular refrigeration anything they will use in the first 3 days, and then freeze anything for use later in the week to pull and thaw as needed. If it is done properly you'll never know the difference since freezing for short periods of time (in this case anything less than a month or so) doesn't really affect quality as long as it is packaged properly (you don't want ice crystals forming directly on food. Packaging is ok but no ice ON the food).

If you follow the same concepts at home you can bulk buy meat without concern for its quality. Make sure it is packed tight so as little air can get in it as possible because moisture in the air of the packaging can frost over and damage the meat. Using a vacuum sealer is ideal if you have one. Also don't leave stuff in the freezer for more than a couple of weeks for best quality