![defrost-fish-salmon](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/defrost-fish-salmon.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Before I left the house the other morning, I repeated the mantra, “Take the salmon out of the freezer. Take the salmon out of the freezer,” but over the course of the morning, it got drowned out by other mantras (“Feed the cat. Comb your hair. Drink coffee now”) and by the time I realized I’d left my dinner plans in an icy vortex, I was already on the subway. While I’d like to blame Monday for my reckless fish abandonment, I’ve made the same mistake far too often to be able to place the onus on a day of the week.
I knew what to do: Once I returned home, I fell back on a time-honored tradition known as thaw the fish as quickly as possible. Here’s how to do it, and feel free to replace “fish” with your protein of choice—this method works for all manner of frozen-solid meats:
![defrost-fish-ziploc](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/defrost-fish-ziploc.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![defrost-fish-ziploc-2](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/defrost-fish-ziploc-2.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
This article originally appeared on Food52
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