Defrosting in a fan oven

[valjay]

Any idea how long it takes to defrost in a fan oven? Our oven gives no instructions about the defrost setting and it seems to just blow cold air. I've Googled how to do it and it seems it's best to cover the food to stop it drying out, but there's no mention of how long it takes to defrost something - we're trying to defrost frozen home-made (cooked) vegetable pasties. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Buenchico]

I suspect that, like defrosting in a microwave, it will be down to trial and error.

I've just bought some short-dated salt fish patties and put them in the freezer. (The label says they can be frozen but gives no guidance on defrosting them) . To defrost them I'll put one in the microwave for 70 seconds (simply because past experience has taught me that's the minimum time that most things take to defrost). Then I'll test it with the back of my hand, to see if it still seems to be chilled. If it is, I'll give it a bit more time in the microwave. I'll keep doing that until it seems to be about room temperature. Then I'll stick a skewer into it to see if there's any 'crunchiness' left. If in any doubt, I'll give it just a little longer in the microwave.

I think that you'll almost certainly have to adopt a similar technique for defrosting with your fan oven. Nobody, either in a manufacturer's handbook or on the web, will want to offer a precise time, for fear of leaving you with a pasty which is only partially defrosted.

Chris

[NazNomad]

Trial & error, as Chris suggests, but dependant on size of pasty and density of filling too, of which we have no idea, lol

[Lavendula]

The defrost on a fan oven is just cold air - I do not time anything just a case of checking i.e. mince break open periodically does not take long.
More dense items as in chicken breast or steaks need to be left until soft.

[factor-fiction]

I find it works well to put them in a plastic bag and put the bag in a bowl of room temperature/cold tap water.
I've never used fan-oven to defrost but I expect it will take at least 10 minutes