The Utah State group found that chicken breasts about a half-inch thick thawed in a little more than 3 minutes, and inch-thick breasts in less than 9 minutes. Although 140-degree water would eventually cook the chicken to medium-rare, they saw no signs of cooking. The quick-thawed breasts did lose slightly more juice than the refrigerator-thawed breasts, but when the chicken was grilled and served, a panel of 18 tasters was unable to tell them apart. And based on their mathematical modeling, the researchers concluded that any bacterial growth would remain well within safe limits.

So 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.

Quick-thawing is easy to adopt in the home kitchen. But don’t expect your thaw times to match the lab times I’ve quoted unless you have an immersion circulator or another method to keep the water in motion and at a constant temperature. If the water is still, a cold zone develops around the food and insulates it from the remaining warm water. And without infusions of hot water or heat from a burner, the icy food cools the water bath.

Unless I’m in a rush, I’m happy to let the thawing proceed more slowly on its own while I take care of other tasks. I fill a large pot with 125-degree water from the tap, immerse the plastic-wrapped meat, weigh it down with a slotted spoon to keep it under water and stir the water occasionally. The water temperature drops, but stays above 100 degrees for a half-hour or so, depending on how much food is thawing.

Last week, I thawed 2-inch-thick filets mignons in an hour, whole squab in 40 minutes, a 1-pound whole fish in 20 minutes, and 1 ¼-inch-thick salmon fillets in 15 minutes. Thawing times can vary, depending on the volume, temperature and movement of the water as well as the food’s thickness and how it’s wrapped. (A lot of plastic swaddling interferes with heat transfer. It’s best to remove it and place the food in a thin resealable plastic bag, partly immersing it to force the air out before zipping it shut.)

So when you scan your larder to improvise a quick meal, don’t forget to look in the freezer. The makings of the main course may be just minutes away.