I have three hours to defrost meatballs, ideas?

[Nobhobs]

How can I get meatballs defrosted and cooked by 6.30? Can I cook them from frozen, if so how? Put them in sauce and leave it all simmering for... one hour? Two? Google Is saying microwave or in fridge and i don't fancy microwave and fridge takes too long.

I always brown mine first anyway, and have done from frozen. I just start them on a really low heat to ensure they defrost all the way through, then turn the heat up a bit to brown them/partially cook them and then add the sauce and simmer for 20-30 minutes to ensure cooked all the way through.

Go and buy fresh today and invest in a defrosting tray for next time.

Cook them from frozen or put them into a sieve, sit inside a bowl and put it underneath a running cold tap. They'll defrost quickly under running water.

Leave out at room temp until 45 mins before dinner. Fry with onions. Add sauce. Simmer. It'll be fine unless they're the size of tennis balls.

Lots of people cook sausages, burgers , nuggets, fish fingers, etc from frozen with no problems .
I'd stick them in sauce in the oven for a hr

You can definitely cook from frozen

You're meant to cook fish fingers and nuggets from frozen, who defrosts them?

always coked from frozen here

I cook them from frozen in 2 mins in the microwave all the time.

Why don't you want to defrost them in the microwave? It is a perfectly good solution, and very practical.

I would defrost in microwave then add them to sauce for 20 mins or so.

The problem would be if you partially defrosted them then left them lying around in the kitchen mouldering. Because often part of the defrosted item is cooked as it has overheated, part is possibly not cooked OR defrosted, so still raw, so the upshot could be, if left lying around for a few hours, bad meat.

Chucking it into the sauce will fix the varied state of the meat, 20 mins won't overcook the cooked bit but will cook the raw bits.