I need to quickly and safely thaw frozen ground beef, what are my options?
Put the meat in a sealed plastic bag, place in a bowl in the sink, fill with cold tapwater, then set the tap running in a thin stream with the water overflowing the sides of the bowl.  The moving water will safely thaw the meat through convection.  Make sure you get as much air out of the plastic bag as you can.  You might need to put some weight on it in the bowl to keep it submerged in the water.