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 Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:03 am
I've always been in the habit of using meat as soon as I buy it, or at most a few days later. However, it has recently come to my attention (ie, when cooking over at boyfriend's place with him) that some people store meat for long periods of time by placing it in the freezer. This concept intrigues me, but I know nothing about it whatsoever.
1. Doesn't it take far more work/preparation/planning to have to wait for meat to defrost?
2. I have heard that some defrosting methods are never to be used due to bacteria danger. What are these?
3. What rules surround repeated defrosting and freezing? Does this mean you have to be psychic to know what size portions you should be freezing things in in the first place?
4. How much does freezing affect the meat? I mean, basic biology says cells + ice formation inside = cells burst open, but does this have a significant impact on taste etc?
Hopefully this can also help other people with storage information. biggrin
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:40 am
We always freeze our ground beef and others and there's usually slight damage in texture.. it turns out a tad bit drier, but we don't use all our meat as soon as we buy it, so freezing is necessary for us.
1. Not necessarily. We don't mind to wait for it to thaw. The safest way is relatively simple.
2. Don't leave them out on the counter to thaw. It'll infect the countertop. What we usually do is put it in a big enough tupperware and let it defrost in the fridge (in the bottom shelf to prevent cross-contamination and bacteria growth) OR if we need it a bit sooner, we thaw it in a cold water bath and change the water every half hour.
3. It's not recommended to repeat freezing/defrosting as that leads to cellular damage and thus dry meat.
4. As mentioned, freezing can dry out the meat a bit. Freezer burn happens when moisture within the food is pulled out and frozen. Freezer burn = very dry food = not tasty.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 5:32 pm
Bjorkubus What we usually do is put it in a big enough tupperware and let it defrost in the fridge (in the bottom shelf to prevent cross-contamination and bacteria growth)
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:07 pm
Articubone What do you mean by this? Is there some specific layout in your fridge that I'm unaware of? And why does it matter? I mean, if it's in tupperware and you're not rubbing it all over every other food item in your fridge, it can't contaminate anything. Bacteria don't have magical flying powers. O_o
Cooked foods should be stored on top when you organize your fridge.
Raw meats get stored in the bottom and in a container. Even if it's in one, you shouldn't really keep it on a top shelf. If there's a leak, it could get into cooked food. It's better to be safe than sorry. At least, that's what I was told in my Nutrition class.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:55 pm
I see... our fridge has a separate small box for meats/fish, and though it's near the top, if anything leaks it'll stay inside. 3nodding
How would you freeze multiple pieces of meat? I thought of buying a large quantity of fish fillets to cook in smaller amounts later, but obviously if I freeze the whole lot it'll stick together and I won't be able to pry it apart. sweatdrop
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 11:01 am
If you're cooking for one or two and buy a package, just separate the fillets into individual plastic bags or buy the individually wrapped fillets that comes in boxes.
I usually don't have to do that. Our fillets come in packages of 2-3, usually the perfect amount for our family.
Generally if there's too much meat in the package we either save it for bigger family gatherings or cook it all anyway and eat it throughout the week.
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:22 pm
My freezer is packed to bursting with individually wrapped portions of beef, pork, chicken, fish, etc. If we buy a package of a couple of chicken breasts or a couple slices of fish, they're all unpackaged and individually wrapped in foil or plastic wrap.
That way, when they're needed, just the pieces that are needed can be taken out and thawed.
I usually just start them a few hours ahead of time in a bowl of water on the counter. A bowl of warm water can be used to speed up the process, but if you do so, you'll have to check on your meat every now and then 'cause otherwise you risk letting the meat come to unsafe/unsanitary temperatures
If you won't be able to tend to it in a few hours' time (say you're going to work in the morning and won't be able to make a meal until you get back), you can put the whole thing in the fridge like Taki does in a container to catch any drips.
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:29 pm
Sai-kun I usually just start them a few hours ahead of time in a bowl of water on the counter. A bowl of warm water can be used to speed up the process, but if you do so, you'll have to check on your meat every now and then 'cause otherwise you risk letting the meat come to unsafe/unsanitary temperatures Nonononono. I know you might have NEVER gotten sick from doing this, but I've never gotten in a car accident either...but I still wear my seat belt, ya know? You can't let frozen food just sit in a bowl of water. Bacteria love to grow in standing water. If you want to defrost using water (and it works quite well), you need to put your food in a bowl, and put the bowl in the sink under cold, running water. The water's got to keep flowing, and it has to be under 70 degrees. Food poisoning is serious business. It can and does kill people. Don't take chances if you can easily avoid it.
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