Freezing meat - sharing our experience

[Who freezes meat and how?]

Who freezes meat and how?

Meat can be of different types and varieties: beef, pork, lamb, turkey chicken, different game.
It can be a loin, shoulder blade, shank, hoof ... and so on.
And each piece of meat is intended for something, for the preparation of any dish: pilaf, goulash, cutlets, cabbage soup, and so on ...
The meat can be fresh or frozen.
Meat can be farmed, market, from a store, private, from the forest, and so on ...

The question may be trivial - but let's share our experience "who and how freezes meat"
What procedures does meat go through before placing meat in the freezer?

And, it is advisable to explain why you process the meat this way before putting it in the freezer.

Go…

=================================

There are three large categories of pathogenic microorganisms, defined as psychrophilic, mesophilic and thermophilic.
Psychrophilic microorganisms live at temperatures from 10 to 20 * C
Mesophilic - from 20-25 to 40-45 * С
Thermophilic viable at temperatures up to 55-60 * С
At ideal temperatures, each category reproduces quickly and actively, and the pH level (acidity of the product) also affects the rate of reproduction and survival.

Microorganisms under ideal conditions can grow and double in number every 15-20 minutes. Initial - 1 CFU, one colony forming unit:
- after 3 hours they reach more than 200;
- after 6 hours they reach more than 200 thousand;
- after 9 hours they reach more than 200 million;
- in 12 hours they reach more than 200 billion.

I'll start with myself, beloved

Any meat (market or store) is always pre-washed in warm water.
It is warm (not hot), so as not to cook the protein.
Thus, I wash off from the meat everything that could accumulate on it, when it was rolled on cutting boards, grabbed with my hands, cut with a knife and did other manipulations.
The meat has been on the shelves for some time and the process of seeding with bacteria is going on strongly, and in progression. And sometimes, when you take meat in your hands, it looks slippery.

After a quick bath of the meat in warm water, I spread it out on a towel and let the water soak in, wipe it on top with a towel.
To do this, I have two such beautiful waffle towels, specially dark so that you don't see dirty smudges on them.



Today I cook minced chicken and turkey for future use - joint. My minced meat is PURE, without any flavors, onions, spices, salt - since I don't know now where I will use it next.

I cut the meat into large pieces that can go into the hole of the meat grinder.



I roll the meat through a meat grinder.



Now I put the minced meat on slides of 400-500 grams weighing (approximately), for me it is this weight that is convenient. When you add to it, for example, bread, onions, cream, you get the right amount of cutlets "to eat." If required, I can take two portions of minced meat for cooking.
How much weight to make preparations, it will be decided by the hostess herself, from her experience of feeding the family.



I pack each slide in a bag, close it, and level it flat. In this form, the minced meat will be frozen, and then it is convenient to lay it out in the freezer, it will not interfere with other workpieces.





And be sure to stick a label with the inscription:
- what kind of meat (turkey-chicken mix)
- what additives (pure minced meat)



And there may be records of other content:
- lamb shoulder
- for pilaf, stew

- mix on dumplings (lamb 20, pork 30, beef 50)
- clean (no spices and salt.

- mix cutlets (beef 50, pork 50)
- ready-made (salt, spices, bread, cream)

Such inscriptions make it very easy to find packages with the right meat in the freezer, and discipline, you always know that the right piece of meat is in the freezer for certain purposes.

And for example, if I have two types of minced meat "turkey-chicken" and a mix of "beef-pork" in my freezer, then it is easier for me to regulate the nutrition of my household in part: someone only needs steamed chicken cutlets, and someone needs meat cutlets in a pan.
It is enough to take the minced meat out of the freezer the day before, put it in a bowl in the refrigerator, and it will thaw until soft overnight.

Here I washed a shoulder of lamb in warm water, dried it with a towel, packed it in bags and put it in the freezer. Two sachets, with the desire to cook pilaf and stew with vegetables.

I have it simple and unpretentious.
1. I buy chicken "spare parts". If I bought it in excess, then I dry mine, put it in bags and freeze it.
2. Pork is mainly tenderloin, which is along the ridge. Likewise - washed and dried. Then I cut them into portions (medallions), put them in bags in one layer and froze them. After freezing, folded more compactly. If the recipe requires cutting into a smaller piece, then I cut the medallions into them just before cooking.
3. On the minced meat (usually mixed), I wash the meat and poultry, dry it, scroll it and put it in the freezer. Recently, I began to level the minced meat in a package with a rectangular layer and divide it into pieces of 500 and 250 grams with the edge of the palm. I sign - I stick a wide plaster on the bag, on it I write the composition of the minced meat with a ballpoint pen.
Freezing minced meat does not cancel the freezing of homemade semi-finished products (cutlets, meatballs and other small meat items)
The technology is given taking into account the fact that I cook for 1-2 people. I do not use beef and lamb due to the lack of the desired quality

I do everything I also buy and pack it (for pilaf, for goulash, for ham, for manti, for soup, just minced meat, mixed or pork or beef).
I will definitely indicate the weight, it is especially convenient when I want to make ham.
Recently, I really like to freeze in bags with a lock. We have on the market 100 pieces of different sizes.
I put it in a bag, I blind it, leaving a small hole. I spread it over the bag with my palm, air comes out through the hole, then I blind it to the end and get a very compact stack of bags.
The only thing for the first (soup) packs are shapeless, as a rule with a bone.
I buy some chicken for parts, wings separately, breasts separately, etc., after that a soup set is also obtained from this, several backbones.
Something like that.....

[wide patch]

I sign - stick it on the package wide patch, on it with a ballpoint pen I write the composition of the minced meat.

Masking tape is our FSE.

Recently, I really like to freeze in bags with a lock. We have on the market 100 pieces of different sizes.

By the way, yes. Conveniently, everything is the same.
For freezing ordinary sachets, I selected a plastic container with vertical walls - I put layers of sachets in it, trample it down, and you get even plates that do not stick out in all directions when you transfer them.

Masking tape is our FSE.

Yeah ... I also write on it very conveniently, it is always in my kitchen ...
And the packages are very convenient to try Then they are very compact in the freezer.
Now I'm in them and grated pumpkin ice cream and mushrooms ...
I have 2 sizes.

[Kokoschka]

really like freezing in bags with a lock

the packages are very convenient to try Then they are very compact in the freezer.

Kokoschka, Lily, and you can name / photo packages in the studio !!!

Masking tape is our FSE.

It sometimes fell off me. Therefore I switched to a plaster

I got it from the freezer

I freeze in Metro packages. True, they are small. But everything fits up to kg. I freeze berries, vegetables, herbs, homemade cottage cheese in them. I release the rest of the air, and seal the bag with a vacuum sealer.And then I distribute the content throughout the bag, making it flat. Identical sized bags can be easily stacked in the freezer ...

[A.lenka]

A.lenka, but how do they look and how much do they cost?
These I buy 100 pieces 150 rubles, and more 200 rubles 100 pieces

I see, the whole "bread machine" freezes the meat in about the same way.

[Lily]

how do they look and how much do they cost?

LilyThey look like this:
🔗

Very tight! They are well sealed. Stuffing will conveniently pack in them. I just do not store ready-made minced meat.
The packages are sold in Metro С & С, they cost a little more than 200 rubles, I don't remember exactly.

I see, the whole "bread machine" freezes the meat in about the same way.

So what can you think of new here? Everything has already been invented before us.

Anya, how are you right, we all probably have approximately the same experience in freezing meat and meat preparations. Especially and there is nothing to share.
Purely the meat is also washed in advance, I dry it, cut out the bones (if any), cut the meat into the necessary portions and put it in bags. In each bag I put a note of what kind of meat it is and what it is intended for - soup, borscht, for stewing, pilaf, for minced meat, etc. My meat is usually pork, beef, and of course chicken. I never buy lamb, never I can cook it love. I put such meat in ordinary T-shirt bags. Of course, it is not convenient, the packages are not even and take up more space. Can anyone tell me another way to tamp such meat?
With minced meat, of course, it's much easier. I pack the minced meat in 500 g Freken Bock zipper bags. I have a lot of such packages, and therefore all the rest of the freeze goes to these packages. It is very convenient to fold them in even piles.
I found a photo, but here it is not minced meat, but grilled peppers in such packages, just minced meat now needs to be dug from the depths

And of course I make freezing - cutlets, meatballs and meatballs. I sculpt the cutlets and spread them out on a flexible board, freeze them and then in a bag or container. And I usually freeze meatballs and meatballs from the remains of minced meat for filling pepper and cabbage rolls. Especially for these purposes, I purchased silicone molds.

I spread the minced meat with a spatula into the cells, then I put the form with the minced meat in the microwave for a couple of minutes and bake it and then freeze it. The next day, these balls themselves pop out of the cells and pack them into containers.

I sign - I stick a wide plaster on the package

Irina, thanks for the band-aid idea. We must also try to sign them. Because I tried to glue and sign price tags, and paint tape - over time, such signatures fall off and are lost. This year I just write on the bags with a felt-tip pen for discs, I just don't write on the bags.

Masking tape stays on the bags if you twist the bag "along the equator" and fix the adhesive tape with an overlap, at least 5 cm.

And I write with a marker right on the package.

So what can you think of new here? Everything has already been invented before us.

Uh-huh ... Only now, a few people, having learned how I first wash, dry, and then freeze the meat, were horrified. "The meat cannot be washed, it disappears faster, you only spoil it, you have nothing to do!"
And I don't understand how dirty meat can be healthier and stored longer than clean meat ?!

And I don't understand how dirty meat can be healthier and stored longer than clean meat ?!

and I don't understand when my husband tried to explain something to me on this topic, my answer was short: frozen washed! I threw the meat immediately into cooking and all the things, but first you need to defrost the unwashed, the meat juice and the time for defrosting are lost, and then stop-cut-prepare for use in the dish all questions and comments immediately disappeared

[unwashed must first be defrosted; meat juice is also lost]

frozen washed! I threw the meat immediately into the cooking and everything, and unwashed must first be defrosted; meat juice is also lost and time to defrost

Yes, this is not the essence of the fact that the meat needs to be washed!
The meat is heavily contaminated with various bacteria that multiply exponentially until you bring it home and lie at home until it is packed.
And, when the dirty meat is defrosting ... even in the refrigerator .... then in the dirty meat there is such grace for their growth !!!!!

Even after defrosting, the meat needs to be rinsed again, since during the defrosting, an environment for the growth of bacteria also appears.

For example, I never remove the packaging from meat (in which I freeze the meat), I just put it in a bowl in a bag and defrost the meat in the refrigerator. But, and after defrosting in a bag, I rinse the meat again in water. And only after that I start cooking the meat.

Well, of course - you need to take care to think in the evening that this particular piece of meat will be needed in the morning or tomorrow

Yes, this is not the essence of the fact that the meat needs to be washed!
The meat is heavily contaminated with various bacteria that multiply exponentially until you bring it home and lie at home until it is packed.
And, when dirty meat is defrosting even in the refrigerator .... then in dirty meat there is such grace for their growth !!!!!

Tanya, I know, but for my husband such arguments turned out to be more weighty

Added on Tuesday 27 Sep 2016 08:03 AM

And only after that I start cooking the meat.

I often drop frozen broth, marinate for grill, bake .. in our family, such a regime has been established that you do not always know in advance what exactly and for how many eaters you need to cook

The meat is also always washed, we dry it, and then I put it into categories.
Sometimes even, especially chicken parts are immediately spiced, and then frozen.

[Tina]

but for the husband, such arguments turned out to be more weighty

Tina, maybe these arguments will be more weighty

There are three large categories of pathogenic microorganisms, defined as psychrophilic, mesophilic and thermophilic.
Psychrophilic microorganisms live at temperatures from 10 to 20 * C
Mesophilic - from 20-25 to 40-45 * С
Thermophilic viable at temperatures up to 55-60 * С
At ideal temperatures, each category reproduces quickly and actively, and the pH level (acidity of the product) also affects the rate of their reproduction and survival.

Microorganisms under ideal conditions can grow and double in number every 15-20 minutes. Initial - 1 CFU, one colony forming unit:
- after 3 hours they reach more than 200;
- after 6 hours they reach more than 200 thousand;
- after 9 hours they reach more than 200 million;
- in 12 hours they reach more than 200 billion.

This is not always visible to the eye!
But if you touch it with your hands, then the meat becomes "slimy", first a little, then more and more ...

Thank you!

But if you touch it with your hands, then the meat becomes "slimy", first a little, then more and more ...

I try to avoid such meat, fortunately, we have where to buy meat immediately after slaughter and cutting

I have a place for each type of meat in the freezer, I stick masking tape on the packages (I thought I was the only one so cunning), or I sign tight packages with a marker. I buy packages with a zipper. You can close it all the way, leaving room for a cocktail straw. With its help, draw out all the air and only then close the fastener tightly.

A question about minced meat. Many now have vacuum equipment, is it possible to vacuum mince? In the methods described above, there is no such option, just cleaning in bags or sealing as much as possible ...
I just have an idea to cook cutlets right away, shape, lay them in a vacuum sleeve, then vacuum and freeze the finished portioned cutlets.

[KorS]

I just have an idea to cook cutlets right away, shape, lay them in a vacuum sleeve, then vacuum and freeze the finished portioned cutlets.

KorS, that's right, I do just that - ready-made, already fried or baked cutlets - almost like that, I don't even vacuum it. But then ... here the granddaughter refused to eat porridge in the morning, she says - give me a cutlet! So I put it out of the freezer, from a simple cellophane bag - when they freeze, they all lie separately, do not stick together - right in the cartoon for baking, 1 tbsp. l.some water, closed the lid - 5 minutes! And voila!



And if you vacuum it up, it will stay in the freezer much longer!

And if without preliminary heat treatment? That is, freeze the minced meat immediately?

I tried it too. I didn't like it when, later, without defrosting, of course, I fry the cutlets - I get a lot of water, and some taste different ... Well, that's for my taste. You might like it.

I may be picky, but
- I don't ice cutlets anymore. Not in any form. Neither raw nor fried. An unpleasant aftertaste appears, which is not killed by anything.
Why freeze cutlets? You can make them and for a couple of days they stand in the refrigerator in a container.
For me, this has always been an ordinary dish. And they were always in the refrigerator while the son studied. Various - beef, pork, chicken, mix ...
And from the freezer byak

I don’t want to freeze ready-made, fried ones, after cooling they lose their taste and juiciness. And when you reheat it is not the same. And raw minced meat in the refrigerator does not last long.
Freeze in terms of harvesting and saving time. Once I made a decent amount, froze it and take it out and cook as needed.

- I don't ice cutlets anymore. Not in any form. Neither raw nor fried. An unpleasant aftertaste appears, which is not killed by anything.

I agree with this

Especially if a full-fledged minced meat is cooked with all the ingredients, onions, eggs, bread - there is a smack, and yet the consistency and color of the minced meat change. Especially from raw onions in minced meat.

I just freeze minced meat, rolled meat - and in the freezer for storage. Then there is no problem to defrost the minced meat, leaving it in the refrigerator overnight, or for a day, while the meat will be defrosted "in quiet mode", which will not affect its taste.
And if you freeze in a bag in a very thin layer, then it will defrost quickly.

Storing minced meat in a bag or vacuum container does not allow for long storage in the refrigerator, insemination will still occur, this can be seen from the state of minced meat (meat), it gradually becomes slippery, with bloom.
Shelf life is longer than in a regular bag, but ... but not a panacea

rolled meat

I even stopped doing that. Only a slice or cut. I moved a bit from freezing so that I could take the knife and scroll

I never freeze cutlets, meatballs, meatballs. Only meat and minced meat. I love when they are freshly prepared, fragrant. I pack the meat in Gucci bags, after evacuating the air with a vacuum hand gun. I put a sticker in the bag with a description of the type of meat, weight, and what it is intended for: boil, stew, ham, sausage. and so on. Also with minced meat for: cutlets, meatballs, dumplings, mantas. I freeze diced bell peppers and tomatoes, too, I write that tomatoes or peppers are in a bag sometimes it is difficult to distinguish them from the freezer.

In general, I'm still a specialist in vacuuming)) I laid out the minced meat cutlets in a bag neatly, turned on the vacuum unit, he flattened the bag and the minced meat, as a result, it was not cutlets that were learned, but one big flat cake))) Before vacuuming, you need to freeze the minced meat apparently so that kept)

Before vacuuming, you need to freeze the minced meat, apparently, so that it keeps its shape)

There is no need to expel the air to the state of a flat cake Edak and you can make a "Viennese" schnitzel from the meat
The film has slightly "hugged" the cutlets and can be removed.