Feast! Fine Foods

Tips and Ideas

Freezing and Defrosting

A lot of what is bought from the butcher these days goes straight into the freezer for use later on. In this section we give you some handy tips and hints on using your freezer and so no no's that can ruin even the best piece of steak.

Nearly all meat is better fresh and never frozen however the way product is frozen and defrosted can minimise this difference to the point where most would not even notice. Bad freezing and defrosting can lead to dry tasteless freezer burnt meat which has turned to mush so these tips can make a huge difference to your frozen food experiences

The key to this is speed. The faster the freeze the better the end result so

  • make sure your freezer is running at the right temperature it should be -18 deg C
  • don't pack too much product to be frozen into the freezer at one time
  • keep packs as flat as possible
  • minimise openings of the door - you would be surprised how much "cool" is lost each time you do this

Also in order to get the best out of the storage phase of your freezing there are a few handy tips

  • set up some sort of organisation in your freezer so you know what is in there and how long it has been
  • wrap what you are freezing tightly - air is the enemy and will cause freezer burn
  • the longer something in the freezer the less flavour the product will have
  • the sooner something is frozen after it is bought the better
  • ensure the temperature remains constant at about - 18 deg C and the freezer door is not opened too often

Defrosting is a critical phase from both a quality and food safety perspective. Tips to get this right are as follows

  • if not cooking the item you are using straight away defrost it in the fridge - this means the meat will never enter the "Danger Zone" of above 5 deg celcius- you will need to plan from 1 day to a week ahead in order to get this right. *** Product defrosted this way CAN be refrozen***
  • if defrosting for immediate use you can use faster methods such using the microwave you could use a water bath or even leaving covered product on the sink however we would not recommend these methods as the risk if they are left too long or forgotten is too great. if using faster methods it is crucial that the product was in good condition prior to freezing and that it is immediately cooked *** Product defrosted this way should NEVER be refrozen****
  • If using a microwave please be as gentle as possible as you can cook the edges of the item you are defrosting which will result in a dry rubbery piece of meat
  • if some of the meat is freezer burnt it is not dangerous - it is however completely dry and tasteless - it's your call what to do but we would recommend trimming it off.

How long should I freeze for?

The short answer is the shorter the better however the upper limits we would recommend are

  • Mince 3 months
  • Beef Steaks, Dice etc- up to 9 months
  • Beef Roasts - up to 12 months
  • Lamb Chops, Dice etc - up to 6 months
  • Lamb Roast - up to 9 months
  • Pork Steaks, Dice etc - up to 6 months
  • Pork Roasts - up to 9 months
  • Chicken Breasts, Thighs etc - up to 3 months
  • Chicken Roasts - up to 6 months

 

What are the best things to freeze

  • Mince - no fibres to break down mean the only concern is water condensation in the product - fast freezing solves this
  • meats for slow cooking - dices and pot roasts - as they are cooked to done the impact of freezing on quality is minimised
  • meats for roasting - a roast is quite a mild way of cooking and pre frozen meat can perform quite well - the challenge is actually defrosting these properly and ensuring that the middle is not still frozen and or the outside cooked by the microwave

What are the worst things to freeze?

  • Steaks - the aggressive heat on a grill doesn't go as well with meat that has been frozen
  • Stirfry - less of an issue than with steaks as the pieces are smaller but the cooking is similar so the problem remains