By: Hugo Felix
Why would we care about thawing and freezing meat? Have you ever wondered why your frozen cuts do not turn out as juicy as you would expect? You would expect cooking and baking tips. Would it surprise you to know the answer could be your freezing and thawing practices.
The right storage temperatures help extend shelf life and control the growth of pathogens in the meat. Also proper freezing and thawing helps protect moisture and protein loss, which can occur by evaporation or dripping. Now cooking and baking tips help but we also want to make sure we preserve the most proteins and juices for a tastier and juicier cut of meat.
Here are seven tips we can do it:
1. Thaw meats in the refrigerator a day or so before use – this helps ensure safety and preserve proteins.
2. Put foods to be frozen in the freezer as fast as you can and in the coldest part of the fridge – the faster meat freezes the better quality it will retain, faster is better.
3. Buy separate refrigerator and freezer thermometers. Keep the fridge between 34 °F and 40 °F and the freezer below 0 °F.
4. Keep the freezer as full as you can and label date frozen foods – this helps keep the temperature
5. Never refreeze meats specially seafood – Texture and taste will be affected and if completely thawed food safety might be a problem.
6. Use packaging materials made for freezing – Freezer bags/wraps help protect food and avoid freezer burn.
7. If you must freeze, buy commercially frozen products – These will generally retain their eating and nutritional qualities better than home frozen products. Your fridge will not freeze food as fast as commercial freezing processes do and they will typically freeze these when they are fresher. This translates to better taste and nutrition than you can attain at home.
These are some tips to help you retain the quality of your frozen meats that help you prepare that great dinner your family expects and deserves. A well preserved cut of meat will help those great cooking and baking tips go a long way. I hope these tips help you keep the accolades rolling in!
