Need to be a bit more creative and not so derivative or predictable.
I used to dislike frozen meat then I bought a vacuum sealer. It made a HUGE difference. Also a slow thaw is very important IMO.
George
Slow thaw is definitely key here.
Does anybody ever use the “defrost” button on their microwave? I never have but there has been a time or two when I wanted. I ended up taking the family out to dinner instead.
Just once a few years ago. It was half par-cooked and half still frozen.
use it all the time. It works fine, but sometimes the time is a bit too short or long (most MWs ask for the weight to be defrosted and calculate the time from that)
Not on any quality meat. Ground beef maybe. I will throw a steak in cold water if I am in a hurry.
George
Speaking of… What has become of Victor? No posts since Oct 29th? ![[stirthepothal.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f40faec63ca1018898a40805efbf9f0066a3d205.gif "[stirthepothal.gif]"){kind=small}
Isn’t that cooking style known as “Manlin style”
took out a shrink wrapped flannery from the freezer. giving it the usual 3-4 days in the fridge to defrost.
My thoughts exactly, not that I miss him, just seems weird.
Victor may have had power issues, living in the zone below 39th St.
For steaks and roasts, unless we overbought (only happens when last-minute no-show by guests) and have to store, frozen is a no -no. Or in this case, a nay nay. All butchers that we buy from sell some form of the dry-aged kinds and freezing them ruins the cell structure upon thawing.
For stews, braised meat dishes and pot roasts, frozen is OK with us. But this still hardly the case as we usually just purchase fresh meat for immediate consumption.
did a “blind” taste test of fresh/frozen 28 day dry rib eye. Couldn’t really taste the difference.
Now that wifey and I are empty nesters and still appreciate the value of Costco, we freeze tri tips and that level of quality meat in a vacuum sealer and it is fine. We actually use that sealer for just about everything and it is great!
Hard to beat a true blind test. But it could be hard to do a true blind test because you’ll need some time to freeze the same cut, same cow, meat and then thaw to room temperature before cooking.
We’ve done non-blind, side-by-side, with 21-day porterhouse from same butcher source. The frozen one was in the freezer for 2 weeks and thawed the day before dinner in the refrigerator. Fresh one was bought same morning as dinner tasting. Meats came from different cows. Oven-broiled exactly the same time/temp and could tell difference in color and flavor. More beefier taste and more intense with the fresh meat.
Btw, perhaps number of days to dry-age can also make a difference. I’m not a fan of meats that are dried for longer than 21 days. That liver and leathery taste starts to show itself the longer the drying time.
I can understand why dry-aged might perform better. Unless you are able to flash freeze, the freezing process is damaging due to the slower speed of freezing water. Fast freezing produces smaller ice crystals that damage the tissue less. This is why defrosting meat tends to release so much liquid.
The bad flavors are typically freezer burn. Freezing for 3-6 months should be fine in good freezer conditions.
I was searching for room in my freezer tonight and came across a factory vacuum sealed log of andouille sausage from Cochon meats. Totally forgot about it obviously as it’s been in there for possibly 3 years. The fda says frozen meat is edible indefinitely, is that true? It’s thawing now, but is that thing going to kill me? I know the texture can get funky with raw meats, but since this is cured I’m wondering what its chances are? I almost chucked it but thought I’d seek opinions.
look forward to hearing from you tomorrow.
maybe.
Dry aged beef seems to do well for quite a while.