Freezing steakburgers ?

[bbq_esq]

Picked up a pack of choice chuckies for making a batch of steakburgers (1st time). It has been pasteurized broken down into one inch chunks and is now in the freezer. Planning to grind in Cuisinart food processor.

I probably should have asked this before I broke everything down but any reason why I couldn't make a bunch of patties and freeze the extras? I assume there will be some loss of quality but is there anything from a food safety standpoint I should be worried about? It's just me and my wife (no burgers for baby yet).

Alternately I suppose I could just freeze it in its cubed form if there's some reason not to grind and freeze. I was just thinking of the convenience of being able to take a pattie out and cook one burger for lunch

[Santamarina]

I’m a fan of fresh ground for burgers - mostly
because I’m a smash burger guy. We keep whole chuck frozen - divided into 1.5-2lb chunks, which is the perfect size for our family meals. Cubes are a great option too.

To your point, it would be fine to pre-make some patties to freeze for a quick personal meal. I’d vacuum seal them so they don’t get freezer burn.

[texastweeter]

You're fine

[Jfrosty27]

I keep frozen patties made from fresh meat in the freezer at all times. Vacuum sealed a must. Great for quick meals. I cook them directly from the freezer.

[bbq_esq]

Yup - plan is to vacuum seal individually. Thanks all

[MBMorgan]

How was it pasteurized?

[bbq_esq]

Dunked steaks in boiling water for 20 seconds

[58limited]

I would skip this step - not necessary.

[mnavarre]

For vacuum sealing steak burgers (or any pre-formed patty, really) you're going to want to pre-freeze them until they're firm enough not to get deformed by the vacuum sealer. Otherwise you might as well just freeze the ground beef.

[bbq_esq]

I ended up just portioning it out and freezing in 8 and 4 oz portions for steakburgers and smash burgers.

[SheilaAnn]

mnavarre beat me to it. He is spot on!

[rickgregory]

...It has been pasteurized broken down into one inch chunks and is now in the freezer...

I don't understand this part. If it's pasteurized, it's basically cooked. So you're grinding.. cooked chuck?

[bbq_esq]

Honestly I was just following the instructions on the main website. I think the idea is you are killing surface bacteria that would otherwise be ground into the meat, and then not exposed to high enough temps if you cook medium rare.

Again, I just went by what I saw on the website. This is the first time I've ever ground my own beef.

[texastweeter]

Doesn't have to be cooked to be pasteurized. Also he is just talking about the exterior of the roast.

[rickgregory]

Oh I get it! I was reading it as you'd cubed then pasteurized. Doh...

[bbq_esq]

58limited good to know. the main website was confusing. It wasn't mentioned in the actual recipe but then Meathead does it in the Kingsford video.

[texastweeter]

That's if you are worried about it and are going to cook medrare

[bbq_esq]

Med rare yes, worried, not really. I don't want food poisoning of course but I never would have done it if I didn't see it done by Meathead.

My biggest concern at this point is whether the grind ended up too lean:


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[rickgregory]

Looks nice. You can grind some bacon or pork belly and mix it in. If you ever do brisket, save the fat trimmings in the freezer and use those.

[bbqLuv]

Steak Tartare in the future.

[texastweeter]

Brisket trim never gets tossed. Sausage, burgers, meatballs, meatloaf or rendered for frying.

[bbq_esq]

These came out phenomenal. Ended up being closer to medium but they were still great. Very juicy, flavorful, no gristly bites or anything. Reminded me of the best bar burgers I've had.

Hope the frozen ones do as well. Don't think they will be in there that long though.

[Sweaty Paul]

Love doing our own grind the burgers are just better. I’ve been thinking about this recipe for awhile. Finally warming up and should have a free weekend soon to be able to pull this off.

[JeffJ]

I do it all of the time. Vac seal for sure. What I like about freezing the patties is I can pack them real loose - texturally I don't like a dense burger. They go from the freezer to the grill and never fall apart while cooking.

[bbq_esq]

We had some of the frozen burgers last night (the 8oz guys). They were awesome! Quickly thawed and ready for grill. Will definitely be doing this again once I run through my current supply. Blows any ground meat I've purchased (aside from butcher who grinds prime chuck) out of the water