Thanks to all for the gracious welcome over the past few days. It's fun to share tips, tricks and ideas about a hobby that we all share a common passion. Although I'm just a pup compared to many on this site, through simple osmosis in twenty years of Q-ing I have picked up a few observations I'd like to pass on. Let's start at the beginning.
I had an old football coach that during practice used to scream that you only got out of it what you put into it. How true for Q. You're not going to pull off a delicious, tender cut of protein off the heat unless that hunk was of fine quality to begin with. That's hard to do. As a general rule, the quality of meat we in the US have access to is like comparing a store bought tomato in December to an August Maryland Beefsteak from a roadside stand. Sure, our meat is plentiful, cheap and will keep for a long time, but for the most part it is designed for profit, not for flavor. Factory produced, chemically fed, computer slaughter modern meat is a far cry in flavor and tenderness from it's boutique raised cousin.
Here in the Peoples Republic of Maryland we enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the US. As long as the rest of the country keeps sending their hard earned money to that leaky bucket on the Potomac the level of income and wealth in this area will continue. Because of all the money in this area we are very fortunate to have many small specialty farms that produce a vast array of fine beef, hog, lamb and chicken. Combine that with the incredible bounty of Chesapeake Bay and it's truly a Q-mans' Nirvana.
Since I'm in sales and travel the region frequently I have many times during the year where the cooler is loaded into the trunk and I make stops at my favorite "meat palaces" in between calls. This leads me to the topic I'd like to discuss for both Old Bulls and Young Bulls - the fine science of freezing fresh meat.
There can be no argument that a cut of fresh meat on the Q surpasses almost anything frozen. The act of freezing, especially if done improperly will result in a dry, tasteless piece of meat and will leave even a seasoned pitmaster scratching their head. There are ways to negate this loss of flavor with some cuts of meat, however I've found that these techniques are not foolproof with large cuts like knuckles, brisket, rounds and other large cuts. For those, I only go fresh. For the others, let's get started.
So there you are with your big ole primal you picked up at the farm. For arguments sake lets pretend it's a 24" long Delmonico. You've sliced it into 2.5" steaks and are now ready to freeze. What next?
1) Dry the things. Get these little babies as dry as possible. Any residual moisture will crystalize and the cuts will leach more during defrosting. And guys, use paper towel. Nothing irritates women more than using their dish towel to dry your cow parts.
2) Wrap That Rascal. Vacuum sealing is by far the best way to go but is often time consuming and clumsy. Additionally the bags can be expensive. If your going to freeze meat for a long period of time, say over six months, the vacuum bags are the only way to go. If the meat will be cooked within 3 months, wrap the cuts individually in a good quality plastic wrap. Get the wrap as tight as possible and then wrap it again in aluminum foil.
3) Bag and Tag. Put the wrapped cuts in a good quality freezer bag and DO NOT put the cuts on top of each other. Allow the cuts to rest in the freezer bags side by side, not crammed in the bag. Squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing and label the bag with the cut and the date it was prepped. There's nothing more aggravating than going to the freezer and wondering what's in the un-labeled mystery bag.
4) Chill the Little Devils. This is an important step that's often overlooked. The core temp of the meat must equalize for the proper freeze to occur. Put them in the cold part of the fridge for at least 4 hours prior to transferring them to the freezer. This may be a pain in the neck and will inevitably involve making room in the fridge but it is critical to retaining freshness and reducing moisture loss.
5) Spread The Wealth. Only a dedicated freezer should be used to freeze meat. The little box on top of your fridge just won't work. If you don't have a deep freeze, all of this will be done in vain. The temps don't get low enough in a fridge/freezer and during the defrost cycle it gets far too warm. Assuming you already know this, don't put the meat in the freezer in one spot. Spread them around so they freeze evenly and quickly. After they're frozen you can organize them according to where you want them but for the first 24 hours never let the unfrozen packages touch each other.
I hope this has been helpful to both veteran and rookie alike. Nothing is more aggravating than having one of your bunkies give you game or fish that was just tossed into a Ziploc and thrown into the freezer above the fridge. Buying good quality cuts in primals not only results in a better tasting cut of meat, in many instances it is far healthier than the "chemical cow" being offered at the grocery store. Following these techniques will ensure that you've done all you can to preserve the integrity of the meat and the results will be instantly recognizable when the cut comes off the Q.
Freezing is only half the process. I'll get into a far more critical step of defrosting in another post. In the meantime, I welcome any ideas to improve this process and will gladly accept suggestions, comments and/or corrections.
Let me know your thoughts.
John
I had an old football coach that during practice used to scream that you only got out of it what you put into it. How true for Q. You're not going to pull off a delicious, tender cut of protein off the heat unless that hunk was of fine quality to begin with. That's hard to do. As a general rule, the quality of meat we in the US have access to is like comparing a store bought tomato in December to an August Maryland Beefsteak from a roadside stand. Sure, our meat is plentiful, cheap and will keep for a long time, but for the most part it is designed for profit, not for flavor. Factory produced, chemically fed, computer slaughter modern meat is a far cry in flavor and tenderness from it's boutique raised cousin.
Here in the Peoples Republic of Maryland we enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the US. As long as the rest of the country keeps sending their hard earned money to that leaky bucket on the Potomac the level of income and wealth in this area will continue. Because of all the money in this area we are very fortunate to have many small specialty farms that produce a vast array of fine beef, hog, lamb and chicken. Combine that with the incredible bounty of Chesapeake Bay and it's truly a Q-mans' Nirvana.
Since I'm in sales and travel the region frequently I have many times during the year where the cooler is loaded into the trunk and I make stops at my favorite "meat palaces" in between calls. This leads me to the topic I'd like to discuss for both Old Bulls and Young Bulls - the fine science of freezing fresh meat.
There can be no argument that a cut of fresh meat on the Q surpasses almost anything frozen. The act of freezing, especially if done improperly will result in a dry, tasteless piece of meat and will leave even a seasoned pitmaster scratching their head. There are ways to negate this loss of flavor with some cuts of meat, however I've found that these techniques are not foolproof with large cuts like knuckles, brisket, rounds and other large cuts. For those, I only go fresh. For the others, let's get started.
So there you are with your big ole primal you picked up at the farm. For arguments sake lets pretend it's a 24" long Delmonico. You've sliced it into 2.5" steaks and are now ready to freeze. What next?
1) Dry the things. Get these little babies as dry as possible. Any residual moisture will crystalize and the cuts will leach more during defrosting. And guys, use paper towel. Nothing irritates women more than using their dish towel to dry your cow parts.
2) Wrap That Rascal. Vacuum sealing is by far the best way to go but is often time consuming and clumsy. Additionally the bags can be expensive. If your going to freeze meat for a long period of time, say over six months, the vacuum bags are the only way to go. If the meat will be cooked within 3 months, wrap the cuts individually in a good quality plastic wrap. Get the wrap as tight as possible and then wrap it again in aluminum foil.
3) Bag and Tag. Put the wrapped cuts in a good quality freezer bag and DO NOT put the cuts on top of each other. Allow the cuts to rest in the freezer bags side by side, not crammed in the bag. Squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing and label the bag with the cut and the date it was prepped. There's nothing more aggravating than going to the freezer and wondering what's in the un-labeled mystery bag.
4) Chill the Little Devils. This is an important step that's often overlooked. The core temp of the meat must equalize for the proper freeze to occur. Put them in the cold part of the fridge for at least 4 hours prior to transferring them to the freezer. This may be a pain in the neck and will inevitably involve making room in the fridge but it is critical to retaining freshness and reducing moisture loss.
5) Spread The Wealth. Only a dedicated freezer should be used to freeze meat. The little box on top of your fridge just won't work. If you don't have a deep freeze, all of this will be done in vain. The temps don't get low enough in a fridge/freezer and during the defrost cycle it gets far too warm. Assuming you already know this, don't put the meat in the freezer in one spot. Spread them around so they freeze evenly and quickly. After they're frozen you can organize them according to where you want them but for the first 24 hours never let the unfrozen packages touch each other.
I hope this has been helpful to both veteran and rookie alike. Nothing is more aggravating than having one of your bunkies give you game or fish that was just tossed into a Ziploc and thrown into the freezer above the fridge. Buying good quality cuts in primals not only results in a better tasting cut of meat, in many instances it is far healthier than the "chemical cow" being offered at the grocery store. Following these techniques will ensure that you've done all you can to preserve the integrity of the meat and the results will be instantly recognizable when the cut comes off the Q.
Freezing is only half the process. I'll get into a far more critical step of defrosting in another post. In the meantime, I welcome any ideas to improve this process and will gladly accept suggestions, comments and/or corrections.
Let me know your thoughts.
John
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