I was thinking about smoking/cooking up some meats (turkey breast, Baltimore Pit Beef, maybe chicken, pastrami, etc) slicing them, freezer bagging in portions to pull weekly for some lunch sandwiches for my wife and I. Does anyone see any issues with freezing these items and pulling out to thaw when needed? How long should any of these items freeze for? I assume no worries and they should freeze just fine for a while. Just wanted to make sure I am not missing anything or overlooking any food safety issues.
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Freeze away! If you use a vacuum sealer, proteins will last for months. -
Agreed, you can freeze for months with a vacuum sealer. If you don't have one you can fill a ziplock with water to cover the meat. Did this for years until decided a good vacuum sealer was a bargin! Good luck!Comment
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Vacuum seal for sure ... do it all the time.Comment
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I believe this is precisely what zip locks and vacuum sealers are for, good eats in your future!Comment
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Just did it tonight for my brisket that I smoked. Vacuum sealed two meals for future use. Invest in a good vacuum sealer if you can. Worth the money.Comment
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Chamber vacuum sealers are the best, perhaps overkill for what you want...several here use the Vacmaster. I'm just getting into sou-vide and there is a term called "shocking" meat - which basically gets things out of the bacterial growth zone quickly. So you'd cook the meat you intend to freeze, immediately bag & place in ice water then vacuum & freeze.
I know people that were raised with cooked food sitting out all day surrounded by flies. How safe you want to play it is up to you.Last edited by Larry Grover; August 29, 2018, 07:01 PM.Comment
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I always make enough for leftovers and portion, vacuum seal, and freeze. Vacuum sealed keeps freezer burn at bay so good for 6 months or so.
You dont maintain super crunchy hard bark on leftovers but its 87% as good as fresh. 100% when you are hungry and it takes 5 minutes to have BBQ on the plate.Comment
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I agree with the posts on using a Food Saver. I've had one for a few years and can't believe I waited so long to get one.Comment
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I have the Vacmaster chamber vacuum. I seal and freeze a lot of stuff. I probably have 30 pounds of pulled pork in 3lb bags in the freezer right now. A friend of ours is a distributor of packaged meats to the local stores. We are always trading him for the coffee the wife is distributing.
He gives us sliced ham, bacon, sliced beef, Canadian bacon all in 4 pound bags. They are either just code dated or the package is leaking. I break it down to servings that are sized for us vac seal it and freeze it.
It will last a minimum of 6 months in the freezer.Comment
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Yes sir. Just handle your product properly. Cooked meat, shock in ice bathe to get it below 90° as fast as possible(2hours) and then to below 40° or frozen within the next two hours. That's very doable right? You will find you can cool quickly and that's very advisable.
i would suggest cooling your meat in an ice bath in a zip lock before vac sealing. IMHO vac sealing a hot protein can pull the juice out unnecessarily. Cooling in another bag firsts kinda allows it to rest and congeals the juice around the meat, kinda like a "confit" effect. But that's just my opinion.
When shocking in a ziplock:
fill your ice bath
place your product in the bag
submerge with the bag partially open
squeeze the air out
and seal.
that should get you a pretty good seal so you protein don't float to the top.
i hope this helps.Comment
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Awesome. Thank you everyone! If I start making as much leftovers as I am wanting, sounds like I need to get a vacuum sealer. Just gotta convince the wife we need one and have room for one.Comment
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Additionally... I picked a dozen jalapeños and a couple greeen peppers from the garden yesterday. If I can not use those this week, can I also freeze them whole?Comment
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