http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x47876The primitives are being just really stupid today, so I went looking around elsewhere, in the minor forums on Skins's island, for illumination.
Phentex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Aug-14-08 02:52 PM
Original message
What's your method of freezing?
I have some meat I got in bulk and want to separate it into smaller portions. I am usually hesitant to store much in the freezer because we lose power pretty often.
Do you use freezer bags? Paper for meats?
Tab Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Aug-14-08 03:01 PM
Response to Original message
1. do you have a separate freezer or is this part of the fridge?
you might want to coisder a small case freezer - youo can get them foro as little as $250 nowadays.
they shouod hold their owm in an ouotage better than a rride freezer wouud.
Consider getting a vacuum pack, like a 'seal a mea' or somoething. We were given one as a wedding present and i confess to not using it enougg, but it sucks all the air out, leaves it vacuum packaged, then then you freeze it.
Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Aug-14-08 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. Seconded. You can get a 6 cubic foot chest freezer from Sears that will hold a remarkable amount of frozen food and will keep it frozen for up to 24 hours without power, thawing only from the top down even then and very slowly.
I know because I had one when I lived in a hurricane prone area.
Freezer burn is the major enemy of meat and other frozen foods. The more air you can squeeze out of a package and the more air tight you can make the package, the better it will be. I like ziplock freezer bags not only because they work well, but also because you can see what's inside them.
The other enemy is time. There are sources on the web that will tell you the length of time you can reasonably expect to keep frozen foods. They don't become dangerous if you keep them frozen longer, they just lose a lot of flavor and often texture.
Husb2Sparkly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Thu Aug-14-08 04:50 PM
Response to Original message
3. Use a food saver type vacuum sealer for anything you will keep more than a week.
It keeps things far longer and in far better shape than any other way of freezing.
We have one of the FoodSaver brand jobbies, but I also use the Reynolds thing that is only ten bux at the grocery store. The FoodSaver is faster and draws a bigger vacuum, but for the price, the Reynolds thing is unbeatable.
