I used to buy 5 lb rolls of ground beef, cut them into 5 portions, wrap and freeze them in solid hunks. But it was not conducive for quickly thawing, and if one fell out of our well-stocked freezer, it could break a toe.
Now I grind my own meat, but this would still apply to the rolls and freeze it "flat" in thick freezer bags. It's much easier to stack neatly in my freezer and thaws more evenly if I need a "quick thaw."
By Kelli from Sentani, Indonesia
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
You can also do this too with the non-frozen family pack bulk ground meat from Costco or grocery store. We split into 1 pound sections, use the food saver to vacuum seal it into pouches, then flatten it before freezing. It thaws very quickly in a sink of warm water.
You can go one step further. I make hamburger patties, and put each one in a sandwich bag, and then place them in a large freezer bag. This allows you to make one hamburger, and the meat is protected by TWO bags.
If you decide to use it for meatloaf, hamburger helper, chiii, etc, just thaw several patties.
You can also speed thaw them by setting your microwave on defrost for 30 seconds. Use additional time as needed.
I do that, too, and it really cuts down on thawing time.
Good for you grinding your own hamburger. A lot of that cheaper ground beef is water sprayed off the bone, and comes from many different cattle. A lot of the time it is done under less than sanitart conditions and dipped in amonia to clean.
I have the Tupperware containers that you put hamburgers in. Makes it a good size for hamburgers or you can use several of them for your spaghetti or chili. When you put them in the tupperware another hint is to poke them with your finger several times. This makes them easier and faster to defrost too. Granny
I do the same here with the big rolls of ground chuck accept I cut each roll into ten chunks, place in a plastic grocery bag and flatten out then roll up the plastic bag around the meat into a neat, flat, pack and tape the handles down. I have a chest freezer so I use five gallon buckets to keep everything organized and neat.
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
