Tasty Tip: Freeze Your Meat

Whenever I go to Costco, I buy my meat in bulk, even though there’s just the two of us.  It saves money and keeps me sane when I’m trying to get dinner on the table, but don’t have always have fresh meat in the fridge.  Because, buying all that meat at one time, means that inevitably some of has to go into the freezer.  I know a lot of you probably are against the idea, but I personally find there to be nothing wrong with it, if you do it right.

I take a few extra minutes to open up the packages they come in and then individually wrap the steaks, or chicken breasts in saran wrap.  This step is tedious, but at least you won’t have one frozen brick of chicken breasts stuck together and you can pull out what you need easily.  This also provides one layer of protection against freezer burn.  Then I put all the individually wrapped items into one large ziplock bag, the 2nd layer of protection, and label it with the contents and date.  I make sure to squeeze excess air from the bag.  Then I make sure to use up all that meat within 3 months max.

But here’s a secret.  The main reason I like to freeze my meat is to make stir-fry in a jiffy.  I like to splurge and buy boneless short rib meat at Costco, freeze it, and pull it out to thaw slightly in the refrigerator on the morning that I decide to use it.  That gives it the perfect amount of time to thaw slightly before dinner time, but also remain a solid block.  Then I just use a sharp knife and cut the thinnest slices of meat with ease, without it squashing all around  like a soft fresh piece of beef.

Then sizzle sizzle in a hot pan or wok and the beef is soft, tender and delicious in a matter of minutes.  Sauce it up, along with some thinly cut fresh veg and maybe even some noodles and you’ve got a good solid meal that took no time at all.  Sometimes I don’t even take the beef out the morning that I need it.  I find usually thawing for just a couple hours does the trick, and it’s still easy to slice.  I do this for chicken breasts and even boneless pork chops!  Trust me, I’ll stir-fry just about anything.

Alternatively, if you have fresh meat you purposely bought for tonight, sitting in the fridge, then just pop it into the freezer for about 30 minutes or so and let it stiffen up slightly so it’s easier for you slice.  Works every time and you’ll be able to get perfectly thin and hassle free slices of meat.