Best way to freeze food??

[Jaycey'smom]

I have noticed alot of people buy meat in bulk and break it into meal size and freeze it. What is the best way to do this? Freezer bags? I always just freeze it in the package it comes in but I think I could save some $$$ by breaking it up. (I throw ALOT of food away) I also pass up really good deals b/c I don't know what to do with all the food. For example the other day my grocery store had a sale on london broil....they had a 3.5 lb package of ground london broil for $4....But I did not get it b/c I was not sure how to freeze it and did not need 3 lbs of ground meat for one meal. Any tips would be great!!

 

[100AcreWood]

I use the Glad press and seal and seal the portions and then put in a freezer bag.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I use a FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I can cut the bags to whatever size I need and I've never had a problem with freezer burn. The packaging used for meat at the grocery store is not adequate protection for your food in the freezer.

 

[Shmily1]

If I am buying a lot of pork chops or some other meat that is portioned individually, I wrap each piece in saran wrap and place them in a ziploc bag. They will stay good in the freezer a long time. If it's just something to break down like hamburger meat, I put it directly in a ziploc freezer bag and stick it in the freezer. The wrapping from the store is not thick enough to protect it from freezer burn, plus you have to thaw out so much.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Every time my DILs visit they bring us meat (no, we don't have meat in Westfield, Indiana ).

My MIL uses the FoodSaver vacuum sealer bags, or as she calls them, "suck bags".

 

[malibuconlee]

I buy hamburger in 10 lb tubes at Sam's Club and usually pork chops as well. I get them home and split them up into 1lb packages for the burger and usually put 3 of the thick cut pork chops into packages. I just use regular ziplock freezer bags and have never had any problem with them.

I really like doing the burger this way because I flatten out the packages to get the air out and they stack better in the freezer and also don't take as long to thaw as a big mound would.

 

[txvjc]

I just wrap it in foil. Never had any problems.

 

[Mkaz]

We have the Foodsaver vacuum sealer too. We love it. We are down to the last few roasts from last year's cow, and still no freezer burn.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I do the same thing with ground beef as one of the pps...I separate into 1lb portions...I don't measure, I just look at the total for the package...mine are usually 4.5 lbs so I separate into 4 piles. I put each portion on a quart size freezer bag and squish it so that it fills the entirety of the bag and is flat. The I squeeze as much air out as possible and seal. I place the bags on top of boxes or in a square pan until frozen then put all of the bags into a gallon sized bag. They're easy to store that way either upright or laid flat.

For steaks like London Broil...if they're too big for 3 of us I'll cut them in half. Then each steak goes into a quart or gallon sized bag (depending on which it will fit best...AND I pour in a marinade. Sometimes it's steak sauce and a little worcestershire, sometimes italian dressing, sometimes a concoction of whatever I have on hand...LOL. Then the night before I want to use it I put it in the fridge and it's ready to go on the grill when I come home the next night!

Pork chops I wrap in plastic wrap individually and freeze all together in a bag. Or sometimes I do them like the steak and marinade 4 together in 1 bag...freezing flat, of course!

And I'm thrilled that my BJs sells Perdue chicken breasts now vacuum sealed in sets of two...with about 10 sets in the package. So I just bring home the package and throw the whole thing in the freezer! But I can take out 2 at a time to defrost so no waste.

 

[crissichef]

I use the foodsaver too now that I got one for christmas. Before that I separated the meat and wrapped it in saran wrap and then foil. I kept meat for approx 6-7 months this way with no problems!

Crissi

 

[alliedogsmom]

I have to chime in on the Foodsaver as well. I absolutely love mine. I also bought the tops that you can use to seal mason jars, and have stocked up on rice, dried peas and beans, all kinds of stuff, and vacuum sealed them. Pretty much everything I buy that is to be frozen gets put in Foodsaver bags. Even frozen vegetables. WalMart sells a pretty basic model at a reasonable price, you can buy supplies from there as well. Well worth the investment!

 

[joellyn23]

Reynolds came out with a battery operated sealer:

http://www.amazon.com/Reynolds®-Handi-Vac-Vacuum-Sealer-Batteries/dp/B000XY8PDW

I'm thinking about getting one too

 

[spalady]

I agree with the Food Saver. It is wonderful. I buy alot in bulk at Sams club and freeze everything. Its a great way to save money. In the summer I freeze stuff from the garden and I have it year round.