Tips for freezing ground beef?

[AmyAnne]

Inspired by the threads about getting meal costs under control, I bought 5 pounds of ground beef at Costco today. I will use about 1.5 pounds to make chili tonight and freeze the rest.

I am wondering, what is the best way to freeze the uncooked meat? Unfortunately I just realized that I don't have any freezer bags - I have ziplock storage bags, aluminum foil, and glass pyrex containers.

Also, I am planning to make enough chili to have leftovers - any tips for freezing that?

 

[Sadie22]

I usually buy about 30 pounds at one time. I cook before freezing except for any shaped into hamburgers. Depending on what I want to use the meat in, I will season it or not. I will make chili with some, taco filling with some, meat sauce for lasagna or spaghetti, and so on. I use Ziploc or Hefty freezer bags or Rubbermaid containers.

I will make about 10 or 12 chili meals at a time in big pots and freeze meal-size portions in Rubbermaid containers.

 

[Fantastic4]

I divide it into pounds and wrap in plastic wrap. The ziplocks would work fine too. Same with the leftover chili. If you freeze soup in ziplocks lay them flat in the freezer. They store nice and take up less room.

 

[eduk8r26]

I just take what I think I'll need for whatever I'm going to make and wrap it in heavy duty foil. I don't need quite as much because I usually mix it with ground turkey for just about anything I make. I don't like ground turkey by itself.

 

[kymom99]

Not going to help you at the moment, but I like freezer paper the best. Meats don't get discolored as easily with freezer paper. I also use freezer bags or storage containers because they are easier and faster, but I should use paper more.

 

[MSSANDRA]

With what you have i would wrap the meat in foil and then put it in a zip-lock bag. You can do the chili in a zip lock bag or any type of rubber-made style containers. I too like to buy a large amount of meat and brown and portion it out and freeze. Makes dinner fast and easy.

 

[ilovemk76]

I put a serving of ground beef into a sandwich bag. I put all the sandwich bags into a freezer bag (storage bag if that is all I have) and put it in the freezer.

As for the chili, I freeze stuff in glad or Ziploc plastic containers.

 

[Karalynn]

I cook my hamburg before freezing as well. What I usually do is buy 3-5lbs, put on a baking sheet, season with S&P a little garlic powder and cook it in the oven. I'll stir it up a couple times while it's cooking to break it up, then let it cool and store it in 1lb-ish portions in a freezer bag. Taco salads, spaghetti sauce, hamburger helper, chili in the crock pot. It defrosts much quicker, and it's already cooked, huge time saver!

 

[AmyAnne]

Thanks for the tips. I hadn't thought about cooking all of it and then freezing. The next thing I want to cook is a meatloaf so not sure how that would work. But if I were better prepared and knew what my menus were going to be, it probably would have made sense to go ahead and cook at least some of the rest.

 

[MillauFr]

I put a serving of ground beef into a sandwich bag. I put all the sandwich bags into a freezer bag (storage bag if that is all I have) and put it in the freezer.

Ditto.

 

[Sadie22]

Thanks for the tips. I hadn't thought about cooking all of it and then freezing. The next thing I want to cook is a meatloaf so not sure how that would work. But if I were better prepared and knew what my menus were going to be, it probably would have made sense to go ahead and cook at least some of the rest.

I have mini-loaf pans that I bake mini meat loaves in and then freeze them. Those are meal-size for us.

I also bake a couple dozen baked potatoes at a time to make stuffed baked potatoes with spinach or broccoli. I freeze those, too.

I hardly ever make one meal's worth of anything at a time.

 

[Lilliputian]

For meatloaf, I'd assemble the meatloaf and then freeze it raw. Defrost and then bake when you're ready.

For a full-size meat loaf, line the loaf pan with freezer paper or parchment so that it's hanging over the sides. Put the meatloaf in there, and then fold the excess paper over the top to cover it. Put it in the freezer. Once it's frozen, pop the whole thing out of the loaf pan, then wrap it really well in a foil and return to the freezer. That way it's the right shape and your loaf pan isn't in the freezer until you're ready to cook your meatloaf.

 

[Ali]

I cook it in a skillet, rinse it in a collander to get the fat off, then freeze it in ziplock freezer bags lying horizontal so they stack easier in the freezer when frozen.

 

[StephMK]

We buy the big packs at Costco too. DH divides them into 1-2 lb then wraps them in plastic wrap first, then foil to protect from freezer burn. I like the plastic wrap because if it's not totally thawed, it's very easy to throw in the microwave. Sometimes the foil would stick in the folds of the meat if peeled off before fully thawed.

I keep thinking I'd like to try cooking it first but haven't done that yet.

 

[pixiewings71]

I use Ziploc freezer bags, but my Mom used aluminum foil when I was younger.

 

[msmama]

I think the most important thing when freezing meat is that you don't want it to be exposed to too much air. I wouldn't do pyrex because you can't squeeze the air out.

If I buy it at Costco, I portion it out and put it in ziplock bags, then squeeze all the air out. I like to make it flat in a quart sized bag. it stores more easily and thaws quicker.

When I freeze chili I usually do it in a tupperware type container but I have millions of those. Make sure you label it so you remember - I date things I freeze, too.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I put a serving of ground beef into a sandwich bag. I put all the sandwich bags into a freezer bag (storage bag if that is all I have) and put it in the freezer.

Ditto.

Exactly what I do, too. I put a pound (using a food scale) into a Ziploc type bag and smash it flat. This helps to keep the air out (no freezer burn), the flat "bricks" fit easier into the gallon sized freezer bags, they're really quick to defrost, and I know exactly how much is in each baggie.

Our Wegman's has 85% lean beef for $2.19/lb. I stocked up at the end of December and I still have a few pounds left in the freezer.

 

[Candlelady]

FoodSaver. Been using them for over 10 years now.

We purchase our ground beef at Costco too. I used to weigh it out, but found that if you purchase the ground beef in their large patties, 2 of them equal approximately one pound. Quicker and easier than weighing.

 

[JessM]

I freeze individual portions of soups and stews in canning jars. Make sure you pick up the kind that say they are freeze proof of the package, you don't have to actually "can" them so you can reuse them but they keep a good seal to keep stuff from getting freezer burnt. I also freeze meatballs in sauce in the same jars.

 

[vettechick99]

OK, I read this online and totally thought it was gross, but it kinda worked out. Apparently this is what cafeterias do.

The last time I bought a vat of beef, I got a huuuuge pot of water and boiled it. It wasn't pretty, but all the fatty oil bubbled up and the beef cooked quickly. Then I strained the meat and portioned it out. I think a quart-size bag flatted out was about lb of beef. I packed those away and grabbed one when it was time for cooking.

Now I can't remember if I salted the water or not. IIR, I didn't, so the beef was plain tasting, but that's not a big deal if it's going into a highly seasoned dish. But salting or otherwise seasoning the meat could be worthwhile.