To freeze or not to freeze, this is my question!

[addman]

Over the last year I have gone off of freezing (we have 3 freezers) raw red meat & fish. I am finding that the fish drops a lot of fluid/water and the red meat if not aged/mature seems to drop it's blood, has anyone else noticed this and is there away round it? Seems a shame to miss out on the deals and bulk buying

Adam

[matt318]

I would personally not go mad and freeze loads and loads. I find that meat is always best bought a day or so in advance and kept in the fridge. Saying that I can't resist a bargain and I do keep some cuts in the freezer, but I often forget about them and never get around to eating. My advice on stuff like pork shoulder and ribs is to buy it, smoke it and bag it up in portion sizes to then freeze for a later date. Pulled pork for instance does not suffer any Ill effects from the freezing process and is as good as the day I smoked it. I freeze ribs in tinfoil and reheat slowly in the oven, taste excellent as if it has just come off the smoker.

[Gary Morris]

I use a vac sealer, this prevents a lot of the water crystals

[addman]

Thanks Gary, sounds good. If I freeze pork, lamb or un-aged beef the amount of liquid or blood the drops out leaves the meet almost spongey, would vacuum packing help that do you think? Many thanks. Adam

[keith157]

I also use a vac sealer, how are you defrosting?

[addman]

Just in the fridge Keith.

Adam

[keith157]

Oh well that's that idea out the window, sorry its not something I've noticed.

[Gary Morris]

I boil in the bag mostly, heats it up nicely, without excess moisture.