Tips on Freezing Food

BaZmO*

So what's the main things you need to watch out for when freezing food?

For some reason I always find myself making lots of a certain dish and never knowing if I'm able to freeze it or not. Or if I do freeze it what's the best way to defrost it.

For example. Shepard's Pie. If I make a batch of it am I better off cooking the lot and then freezing the left overs?

Or Should I put it into indivdual portions first and then freeze them? And If I do that, does it have to be defrosted first or can it go straight into the oven?

Any tips on freezing other foods would be great too.

The Hill Billy

BaZmO* - There are a tips on freezing food here.

Blub2k4

I always freeze off portions in take away style trays, no point in freezing a big block unless you want to defrost it all at the same time.
I get the trays in All rooms by Mary St there, beside the camping store in dublin.

rubadub

A tip for sauces is putting them in those freezer ice cube bags, the ones you fill up and tie a knot in. I freeze natural yoghurt like this too since I only use an icecube size amount at a time in cooking. I also do it with fruit juice so it doesnt dilute my drinks. Handy for mixers in vodka if you dont want to introduce water.

BaZmO*

Blub2k4 wrote:

I always freeze off portions in take away style trays, no point in freezing a big block unless you want to defrost it all at the same time.
I get the trays in All rooms by Mary St there, beside the camping store in dublin.

I've often thought about doing that cos I've seen those trays in Dunnes. If I did do something like Shepards Pie in those trays and then froze them would I have to defrost them first or could I just bung em in the oven like you would the type of frozen SPs you'd get in the supermarket. Would it work for the likes of Lasagne too?

Hill Billy wrote:

BaZmO* - There are a tips on freezing food here.

Cheers, I'll that a read.

noby

I would defrost first. I guess a few minutes in the microwave would sort it.

Of course, technically, you should defrost everything in the fridge, and not on the counter-top.

BaZmO*

noby wrote:

I would defrost first. I guess a few minutes in the microwave would sort it.

Well if it's a tinfoil tray, defrosting in a microwave wouldn't be an option.

rubadub

You could stick it in the oven from the start, i.e. do not preheat. The slow heat will defrost a bit. Or get microwaveable trays instead of the tinfoil ones, reuseable too.

I stick all my portions in glass jars & in the freezer/fridge, then microwave.

otron

Interestingly, I saw a thing on the US FDA site that said that if you defrost chicken in the fridge, it will keep for 3 days, and you can refreeze it as long as it hasn't left the fridge in that time. Contrary to everything you read...

Can't find the original page, but this'll do

BaZmO*

otron wrote:

Interestingly, I saw a thing on the US FDA site that said that if you defrost chicken in the fridge, it will keep for 3 days, and you can refreeze it as long as it hasn't left the fridge in that time. Contrary to everything you read...

Can't find the original page, but this'll do

I wouldn't advise it though. And if you've gone to the trouble of buying some chicken, freezing it, thawing it, refreezing it, thawing it again you're probably not meant to eat it. It would also loose a lot of it's quality.

I actually made a load of Shepard's Pie last night and put it into those aluminium take-away trays and put them in the freezer. I'll have to do a couple of experiments in the next week to see what's the best way to cook them, either defrosted or straight from freezer to oven.

Alun

If I'm making something like Sheperd's Pie, I'll only freeze the meat part, and make the mash separately when I use the frozen meat. Same for anything else with any kind of topping. There's something about reheated mashed potato that just doesn't do it for me.

BaZmO*

Alun wrote:

If I'm making something like Sheperd's Pie, I'll only freeze the meat part, and make the mash separately when I use the frozen meat. Same for anything else with any kind of topping. There's something about reheated mashed potato that just doesn't do it for me.

That's fair enough but the reason for doing it was to cut down on any preparing of food for those nights that I've been working late or just don't have the time. It's a better option than getting a take away.