Storing minced meat in the refrigerator and freezer

AnyutaN — Sep 27th, 2016 Categories: Freezing

Tags: Frozen minced meat, Freezing meat

Sometimes you have a great opportunity to buy a good piece of fresh meat. There may be too much of this meat to prepare one dish. Therefore, housewives often turn the meat into minced meat and try to freeze it. Read this article about how to do this correctly so as not to lose taste and save time on defrosting.

Ingredients: minced chicken, minced meat, minced fish Time to add: All year round

Shelf life and SanPiN

What is the safety of minced meat in the refrigerator according to SanPiN:

The table below shows that the storage time of chopped and ground meat, even when frozen, is short.

Chilled in the refrigerator

When fresh, minced meat can be stored for a short period.

At +2…+6 degrees it stays fresh for half a day. Fish is stored refrigerated under the same conditions for only six hours.

The shelf life of minced chicken does not exceed 10 hours. If masses of different meats (veal, chicken, fish) are located in one chamber, they are placed separately in different containers or films.

Minced meat with onions can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 6 hours.

Important! When purchasing a product in a store, you need to check the production date so that the expiration date does not expire during long-term storage.

In the freezer

To keep the product longer, you do not need to add spices, onions, fermented milk, or other ingredients. During the freezing procedure, additional components promote bacterial activity.

A frozen product at -12 degrees can remain in the freezer for no more than 60 days. At -18 degrees, minced meat is stored for 3 months.

Be sure to read:

Is it possible to freeze red caviar: 7 storage methods and how to extend the shelf life of the salted product

It is permissible to place minced meat purchased chilled in the freezer, but this should be done immediately.

Thawed in the refrigerator

When defrosting, the shelf life of minced meat in the refrigerator is halved.

It is worth heat-treating the melted frozen food immediately. But it is permissible to move it to the refrigerator compartment at a temperature of +2...+4 degrees for 24-48 hours.

The main problem is that after defrosting, bacteria develop quickly in twisted meat, and the product loses its vitamins.

If additional components have been added to the meat component, the shelf life is reduced to 6 hours. If you use the product later, you may get poisoned.

At room temperature

The shelf life of the product outside the refrigerator is 2 hours. The period becomes even shorter in the hot season - bacteria multiply faster.

Method number 2. Using ice cube trays

This freezing method is suitable if you then plan to make meatballs or meatballs from the minced meat. It is best to use large molds that can hold a piece large enough to cook 1 meat ball.

Advice! Use silicone molds if you want to end up serving the dish in an unusual way: in the shape of hearts, squares, stars. In this case, you need to remove the product by placing the frozen figures in boiling water for 1-2 minutes.

You can freeze the product like this: cover the container with cling film and fill each well with a small amount of minced meat. Cover the top with another layer of film and place the mold in the freezer.

You can sort the minced meat into small bags (60-100 g each) so that it defrosts faster. This method is perfect for preparing cutlets and portioned dishes.

Frozen meat does not last indefinitely in the freezer. It is important that the bags are tightly closed. Then the meat will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 months. If the bags are not tightly closed and the minced meat is often exposed to air, then it can last no more than 3 months.

In most butcher shops you can choose your own pieces of meat and ask them to grind them into minced meat right on the spot. This product is best suited for further freezing in large bags:

Meatballs are a brilliant invention and a convenient frozen preparation for future use. This is an ideal solution for a busy and lazy housewife, and a young mother. You can cook a large quantity of meatballs at one time, spending 30 minutes on it. Then it will be possible to use them as needed for a long time when required. Having them in stock in the refrigerator will become a real lifesaver. Because you can cook dinner with them in literally 15 minutes. The frozen semi-finished product is used to make soup, make gravy, and steam it. Meatballs have proven themselves well in children's and diet menus. How to make and freeze meatballs will be discussed in this review.

You can cook and freeze meatballs from all types of meat, and even fish. You can combine several types of meat. You can make different meatballs from one serving of meat. For example, add your favorite spices to one portion of minced meat, chopped herbs to another, and twisted onions, garlic and other vegetables to a third. Sometimes fresh vegetables are replaced with dried ones. You can add grated carrots or zucchini to the minced meatballs for feeding children. For satiety, you can add a little semolina to the minced meat; it will make the meat balls tender. Also, the preparations will be more tender if you add white bread soaked in milk to them. So experiment and cook the meatballs that suit your taste best.

• Calorie content per 100 g - 89 kcal.
• Number of servings - 500 g
• Cooking time - 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• Meat (any variety) - 500 g
• Spices and spices - to taste and as desired
• Ground black pepper - a pinch or to taste
• Salt - 0.5 tsp. or to taste

How to prepare for storage

The shelf life of minced meat in the freezer depends on the preparation of the product.

When preparing minced meat and semi-finished products, you must follow certain rules, so the safety is doubled:

• Meat - the main ingredient of minced meat - must be of high quality. It must be washed and dried.
• The shelf life of minced meat in the refrigerator increases if it is made from one type of meat. If you need to mix several types, you need to do this immediately before cooking.
• Products should not contain additional ingredients: salt, pepper, eggs, milk, vegetables - this reduces shelf life.

How to package a product before storage

Before storing the twist, it is packaged in a clean bag or plastic container. Cover the container tightly with a lid.

If the container design does not have its own lid, it is worth covering with cling film to prevent the meat from getting airy.

It is better to place the workpiece on the bottom shelf so that blood does not drip onto other products. If there is too much prepared mass, in order not to get confused about the timing, it is better to put a mark with the date.

Be sure to read:

Methods for storing live and boiled crayfish, how to properly freeze for a long time

Turkey spring rolls

Pancakes are good for both breakfast and dinner. Semi-finished products are prepared with all types of meat. For the pancake dough you will need:

• 2 tbsp. milk;
• 1 chicken egg;
• 2–2.5 tbsp. premium white wheat flour;
• vegetable oil;
• butter.

The dough ingredients are kneaded with a mixer. Let it sit for half an hour and bake the pancakes.

For stuffing you need:

1. The meat is minced in a meat grinder.
2. The mass is salted and kneaded with a masher.
3. Place a portion of minced meat on the pancake, add a small piece of butter and wrap the pancake in an envelope.
4. The finished product is frozen.

Defrosting the product

Defrosting time depends on the temperature in the freezer and the weight of the product. If the piece is large, then without additional devices in the refrigerator it can melt for up to 24 hours.

It is better to place the mass in a sealed bag or bowl, since after defrosting, water with blood remains. The melted mass should be used within 1-2 days.

Some housewives leave the mixture at room temperature, then the time of use is reduced by 2-3 times. The dish must be prepared immediately after defrosting.

Fast defrost

Portion storage significantly reduces the duration of defrosting the product. Nevertheless, thawing under natural conditions takes a certain time, which we always lack.

The easiest way to quickly defrost is to place the bag of minced meat in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.

A small volume after this procedure will be quite suitable for further processing. You can form meatballs, stuff vegetables or dumplings with minced meat, and cook navy-style pasta.

How to choose ready-made minced meat in the store

When buying minced meat in a store or on the market, you need to adhere to the basic rules:

• There is no need to buy products without specialized signs that will allow you to identify the manufacturer. The buyer does not know what it is made of or how long it has been lying on the counter. The packaging of the mass must indicate the manufacturer’s data, composition, and packing date.
• The shade of minced meat can be soft pink, dark red, burgundy. Fresh stock is not ashy, white, or with foreign inclusions or veins.
• A quality product has the smell of clean, fresh meat. Sour or other unpleasant odors are not acceptable.
• If the mass is in a frozen state, it should not contain ice crystals from the bloody liquid. Ice indicates that the product was thawed and then re-frozen.
• The product should not contain soy additives or vegetable protein. Impurities are a sign of poor quality. This affects the taste and shelf life of the meat.

Be sure to read:

How to defrost chicken or chicken fillet: quick ways, what not to do

What happens if mold gets into the body?

Once ingested, mold will not have access to air, which means it will no longer be able to reproduce.

But, despite this, mold will remain in the stomach in the form of myotoxin (a waste product).

Even a small piece of moldy bread can cause the accumulation of large amounts of myotoxin. In small doses, the liver can handle it and there will be no harmful effects on the body. But heavy loads can lead to cirrhosis.

It all starts with severe poisoning, which can be accompanied by dehydration and diarrhea. It is critical if the consumption of mold does not stop, because mutations will begin, which can even lead to inflammatory processes and oncology.

Features of self-cooking

How to cook minced meat at home yourself:

1. To make minced meat, you need to choose only high-quality raw materials, the quality of the final product depends on this
2. Before grinding, it is necessary to remove veins, films, and fatty tissue from a piece of meat.
3. It is better to cut the pulp into medium-sized cubes, no larger than the feed hole of the meat grinder.
4. When grinding meat, you don’t need to fill the meat grinder to capacity with it: if the raw material accumulates in the area of ​​the screw and knife, it will be ground to an emulsion state and the product will lose its taste.
5. The finished minced meat should be cooked immediately or covered with film so that it does not dry out.
6. The internal parts of the meat grinder must be washed before and after preparing minced meat, otherwise bacteria may enter the product, which will greatly reduce shelf life.

What to do for allergy sufferers

It’s worse for allergy sufferers, because even a small amount of mold can cause a severe allergic reaction and even anaphylactic shock. If such reactions are observed, you should immediately go to the hospital on a drip.

Small particles of mold collection can even get into the lungs. This is a favorable environment for reproduction, which will result in bronchial asthma. Accordingly, allergy sufferers should always carefully examine the products they consume.