Putting Food By - Janet Greene [115]
Freezing Stew Meat
Cut in cubes. They may be packed without browning, but for easier use later, sear them under a hot broiler; when the surfaces of the meat are browned nicely, rinse the pan juices out with a small amount of boiling water (which you’ll reduce, cool, and add to the pack). Frying meat is usually not a good browning treatment for meat to be frozen or canned.
Pack and seal. Fill rigid containers with meal-size portions of browned cubes. Cover with pan liquid and/or broth, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Seal. Pack unbrowned cubes in rigid containers, freezer bags, or sheet wrapping, excluding air. Seal tightly. Label; freeze.
Freezing Cooked Meat
It’s better to freeze cooked meat or poultry in large pieces (so less surface may be exposed to air). Slices of meat or poultry keep best if covered with broth or gravy. Do read about the best thickeners for frozen gravy—ClearJel or mochiko—in Chapter 5, “Common Ingredients and How to Use Them.”
Pack and seal. Large pieces are wrapped tightly in plastic, foil, or paper, using either the butcher wrap or drugstore fold, or sealed in a plastic freezer bag. Slices are stored in rigid containers of suitable size and covered with broth or gravy, then closely covered and sealed. Label; freeze.
Freezing Store-bought Cuts
(Meaning those prepackaged fresh meats from the market’s display case.) Pack and seal. Remove the store wrapping—even though it is well sealed; discard the tray, and rewrap and seal the meat closely in your own freezing materials. This will close out air and give the meat a more durable cover. (There’s too much air held in store packages—and this causes freezer burn; also, the clear film that’s OK to sell it in is not strong enough for freezer storage.) Label; freeze.
FREEZING POULTRY AND SMALL GAME
Once more it is necessary to start off with a warning against allowing the food to become contaminated by micro-organisms that cause illness, but we shall keep it mercifully brief and point out that certain game is likely to carry tularemia, and that some of the commonest “food poisoning” bacteria are the Salmonellae—which dearly love poultry. They are able to grow and multiply at a stunning rate once they start getting warm again. Handle food with scrupulous care.
And here again, “poultry” applies to domestic and wild birds, domestic rabbits, and small game.
Cooking Frozen Poultry
All freshly killed and dressed birds are better if stored in the refrigerator for 12 hours to develop their greatest tenderness before freezing.
For best results, thaw before cooking (unless you’re boiling it to use in a fricassee or such): roasting or broiling is more uniform if the poultry is thawed first, and the meat is less likely to be dry or rubbery. Pieces to be coated before frying, or browned before stewing, should always be thawed beforehand. Poultry must always be completely thawed before it is stuffed.
Cook all poultry soon after thawing, for best quality.
APPROXIMATE THAWING TIMES FOR FROZEN POULTRY
Thaw it in its freezer wrappings.
In the refrigerator: 2 hours per pound.
At room temperature NOT recommended.
Under cold running water: small individually frozen birds, or large joints, etc., may be bagged and sealed in waterproof plastic so they do not get waterlogged.
Freezing Birds Whole
Any bird may be frozen whole for future stuffing and roasting. But stuff it later. Even if the cook is careful at every step, dangerous bacteria causing food spoilage can develop in poultry stuffed at home and then frozen: the slow cooling as it freezes in the center of a densely packed cavity will produce spoilers in the stuffing, and normal roasting will not destroy such products. Prestuffed frozen birds sold by big commercial processors are prepared under controlled conditions of temperature and humidit, etc., that cannot be duplicated in the home.
Pack and seal. Put bird in a heavy-duty plastic freezer bag, press out air and tightly close the bag. Or wrap the bird in moisture/vapor-resistant material (see wrapping illustrations); seal tightly. Pack