Im vegetarian. I buy meat in bulk on sale for my dog. What is the best way to portion out ground beef to freeze? Freezer bags seem like such a waste for single use. Ideally in 4-8oz portions, but whatever is most frugal. I do like to cook in bulk and meal prep for her so Im open to freezing in larger portions.
I currently have 6lbs of ground beef. She could probably finish this in a month but i buy fresh meat to supplement her kibble.
What is the best way to freeze ground beef?
byu/polkadotncheese inFrugal
Posted by polkadotncheese
21 Comments
Could probably wrap individual portions in parchment paper, then put multiple portions in a single bag.
Yep, that’s how we do this. Only we rap in plastic wrap, and then put all of the individual packages into a single freezer bag.
You could probably get 3 pounds into a gallon bag, roll it out edge to edge, and then use a chopstick or similar divide it into portions. Freeze flat and then break it apart after it’s frozen.
Pricey but what about those silicone bags? Can be reused and would be cheaper over time. Maybe some containers you can also vacuum seal? These are not cheap upfront if ever but zero waste
I’m not sure the weight that would fit in these, but we use silicone muffin tins. Freeze flat, and then once frozen, you can store a bunch of the disks in a single ziplock bag
Put into the portions you use per feeding, put in a Ziploc bag or wrap it in whatever you want. Flatten it as much as possible then put it in the freezer. Quickest way to thaw is to submerge in water and then leave the tap on to a light flow so new water is always being added and helps keep the water from being too cold.
Some people handwash Ziploc bags so maybe you could try that out? Other comment saying to wrap in individual portions and then use a big bag for as many portions that fit is a good idea and would then make cleaning the bag easier as well.
Buy it in bulk or as much as your freezer space will fit for the portion sizes.
In the freezer
Maybe butcher paper folded around 4-8oz rectangular bricks of ground beef like vintage butcher shops did. Its less plastic waste for sure. I think the trick would be getting good at adequately wrapping ground beef in butcherpaper like a present for freezing. But again, its def been done.
If you’re not paying a board certified veterinary nutritionist to formulate a diet specifically for your dog, you’re likely severely lacking in at least a dozen required nutrients. Please go read r/dogfood.
Reuse the freeze bags. Rinse them out and use them over and over. They will last a long time. They are NOT single use. Rarely do I use a freeze bags once.
So is the meat fed raw or cooked?
If cooked, I would cook it and then put in an ice cube tray to freeze. 1 ice cube is about 1 fluid ounce. You let it freeze and then bag them. Run the ice cube tray through the dishwasher.
You could likely do the same for raw.
If you’re freezing it uncooked then flatten it out so it will thaw/cook faster. If you’re storing for longer than maybe a month or so I would vac seal it.
Ziplock sandwich bags. Push the meat flat and they’ll stack. Leave the used ones in the freezer
I’m a huge fan of vacuum ceiling for any type of meat that you’re freezing. It makes it last months longer in the freezer without it getting freezer burn
They make these silicone freezer portion containers that you can get in various sizes. I normally use them for soup or chili. I just fill them up and then pop the lid on and freeze. Once frozen you can easily pop the now small bricks and put them in a large ziplock with a bit of wax paper in between each brick. They come in multiple sizes and the one I use for individual servings I think has 6 or 8 sections that contain in the 4-6 oz range. Just look them up they are very handy for dealing with leftover also to make individual portions.
We use wax paper and rubbermaid storage containers. So, you weigh the portions. Flatten by hand like burgers or use a burger press. If you have space, arrange on waxpapwr on a cookie sheet, freeze that way,then use a pizza cutter or scissors to cut the waxpaper and stack the “burgers”. Put the burger stacks already frozen in rubbermaid containers. For humans we make 4 ounce patties, they cook to around 3 ounces to 3.25 ounces depending on leanness. If you freeze them individually you can reuse the ziploc easily.
If you do not have the space to freeze before putting in storage container, then you cut your wax paper with the unfrozen meat on it. Stack so the wax paper is between patties. Freeze.
To make it super easy to separate, use wax paper to “sandwich” the patty. Or butcher paper. Then you can pop apart with no issues and thaw out exactly how many you want.
We portion out 1/3 lb. balls; and twist one ball into the corner of a produce bag, another ball into the other corner, etc. We can usually get about 3-5 balls per bag.
Another thought is cooking it all up and saving the appropriate amount in small yogurt containers. Once they are frozen stack them then put them in a produce bag, then back into the freezer.
Those hamburger patty makers are great. The “stacker” type that makes a bunch at once. Then you separate the patties and put a piece of parchment paper between each disc of meat. You can find one of those devices at your local local thrift store.
For only a month or two you can just roll them up into preportioned balls and freeze them in a bag.
I’d create patties of a size that I would cook at the same time (i.e., if you cook 1 lb at a time, make them that big, or 4 oz if you cook more often).
Freeze the patties on parchment paper on a sheet pan so they don’t stick together.
Once frozen, put in a bag in the freezer, they will stack fine without sticking to each other.
I wash, disinfect, and reuse freezer bags.