Each experienced housewife has her own secrets about how much meat can be stored in the freezer, but beginners who have encountered this problem for the first time usually have to remember the existing rules. The shelf life of meat products during freezing depends not only on their type (beef, poultry or pork), but also on the preliminary preparation and cutting of raw materials, the shape and size of the piece, its packaging, the maximum temperature of the chamber and many other factors.
The most popular types of meat products
The most demanded types of meat today are beef and pork, lamb, rabbit and nutria, as well as birds - hens, turkeys, ducks and geese. In addition, offal: kidneys, liver and heart are no less popular with buyers.
The richest source of amino acids and other nutrients for the body due to improper storage in the freezer can cause infection with an intestinal infection. In industrial freezers, carcasses of animals that have been stored have been stored for decades, but at home, the answer to the question of how much meat can be stored in the freezer depends not only on the type of meat product, but also on the technical characteristics of the chamber (the lowest possible temperature) and the conditions for maintaining the cold in her, since long power outages (more than three to ten hours) significantly reduce the suitability of the product for consumption and reduce its taste.
How to prepare meat for freezing
The main mistake of inexperienced culinary specialists is the placement in the freezer compartment of a whole piece of beef or pork, purchased the day before. If in the future it is necessary to thaw and re-freeze it, then the meat is deprived of vitamins and valuable substances, and dietary fiber becomes stiffer or friable, and becomes unpleasant. It is better to freeze the freezer for four to five hours from other stored delicacies, or at least prepare enough space for new packages by turning on the maximum negative temperature (minus 18-24 degrees).
The meat is sorted into offal and pieces of muscle tissue, cutting off the fatty fibers on the surface. The duration of how much meat can be stored in the freezer can be different, due to the size of the pieces, so the product must first be divided into portions. Each of them in size should correspond to one cooking in the future. This will allow you to use the right amount of protein product without compromising the quality and organoleptic characteristics of the remaining pieces. If you do not subject the meat to washing before freezing, the shelf life will increase significantly. Each of the pieces must be thoroughly wet from any moisture, wrapped in paper (cling film or foil), and then placed in a container or bag with a clip from which air must be removed. You can put a sticker inside the package with the date of product freezing, which will allow you to further control its shelf life.
About preparation and storage of minced meat
It is most convenient to roll out the mass of minced meat with a rolling pin inside a plastic bag and divide it into portioned squares (300-350 g each), squeezing the intervals with the edge of the cutting board.
Such a briquette easily folds (you can lay paper between the layers) and does not take up extra space in the freezer. In the future, the number of compact plates for the preparation of juicy cutlets is easily adjustable. According to the advice of experienced cooks, the period of how much time you can store meat in the freezer in the form of minced meat is no more than three to four months.
About bird
Chicken or turkey meat in the form of a whole carcass can be kept frozen for no more than 9-12 months, and pieces of this valuable product can be stored no more than eight to nine. Moreover, if he was not kept in a modern cell with deep freezing (minus 20-24 degrees), then even a bird carcass after 6-8 months can acquire an unpleasant aftertaste of old fibers.
The secret of how much meat can be stored in the freezer (from waterfowl - goose or duck), experienced housewives consider the period of 8-12 months. But most of them are inclined to believe that after six months goose or duck carcasses (and pieces) have an unpleasant aftertaste and smell, which cannot be eliminated with any spices.
About beef, pork and lamb
The marked portioned portions of these types of meat, sealed in cellophane, if the freezer is equipped with the “quick freeze” mode, can be stored in different amounts of time: beef - not more than 10, lamb - 6, pork - 8 months. Pure fat or pieces of meat sufficiently saturated with it can be kept in the cell for no more than four months.
Having learned how much frozen meat can be stored in the freezer, it must be remembered that the temperature at which it was cooled should be constant, without further lowering or raising. Only in this case you can get tasty and healthy beef, lamb or pork for your culinary masterpieces. If the “fast freezing” mode is not provided in the refrigerator, then any kind of meat should be stored at a temperature not exceeding minus 18 degrees.
Additional tips experienced
When considering how much raw meat can be stored in the freezer, it should be borne in mind that it is better to reduce any recommended time by subtracting a month from them. In retail chains or butcher shops, the delivery time and the time spent by the product on the window are not indicated, so it is difficult to calculate the exact shelf life of the meat for the buyer. Experienced housewives also recall that when putting butter, herbs and other products in a freezer with meat briquettes together, you need to shorten their shelf life for cooking delicious dishes.
So that the meat does not absorb extraneous odors, it is better to wrap it in two plastic bags, tying them or tightly sealing them. Food lovers like to order mammoth meat in restaurants, so how many years can you store meat in the freezer? In fact, the secret of its suitability is that the carcasses of animals that have lain for many centuries in permafrost have never been thawed, they were at a constant negative temperature, which is almost impossible to achieve at home. There are examples when people ate meat after three years of storage in the freezer, but the risk from such dishes is too great, and their taste is doubtful. Boiled pieces of poultry are also frozen, which are stored in the broth or sauce for no more than six months, and without liquid - no more than four months. Stuffed meat dishes (meatballs, meatballs) can lie in the freezer for up to three months, steaks - up to nine, and sausages or cooked offal - for no more than 60 days. Many chefs are skeptical of such an experience, preferring to store food raw and cook as needed.