Can I freeze ready cutlets? Freezer bags

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Have you ever experienced this situation: hurry home from work, on the way you still need to go to the store and buy something to cook dinner, and then relatives or friends call and warn of an imminent visit? The mood is spoiled, you have to run into cooking, spend money on semi-finished products. Often, not only the price, but also the quality is not satisfied in this matter. Therefore, it is important to take care in advance that the treasured bag of cutlets is waiting for you in the freezer. Within 15 minutes they can be cooked, supplemented with boiled spaghetti and sprinkled with cheese. Dinner is ready.

To be or not to be

The question of whether it is possible to freeze ready-made cutlets is often asked by housewives. It's a dream. We come home from work, put it on a plate, pour it with tomato sauce - and that's it, you can serve it to the table. But vague doubts still remain. Will the product lose its qualities during the defrosting process, for how longcan you store them? Experienced chefs and chefs answer positively the question of whether it is possible to freeze ready-made cutlets. This is a great way to save time and effort, as well as a way to save food.

Choosing stuffing

To make a semi-finished product really tasty and he althy, it must be made from high-quality meat. It is best to buy the pulp for this and twist it yourself. In this case, you will be sure that foreign ingredients, such as a large amount of fat, will not get into it.

The choice of meat should also be conscious. Fatty pork is not very useful. Consider also frying in oil. Lean pork will be tender but dry. The same can be said about the chicken. The beef is too tough. By trial and error, the hostess found the best solution. It is a mixture of beef, pork and turkey. Then the cutlets are juicy and tender. Ask your mothers if you can freeze ready-made cutlets. Surely they will answer that they themselves have done this more than once.

How to form semi-finished products

For a kilogram of cutlet mass, you will need 100 g of breadcrumbs. Pour it into a convenient cup and proceed to the formation of products. There are several ways to do this, among which you can choose the most convenient one.

• With clean, slightly damp hands, form a cutlet of the required size and roll well in breadcrumbs. So that the products do not stick together and move away from the packaging, it is recommended to use crackers, not flour. Yes, and a crust laterturns out to be more interesting. Is it possible to freeze ready-made cutlets in muffin tins? Very simple. And hostesses are happy to use this method. After freezing, we simply pour them into a bag.
• You can spread semi-finished products ready for frying on a cutting board, covering it with a film. Be sure to leave a distance between the products, and tighten the cling film on top. And in this form, send to the freezer.
• If you plan to make a large number, then you can spread it in several layers. In order not to damage the shape, it is best to make thin cutlets from minced meat, otherwise the upper ones will flatten the lower ones. Or let the first batch freeze.

Packaging

Freezing cutlets in production takes place in a special chamber, this is the so-called shock technology. Home refrigerators are not suitable for this, but small meat balls will freeze perfectly and will be stored in them. This usually takes no more than three hours.

It is recommended to pack them in portions. But you can stack them in a pile and wrap with cling film. It turns out a sausage, from which you can take the required amount. Do not forget to stick a label on which the date of manufacture will be indicated. And if several types of semi-finished products are sent to the freezer, then also write the composition. Great for storage and container with silicone lid.

Cooking dinner

Now there are semi-finished products in the refrigerator, and therefore this process becomes much faster. Yes, and more convenient. SometimesYou can hear the opinion that after defrosting food becomes carcinogenic. But science has not yet found any evidence for this. The only point: if the minced meat already contains onions, then after defrosting, gourmets may feel some change in its smell. But most don't feel any difference. Moreover, you can pre-fry the onion and only then add it to the minced meat. Then you will not feel any foreign smell.

By the way, it is not necessary to defrost them. It is enough to put it on a frying pan and stew in tomato sauce. Another option is to steam. Then all you need to do is just put them in the steamer grid and turn on the program. If you want to get a golden crust, then heat the pan well, pour in a little oil and spread the cutlets directly from the freezer. Close the lid and reduce the heat to a minimum. First, the crust will set, and then further cooking will take place.

If there are fried cutlets left

Sometimes it happens. Imagine that you have fried a whole dish, and then your husband called and invited you to a restaurant. And tomorrow you go to a corporate party together and you definitely won’t have dinner at home. It doesn't matter, you just need to remember how to freeze ready-made cutlets. To do this, they need to be laid out on a towel so that excess fat is absorbed, and cool completely. After that, you can put it in the refrigerator for several hours. Then the structure of minced meat will become more dense and it will be easier to pack them.

And now just a few words abouthow to freeze ready-made meatballs at home. If you plan to store them in the freezer in advance, then it is better not to fry until cooked, but only to create a golden crust on the surface. Then it will be possible to stew them in sauce.

You can use any of the methods listed above. Only silicone molds for muffins are not suitable for freezing ready-made cutlets. If the freezer is empty, then simply spread out a plastic bag and lay them out in an even layer. Or use freezer bags. After that, collect and put in plastic containers. Be sure to sign the date of manufacture, as well as how they were prepared. If the cutlets are fried and ready to eat, then it will be enough just to heat them up in the microwave.

Instead of a conclusion

Knowing how to freeze ready-made cutlets, you can make everyday life easier and speed up the preparation of dinner. But they don’t argue about tastes, so there are quite a lot of opinions on this matter. Some believe that freezing does not affect the taste of the finished dish at all. Others, on the contrary, argue that after defrosting, semi-finished products acquire an unpleasant odor or taste. Of course, if there is enough time, it is best to buy and twist fresh meat and cook delicious cutlets right away. But this possibility is not always available. In any case, this method of harvesting semi-finished products is convenient and has the right to life.