Frozen Meat

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et81121

Assistant Cook
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Messages
20
Hi all,

Does anyone know if there are any bad associated with frozen chicken/sea food (fish or shrimp)?

On a tight budget and these frozen meat are somehow cheaper (a lot cheaper...:ermm:)

Cheers,

Tom
 
Good question.
There's not a huge difference in price between frozen and fresh chicken wings, but those bags of frozen breasts or leg quarters are always much cheaper than their fresh counterpart, even buying the large family packs of fresh.
 
First of all, I think the quality of frozen meat is less. Still fine, though. Those breasts are usually "pumped" wich means they are soaked in liquid to make them seem larger and weigh more. This saturation also affects the quality of the texture. Some of it is so pumped that the consitency is like processed meat inside. Still ok for certain applications.
 
I tend to shy away from frozen chicken. If you read the bag closely, there's always some sort of sodium broth glaze. Whenever chicken is on sale, I like to stock up and freeze them in individual portions. It becomes much more affordable.
 
i buy frozen and fresh chicken. personally i like the frozen chicken breasts, i think it's because they always come out juicy. I usually buy fresh chicken legs or whole chicken. The bags are definitely cheaper.
 
i buy frozen and fresh chicken. personally i like the frozen chicken breasts, i think it's because they always come out juicy. I usually buy fresh chicken legs or whole chicken. The bags are definitely cheaper.

My main concern would be how frost bitten they are from sitting in the freezer section of your supermarket (taste and cooking wise). I suppose if a lot of ppl buy it, then the fast turnover would mean they are relatively new and not dried out. Ever buy a frozen bag of hamburger patties? Thank god one company actually puts a "window" in their packages so you can see if they haven't turned to dried out frozen cardboard from being there so long.
 
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i buy frozen and fresh chicken. personally i like the frozen chicken breasts, i think it's because they always come out juicy. I usually buy fresh chicken legs or whole chicken. The bags are definitely cheaper.

Brining will keep chicken breasts or the whole bird for that matter, juicy.;)

Craig
 
I've never brined anything. I've been meaning to try it sometime though.
But reading this thread makes me wonder why it is so important to some folks to buy meat that hasn't been soaked in a "flavor enhancing" solution, then they take the meat home and soak it in a flavor enhancing solution...
Even packaged fresh chicken, like Perdue, seems to all be sold with a solution anymore. Unless you go organic I think.
Anyway, just something I think about.
 
I've never brined and am not going to start now. I have high blood pressure, so I don't need added salt.

I've been buying 10# bags of chicken legs for years. They taste fine, and after repackaging for the freezer, I don't have to buy any for a month or two, and always on hand.
 
I have never had issues with frozen meat that is vacuum packed (Cryovac or other) in thick plastic. It holds up better in my freezer than stuff I package and freeze.
 
It's true that frozen chicken breasts always state they have in essence been "brined". That's the reason they are always juicier than the fresh, in my experience. I buy fresh thighs, but always buy the flash frozen breasts.
 
I never buy frozen meat or chicken because I always find their production date one or two months ago. I am not sure how are they frozen all this time, so I always go with the fresh.
 
Not sure about chicken or meat, but fish, seafood, and vegs they rec buying prefrozen. Apparently fish and seafood are frozen on the boat, and vegs are frozen right after picking, making them even fresher than the fresh stuff in the store. I usually buy chick breasts on sale unfrozen and vacpac them. The last burger I bought was "previously frozen" and it was adequate even after I refrozen it. Who knows what happens?
 
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