Freezing good cuts of meat

[Pook]

Woo, I don't dare leave food out on the counter to thaw. Especially fish.
I have five cats and it's simply a matter of survival here.
LOL!
I always thaw in the fridge, unless it's a last-minute thing with hamburger and then I use the microwave.
Purrs,
Joyce

[archiduc]

Originally Posted by knight76

So obviously you can freeze meat and let it thaw etc.

But what about good cuts of meat like ribeye etc, is it going to affect the quality too much freezing it and leaving it for say a month in the freezer before thawing it out and cooking it.

Will it likely be tougher?

Or would it just be better to go out on the day and buy these nice meats, and leave the freezing to chops etc.

Hi Knight,
To my way of thinking the answer is Yes, Yes and No.

Meat and meat fibres contain water which on freezing expand and may cause the fibres to rupture and leach liquid when thawed. Irrespective of how carefully you package the meat, cells will be ruptured and from these, as the meat thaws, liquid will be rendered and lost and this has the potential to cause the meat to be less tender when cooked after thawing as it becomes dry due to the loss of inherent liquid. However. cooking meats like ribeye on a VERY hot griddle which seals the meat, very quickly on both sides, and prevents any further loss of liquid, and allowing sufficient resting time between cooking and serving will mitigate against this.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc

[GB]

I am sorry archiduc, but cooking meat on a hot surface does not seal meat and prevent loss of liquid. That is an old wives tale. Cooking meat will cause liquid to come out not matter what you do.

[Michael in FtW]

Yep, GB is right. The old saying that "searing meat seals in juices" is a myth. Harold McGee in his book The Curious Cook demonstrated this back in 1990 when he put the "theory" to the test, scientifically. In short - if you sear a steak and put it in the oven to finish cooking ... it looses more moisture than if you just stick the same cut of meat into the oven to cook. Frozen or fresh - the amount of moisture loss is more a matter of how "overcooked" the meat (the more you cook it - the more moisture you will lose). Alton Brown demonstrated this in his Food Network episode, Myth Smashers, in 2005.

McGee also gives a great explanation, in relatively simple terms, about what causes meat to get tough and dry out in cooking - the way the muscle proteins shrink (length and diameter) in his book, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Revised Edition).

What searing does do is create a surface texture and flavors through Maillard Browning Reactios that you would not have without it.

The amount of moisture loss caused by ice crystals puncturing muscle fibers can be offset by proper cooking.

[knight76]

I have to say, I have always wondered about the searing of meat on both sides to seal in the moisture, why wouldnt the moisture just escape from the sides of the meat that you don't sear.

I have wrapped 3 scotch fillets in cling wrap and put them into a freezer bag and frozen them. Next week, I will thaw them out in the fridge for a day or so and cook them up, will post my experience in here afterwards.

[knight76]

I have taken the scotch fillet out of the freezer and had them in the fridge defrosting now for a day and a half or so.

I will cook them up tonight and let you know my thoughts on freshness.

[knight76]

So they defrosted nicely with no freezer burn. In fact I think you would be hard pressed to pick these from fresh meat that has not been frozen.

They cooked up nicely to a medium rare, very moist and tender. Seared on both sides, popped in very hot oven for 8 minutes.

Just to recap I wrapped them in cling wrap with no air, put these into a freezer bag and then into freezer as suggested by someone above.

[Chicks]

Vaccuum sealing is wonderful. We try to buy on sale- seal and freeze the same day and we have never had a bad piece of meat, fish or fowl.