When it comes to freezing and defrosting meat and poultry -- we admit, we were a bit clueless. Turns out, doing them both properly can greatly improve the taste of your dinner. Here are a few rules of thumb to follow:
About a day or two before Take the meat or poultry out of your freezer and put it into your refrigerator. But be sure to plan your time frame carefully; you never want anything to thaw completely before cooking. In an ideal world (we know that sometimes you put a piece of chicken in the fridge with a Tuesday dinner in mind but don't get to cook it when you plan to), meat and poultry should be thawed just a little more than halfway so that once you start cooking, the heat will penetrate it and retain more flavor.
Freezer Rules Never freeze beef; it will cause the beef to lose flavor and taste bland. Poultry and lamb, on the other hand, freeze very well. Poultry has a high water content that helps it retain flavor even when frozen. Lamb has such a strong flavor that freezing helps remove the "gaminess” taste that no one likes.
Nestpert: Fairway Market’s Meat Director Ray Venezia lives and breathes beef, poultry, pork, and game. As a frequent source for nationally distributed culinary magazines, The New York Times, The Rachel Ray Show (he’s a regular guest), and supermarket industry media, Ray is recognized as a pioneer and expert in meat purchasing, operations, and merchandising.
-- The Nest Editors
May 06, 2010
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