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Bought a bunch of stew beef on Saturday, put it in the fridge, and then cubed it on Sunday. Realize I probably had too much for what I wanted to cook, so took about 1/2 of it (say 1.5 lbs of stew beef) and put it in the freezer compartment, wrapped in foil.
Idea is to use it next Sunday for another stew recipe, but wondering for how long the meat will keep, and about defrosting (how long...these are about 1" to 1 1/2" cubes...will it take to defrost).
If the meat is properly wrapped, it can last in the freezer for up to several years. The quality might diminish the longer the food is frozen, but it's safe as long as it hasn't thawed completely and refrozen.
A week is nothing. No longer than three months is optimal, as far as retaining quality is concerned.
My best estimate is that well wrapped beef is good for about six months in a frost-free freezer. If you put it into a deep freeze that is not auto-defrost and it is correctly wrapped, it is good for several years.
If that meat is not fully defrosted, you can make stew with it anyway. Give it a good browning and allow additional cooking time when the meat starts out frozen. It will be just fine.
Hey, thanks. I have the meat wrapped in foil and will defrost it next weekend, vs this one. Hope this works. So a day and a night of defrosting will be OK, huh?
Hey, thanks. I have the meat wrapped in foil and will defrost it next weekend, vs this one. Hope this works. So a day and a night of defrosting will be OK, huh?
Do you have it wrapped in anything before you wrapped it in foil?
The meat should be fine in the fridge for defrosting but why not take it frozen and put it in your stew pot along with all the other ingredients?
That way it cooks slowly and you get all of the flavor in the stew as the meat is cooking.
Put it in a ziploc bag....helps keep the air out. And the other's are right, you really don't need to thaw it before you use it....if you plan on browning it, then it can be thrown in the pan, and it will defrost as it cooks and browns. If you are doing a crock pot, it will defrost as it's cooked. Before you freeze it, make sure it's not in a big "clump"!!!
Quality and safety wise, it is just fine. Normally as mentioned wrapped correctly there is probably no reason for it not to keep for years, but I would put it in a tight fitting container of some sort or plastic zip bag, not just in foil even if you are using it next Sunday. Some foods can survive a little freezer burn, beef dries out pretty badly if not stored correctly.
Even if it has dried out, though, in a stew it can be rehydrated. Won't be as good as fresh if it's been freezer abused, but it will still work. A lot of times cooking involves making less than premium food tasty.
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