Trouble defrosting steak
Trouble defrosting steak
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Trouble defrosting steak
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Post #1 - May 29th, 2008, 8:01 amI've been having some trouble with my defrosted meats. Everytime I defrost a steak, it turns a dark red/grey color and has an off/sour smell. For the most part, I buy my meat and freeze it. I have a SubZero and the freezer is set to 0 and the fridge compartment is at 38. I can't say I'm entirely consistent about how they're wrapped before feezing. If they come in waxed paper from the store, they stay in that after being put in a freezer bag. If they come in a tray, they'll probably stay in the tray and again go in a plastic freezer bag. If I butcher anything before freezing it, it usually gets wrapped in foil, then in a plastic bag.
This seems to happen, or is more noticable, with beef steaks. I don't seem to have a problem with chicken. Had to throw out some sausages the other day, tho.
It does typically take 2-3, sometimes 4 days to defrost something completely in the fridge.. Is this too long? Is my freezer set too low?
This is incredibly frustrating.
Thanks,
Jay
THanks for any tips.
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Post #2 - May 29th, 2008, 8:12 amSounds like freezer burn from improper packaging. I don't leave anything in the original packaging, everything is trimmed or seperated and put into a freezer ziplock and then date stamped. I've had stuff stay good for up to 4 months. Not sure what my freezer temp is. Maybe Cathy2 can provide more input here.
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Post #3 - May 29th, 2008, 8:14 amAre you defrosting the steaks in a bowl/bucket of water in the refrigerator? That might speed up the process.
You should also wrap the steaks better before freezing, or make the investment in a vacuum-sealer, like a FoodSaver or the new, smaller Frisper. Getting air out of the bag is key for preserving the integrity of the meat.
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Post #4 - May 29th, 2008, 9:28 amThat is longer than I'd leave meat defrosting in my fridge. I always defrost meat in a bowl of water (cold water, not hot/warm or it can start to sort of "cook" the meat), that speads up the process quite a bit and just makes life easier.
I also agree with the above comments about better packaging in the freezer being a good thing. Especially getting it out of the store packaging to make sure to get out all the air before you freeze it. I don't have a vacuum-sealer myself, but re-wrapping meat well and getting all the air I can out of the bags/packaging that way works well for me.
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Post #5 - May 29th, 2008, 11:30 amNot to get all wanky about it, but you should probably check out the USDA's Safe Defrosting Methods. I sometimes think they go overboard with the food safety paranoia, but in some cases, the guidelines are also just good, common sense. Water is a better conductor of heat than air. That's why thawing frozen meat by submerging it in water and putting the container in the refrigerator is the best way--it's faster, and safe.
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Post #6 - May 29th, 2008, 2:56 pmI agree about the packaging techniques, remove the store packaging before placing into freezer bags or into vacu-sealer. Also, I try not to use the freezer too much as the meat usually is never as good as what fresh is, especially for more expensive cuts. When the meat is frozen, the water creates ice crystals that rip open cellular walls and creates a drier end product. Of course if the end product is something like chili or going to be braised this won't matter quite as much.
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Post #7 - May 29th, 2008, 9:18 pmDespite my initial skepticism, I've become a big fan of the Reynolds Handi-vac system, available at most mega-marts now (I didn't have the money to shell out for a real vacuum packing system). It has completely eliminated freezer burn from my life. If you haven't seen it, it's a small hand held vacuum "wand" with a suction cup tip you attached to specially designed ziplock bags. They sell starter kits consisting of a wand and a couple of bags. I can't remember what I paid for the first kit, but I recall it being something "relatively" reasonable. It came with batteries and everything.
Admittedly, the ziploc style bags are substantially more expensive than regular zip lock bags (I can't remember any prices off the top of my head...I just remember them being a bit more last time I bought a bunch) but if you primarily use them for freezing meat, as I do, a box tends to last a while. My only complaint is that it can often take 5 or 6 attempts to get a proper seal on the bag to get the suction going. Once it goes, though, it does a darn fine job of sealing anything you put in there in an airtight vacuum.
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Post #8 - May 29th, 2008, 9:36 pmThanks everyone for the tips. While I'm certain we're not talking freezer burn, I have suspected that a combination of things, the long defrost time, potentially the pooling of blood/fluids during defrosting are contributors to my problem, esp. since I don't seem to have as much of a problem with chicken or pork.
I'll start by being more careful about re-wrapping food (my mother always used wax paper so when it comes from the store like that I'm thinking, why re-wrap it) and try defrosting in water to speed things up.
Cheers,
Jay
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Post #9 - May 30th, 2008, 10:41 amMrBarossa wrote:Despite my initial skepticism, I've become a big fan of the Reynolds Handi-vac system, available at most mega-marts now (I didn't have the money to shell out for a real vacuum packing system).
I bought one of these the other day at Woodman's for $9.95 and I think it's every bit as good as a Foodsaver (if not better, the bags seem more sturdy) and way more convienent. I store the hand-held unit right with the bags, and vac seal everything that might be in the freezer for a while."Good stuff, Maynard." Dobie Gillis
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Post #10 - May 30th, 2008, 11:54 amshadesofjay wrote:Thanks everyone for the tips. While I'm certain we're not talking freezer burn, I have suspected that a combination of things, the long defrost time, potentially the pooling of blood/fluids during defrosting are contributors to my problem, esp. since I don't seem to have as much of a problem with chicken or pork.
Without pictures, I can't know, but I'm wondering whether you're just seeing normal color changes of meat.
I regularly freeze meat in store packaging or overwrapped as you've described and it keepd as long as a year and thaws with no trouble. Poorly wrapped meat will suffer from freezer burn -- dry white patches -- not the color you describe.
The off odors may just be coagulated blood, which doesn't mean the meat has spoiled. Rotten meat has a pretty unmistakable putrid odor, not just sour. Try rinsing the thawed meat, patting dry and leaving unwrapped to warm to room temperature and see if the smell dissipates.
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Post #11 - May 31st, 2008, 7:58 pmI read a defrosting tip a month or so ago (Maybe inCook's Illustrated?) that has changed my life: put the frozen chunk of meat on the aluminum (bottom) side of a composite pan/pot, and it'll defrost in an hour or two. It works like a miracle. I'll never use the microwave again.
Sucking the air out of the pkg makes a BIG difference. In fact, if you get one of those teeny tiny flat stirrer-straws for drinks, and stick it in a ziploc, close the ziploc except for the straw, and then suck the air and the straw out of the ziploc as you close it--not so difficult as it sounds!,
you'll do yourself some amazing amount of good.
GeoSooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick!
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Post #12 - June 8th, 2008, 6:32 pmimsscott wrote:MrBarossa wrote:Despite my initial skepticism, I've become a big fan of the Reynolds Handi-vac system, available at most mega-marts now (I didn't have the money to shell out for a real vacuum packing system).
I bought one of these the other day at Woodman's for $9.95 and I think it's every bit as good as a Foodsaver (if not better, the bags seem more sturdy) and way more convienent. I store the hand-held unit right with the bags, and vac seal everything that might be in the freezer for a while.
I too bought one a while ago and can an attest, that it actually does work. I have found that if you leave the bags in the freezer for longer than you should they will loosen up (i.e. 6 months). But in general work great, and I do not have a frost free freezer, so that is saying a lot!Heather
"As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists." Joan Gussow
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Post #13 - June 7th, 2011, 12:01 pmInteresting article by Harold McGee in yesterday's New York Times about new research regarding quick thawing in warm water.
A couple of excerpts:Harold McGee wrote:Now there’s good news for last-minute cooks. It turns out that we can thaw frozen steaks and other compact cuts in as little as 10 minutes, without compromising their quality, and with very little effort. All you need is hot water.
This information comes, surprisingly, from research sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, though the methods aren’t yet officially recommended. The studies have been published in the Journal of Food Science and in Food Control.
At the U.S.D.A. labs in Beltsville, Md., Janet S. Eastridge and Brian C. Bowker test-thawed more than 200 one-inch-thick beef strip loin steaks in three different groups: some in a refrigerator at 37 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, some in a constantly circulating water bath at 68 degrees, and some in a water bath at 102 degrees.
Air-thawing in the refrigerator took 18 to 20 hours, while the room-temperature water bath thawed the steaks in about 20 minutes, and the hot-summer-day bath in 11 minutes. These water-bath times are so short that any bacterial growth would remain within safe limits.
The water-thawed steaks actually leaked less juice than the air-thawed steaks. The researchers grilled the steaks, too, and found that all the thawed steaks lost about 26 percent of their original weight once cooked, while never-frozen steaks lost 21 percent. The study found no significant differences in tenderness between slow- and quick-thawed steaks.
[. . .]
So there’s no downside to quick-thawing steaks, chops, fillets and other relatively thin cuts in warm water right before cooking. Large roasts are a different story. They take long enough to thaw that there may be time for significant bacterial growth on their surfaces. Prompt cooking might well eliminate that problem, but until this has been studied, it’s safest to continue thawing roasts in the refrigerator or in water under 40 degrees.
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Post #14 - June 7th, 2011, 2:32 pmHarold McGee wrote: The researchers grilled the steaks, too, and found that all the thawed steaks lost about 26 percent of their original weight once cooked, while never-frozen steaks lost 21 percent.
I find this the most interesting part.i used to milk cows
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Post #15 - June 7th, 2011, 2:47 pmI suspect that the freezing breaks a lot of cell walls when the ice w/in the cells expands. This breakage then allows more leakage than in unfrozen meat. Just a speculation, but it makes sense.
GeoSooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick!
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Post #16 - June 7th, 2011, 3:46 pmThis study also does not describe how they froze it. The faster and colder, the better.
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Post #17 - June 8th, 2011, 7:19 amGeo wrote:I suspect that the freezing breaks a lot of cell walls when the ice w/in the cells expands. This breakage then allows more leakage than in unfrozen meat. Just a speculation, but it makes sense.
Geo
I believe this is correct. This is also why freezing as quickly as possible is best.
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