Refreezing Mat

[BPSCG]

So last week, hamburger was on sale. I bought a couple of three-pound packages and immediately tossed them in the freezer. My wife asked what I was going to do with it.

"Well, when we're ready to have some, I'll take out one of the packages and make it into patties."

She did some fast math and calculated that would be about a dozen patties per package.

"What are you going to do with the ones we don't eat immediately?"

"Wrap 'em up and put 'em back in the freezer."

"That's dangerous! Everyone knows you're not supposed to refreeze meat!"

I asked her why it's dangerous. She couldn't give me a decent answer. I'm not certain that it isn't dangerous, but I can't think of any reason that it should be. Okay, there'll be a bunch of little germy things on the meat when I throw it back in the freezer, but when the patties come out of the freezer, they're going on the grill, and that should take care of it, right?

I suspect refreezing meat is about as dangerous as going back in the pool less than two hours after eating.

[jimlintott]

Safe meat handling (http://www.farwestmeats.com/meathandling.htm)

I usually just cook all the patties and keep the extras in the fridge. Heat them in the mic for a quick meal or snack. Cooked meat will keep for a long time in the fridge and can also be frozen.

[Brown]

I can attest that jimlintott's "Basic Meat Handling" site is suitable for all audiences, you dirty-minded people.

The site also includes a link to "Western Theme Songs."

[Dancing David]

Gee, and that shoots another myth. The reason to not freeze and refreeze meat used to be that it encourages bacterail growth.

I do think that there would be a problem with refreezing meat that came to room temperature for substantial periods. It is the total length of time that it is thawed that is crucial.

I wish we americans could get fresh killed beef, this thing about letting it get gamy doesn't appeal to me. I like my meat fresshly kilt.

[Skeptical Greg]

Doesn't refreezing ( or first time freezing for that matter ) cause cellular damage to the meat which affects texture and taste..

In other words, I don't see the danger so much, as I see a disappointing eating experience..

On the other hand, when it comes to hamburger meat... If you start out with that $.89 a pound stuff that comes in the opague plastic tube with a picture of the $4.99 a pound stuff printed on it.. Adding bacteria and freezing it, might actually improve it..

[arcticpenguin]

Freeze-thaw cycles do affect taste & texture.

Why not just split it up into smaller, single-use size packages before freezing it the first time? That would eliminate the repeated freezing & thawing.

[BPSCG]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
Why not just split it up into smaller, single-use size packages before freezing it the first time? That would eliminate the repeated freezing & thawing.

'Cuz I'm too lazy.

I'll probably cook 'em all up at once, we'll eat what we want, then freeze the leftovers. Let's see, that'll be THREE times - that should tick her off good...

[BTox]

Yes, please do refreeze Matt Lauer, and any other Matt you may find..

http://www.msnbc.com/news/1469780.jpg

[Sundog]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
Freeze-thaw cycles do affect taste & texture.

Why not just split it up into smaller, single-use size packages before freezing it the first time? That would eliminate the repeated freezing & thawing.

I've always thought, there's a fortune waiting for the guy who invents something easy to clean that you put raw hamburger in one end of and perfect patties all ready to freeze come out the other.

[Eos of the Eons]

My mom had this tupperware thing in which you put meat in and squished it down. You could add or take out hamburger until you had a nice little quarter pounder or eighth, whatever you prefer. It was easy to use. I think you can still get them through tupperware if you're inclined. Is there a tupperware site we can ogle for this neat little gadget?


Okay, I found it. It's quite cheap.
http://simplest-shop.com/Tupperware,Large,Hamburger,Press--1-759776-B00006WS6J-0-kitchen-product.html


http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00006WS6J.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

Theres cheaper ones here: http://www.hostess-gifts.com/grinders-hamburgers.asp

Now all we need is a hamburger press that will take a whole pound of meat and measure it out and press it for us.

I think that is kinda the idea for the model on this site:http://www.hostess-gifts.com/grinders-hamburgers.asp

[BPSCG]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons
[B]My mom had this tupperware thing in which you put meat in and squished it down. You could add or take out hamburger until you had a nice little quarter pounder or eighth, whatever you prefer.
(...snip...)

Okay, I found it. It's quite cheap.
http://simplest-shop.com/Tupperware,Large,Hamburger,Press--1-759776-B00006WS6J-0-kitchen-product.html
I have something similar, and take my word for it*, you don't want to do that. Yeah, you get nice, perfectly-formed hockey pucks, but they compress the meat too much and you end up with a tough burger. I finally found that the way to do it is to take a 4-ounce chunk of meat, form it into a ball, and sqwush (sp?) it down to about 1/2" diameter. Then squeeze the center between your thumb and finger to make a depression. Don't worry about making the edges smooth - let them stay ragged.

Once they're on the grill, shoot anyone who tries to squeeze the juice out of them. The depressed center portion will plump up more than the perimeter, so when it's done, you'll have a nicely-formed, juicy hamburger.

There are very simple recipes for this at places like recipes.com and epicurious.com. The simplest, and best, tell you to mix some salt water into the ground beef before forming the patties.

* I know, this is "appeal to authority". So don't take my word for it - try it yourself.

[Eos of the Eons]

Sounds good. I know a restaurant that makes them that way. With the presses you can control the pressure a bit and not squash the meat quite as hard, but that is annoying because it's a trial and error process. I actually just put meat in a container and squash it with my hand to try to measure how big the patty will be. Making same size meatballs would give the same result...will try it!