How to properly freeze prepared minced meat? Is it possible to freeze minced meat with onions?

From this article you will learn in what cases it is permissible to freeze minced meat with onions, and in what cases it is not.

It is difficult for a working woman to cope with household chores and go to work every day. Therefore, storing minced meat in the freezer will be a great help in preparing dishes. On weekends, you can grind the meat, season it with spices and onions, divide it into portions, and freeze it. And in the middle of the week, get a preparation in advance from which you can prepare cutlets, meatballs, pies, cabbage rolls. How to make minced meat for future use, and is it possible to add onions to it? We'll find out in this article.

How to freeze minced meat correctly?

To make delicious minced meat products, there are several secrets of its preparation :

• For minced meat, we use only fresh, never frozen meat and fish.
• Before twisting the meat into minced meat, wash it, but do not soak it.
• You can grind the meat in a meat grinder with different attachments, a blender, or cut it finely with a knife.
• The most delicious minced meat is obtained by mixing different types of meat: pork with beef, pork with lamb, chicken with rabbit.
• We freeze the minced meat in plastic bags, thinly distributing it among the bags, and before tying, we expel the air from them.

Shepherd's Pie

Meng He/Flickr.com
This is a traditional British dish, which is a casserole of minced meat, mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables. Despite the simple ingredients, it turns out very tasty.

Ingredients

• 500 g minced lamb or beef;
• 70 g butter;
• ½ cup broth;
• ¼ glass of milk;
• 3 large potatoes;
• 2 medium onions;
• 2 medium carrots;
• 1 can of green peas;
• salt and pepper - to taste.

Preparation

Make a puree: boil peeled potatoes, add warm milk and 50 g of butter, mash.

Fry the peeled and chopped onions and carrots in the remaining butter. When the vegetables become soft, add green peas to them (don't forget to drain the liquid). Fry over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Put the minced meat. When it is browned, pour in the broth and simmer for another 10–12 minutes, uncovered.

First place the minced meat with vegetables in the baking dish, and then the mashed potatoes. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 200°C.

Is it possible to freeze minced meat with onions?

freeze minced meat or fish with onions : frozen onions in minced meat lose their aroma and pungency, and products made from such minced meat become tasteless, as if they were made from old minced meat. But even here, not everything is so simple: you cannot put raw onions in minced meat and then defrost it .

Or the following:

• Option 1. We make semi-finished products from minced meat and onions (dumplings, meatballs, cutlets, meatballs), freeze them, and do not defrost them before cooking, but cook the frozen ones immediately - then the taste of the finished product will not deteriorate.
• Option 2. Before freezing it, add onion lightly fried in butter or vegetable oil to the minced meat - such minced meat can be defrosted, and the taste of the finished product will not deteriorate.

Keftedes

fanfon/Depositphotos.com
This is a traditional dish of Greek cuisine, which is juicy balls of minced meat and vegetables. Keftedes can be served separately (they go well with beer) or with a side dish.

Ingredients

• 500 g minced beef;
• 2–3 medium onions;
• 2 slices of white bread;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 1 egg;
• 4 tablespoons chopped parsley;
• 4 tablespoons milk;
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar;
• 1 tablespoon olive oil;
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano;
• 10 mint leaves;
• salt and ground black pepper - to taste;
• vegetable oil.

Preparation

Soak the bread in milk. Squeeze and add minced meat, egg, chopped onion, garlic, parsley and mint. Mix well. Salt, pepper, add oregano, sprinkle with olive oil and vinegar. Mix again, preferably with your hands.

Cover the bowl of minced meat with cling film and place in the refrigerator for an hour. During this time, the spices will release their aroma, and the meat will release juice (it will need to be drained). If you don't have ground beef, use lamb or pork and chicken (50/50).

Form the minced meat into balls and fry them in a large amount of very hot vegetable oil. Place the finished keftedes on a paper towel to remove excess fat.

How to freeze minced meat in a bag in portions?

It is much more convenient to freeze minced meat in portions as follows:

1. Distribute the minced meat in a plastic bag in a thin layer.
2. Then, using a stick on top of the bag, divide the minced meat into squares.
3. And before preparing any dish from the minced meat, we take the bag out of the freezer, break off the required number of squares from it, and put the rest of the minced meat back in the freezer.

Attention. It is advisable to freeze minced meat in this way without onions.

This way you can freeze the minced meat and divide it into portions

Minced meat dishes in a frying pan: 420 homemade delicious recipes

If you want to cook something quick, simple, but at the same time satisfying and very tasty, you can stop at recipes for minced meat in a frying pan, cooked with onions, sour cream, and ketchup. This meat gravy is good both on its own and as an addition to stewed or baked vegetables, boiled cereals, and porridges. And you can use any minced meat: pork, beef, chicken, mixed.

The five most commonly used ingredients in minced meat recipes in a frying pan:

A very tasty and always accessible method requires the following ingredients: minced meat, onions, carrots, celery, salt, spices and butter. You can also use minced meat frozen - it will thaw instantly. The main thing is to gently knead it with a fork for a more even distribution over the surface of the pan. And we remember that our task is not to fry it, but to simmer it in the juice that begins to release. While this is happening, you can start preparing the vegetables: just chop them.

As soon as there is no liquid left in the minced meat in the frying pan, season everything, add salt, add the slices, and stir. And then simmer until fully cooked over very low heat. You can add broth during the process to thin the sauce. You can add crushed garlic, tomato paste, soy sauce, red wine, cream or sour cream. You can add buckwheat, rice, millet, wheat.

In general, minced meat dishes in a frying pan are numerous and include a variety of cutlets, chops, meatballs, meatballs, hedgehogs, zrazy, and rolls. You can stuff potatoes with it and then fry them covered. Or make mini-pizzas on bread or unleavened dough. Make meat cakes or fried pies. Make an awesome filling for sandwiches and lavash rolls.

Five of the lowest calorie minced meat recipes in a frying pan:

And you can actually make the minced meat for this yourself or buy it ready-made in the store. In the first case it will be tastier, in the second - faster. If you make it yourself, it is better to take half pork and beef - this combination is considered the most successful. But minced chicken is particularly tender and has a more subtle taste.

How to freeze minced meat in portions?

You can freeze the minced meat in portions in ice cube trays. We do it as follows:

1. To easily remove the minced meat from the mold, cover it with cling film.
2. Place minced meat in each cell of the mold.
3. Cover the top of the minced meat with film.
4. We store the mold with minced meat wrapped in film in the freezer.
5. Before preparing the dish, we take out the required amount of frozen minced meat cubes, throw some kind of meatballs into the soup, and put the rest of the minced meat back in the freezer.

Attention. There is no need to defrost such minced meat, so when preparing it for freezing, add onions and spices to it.

So, now we know in what cases you can freeze minced meat with onions, and in what cases you can’t.

Stuffed potatoes

George Wesley & Bonita Dannells/Flickr.com
This simple dish can be fed to hungry friends who suddenly come to visit. All you need is some minced meat and potatoes.

Ingredients

• 500 g minced meat;
• 250 ml meat broth;
• 50 g hard cheese;
• 5 large potatoes;
• 1 large onion;
• 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce;
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce;
• salt and pepper - to taste;
• vegetable oil.

Preparation

Peel and finely chop the onion. It needs to be fried along with the minced meat. When the onion is soft and the meat is browned, add tomato and Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15–20 minutes until the sauce thickens.

During this time, boil the potatoes in their jackets. Make sure that it does not boil, but remains slightly raw. Cut each potato in half lengthwise and remove the core with a spoon.

Divide the meat sauce among the potato halves. Sprinkle each of them with grated cheese. Place on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese melts and forms a golden crust.

Video: 3 ways to freeze prepared minced meat

We advise you to find out more:

• Minced cutlets: 6 recipes for delicious, juicy minced meat at home
• How to cook meatballs in a frying pan, in a saucepan, in the oven, in a slow cooker
• Why do cutlets fall apart, turn out hard, dry or runny, fatty, salty?
• Pozharsky cutlets: correct and tasty old recipe
• What can you cook from minced meat quickly and tasty?
• How to choose the right minced meat, meat for minced dumplings

What determines the correct defrosting?

The correctness and speed of the process of thawing frozen minced meat depends on several factors:

• type of meat;
• weight;
• product form;
• type of freezing.

Does the type of minced meat affect the thawing process?

There are no big differences between the principles of defrosting chicken or pork, beef or fish, or mixed types of minced meat. Almost all methods can be applied with equal effectiveness to each type of minced meat.

The only difference is the time it takes for the product to defrost to room temperature. Fish raw material will thaw the fastest; chicken meat will last longer.

Weight and shape

When the minced meat is frozen in the form of a large solid piece, it will take a maximum of time to thaw. For example, a kilogram piece freezes completely during its stay in the freezer. Even after its surface thaws, a solid piece of ice remains inside. Scrape off any thawed bits with a knife. This will let warm air in. It will take at least 4 hours for complete thawing.

Experienced housewives recommend breaking the minced meat into small portions before freezing, or immediately forming semi-finished products from it, which are subsequently laid out in separate bags.

Experts advise simplifying the defrosting process by rolling out the minced meat, already placed in the bag, into a thin layer with a thickness of up to 2 cm. This will facilitate the storage process and speed up the time of defrosting the product. This layer can be easily divided into portions using a sharp knife or Chinese chopsticks. This way, you will get rid of the need to wait a long time while defrosting a large piece and leaving it to re-freeze after removing the required volume.

How long will it take to defrost?

The duration of the defrosting process depends on the size of the piece and its shape. The larger the size, the longer the thawing process will take. For example, meat measuring about 2 kg will melt under natural conditions for up to two days, and a kilogram cut will take a day.

Each kilogram of minced meat takes about 24 hours to melt.

Minced meat, divided into portions, will defrost faster, in about 10 hours. The main thing is that all its elements lie separately from each other.

How does the type of freezing affect the thawing of minced meat?

The type of freezing has a separate effect:

• the meat was simply put in the freezer;
• minced meat was frozen using a special mode;
• freezing was carried out industrially.

Deep freeze

Industrial freezing involves the use of special equipment that guarantees the speed and high quality of the process. Before the product is placed in the freezer, it is pressed, sealed in plastic film and then heat treated.

This type of freezing is called deep freezing. After its implementation, the maximum of vitamins and microelements is preserved. This minced meat can be stored for up to three months; the specific expiration date is indicated on the packaging.

Quick home freezing

Home freezing is sometimes carried out using a special mode in the refrigerator. This variety also helps preserve valuable elements in the product.

The method is used to quickly freeze the product, preserving its taste and aesthetic appearance. This mode will be a real godsend for housewives who prepare semi-finished products (cutlets, meatballs) in the form of intricate figures. The defrosting speed here is no different from other freezing methods.

Regular home freezing

The traditional type of freezing food involves the absence of airtight packaging; the meat is wrapped in a plastic bag. Do not store such meat for a long time; even at low temperatures there are a number of microbes that retain the ability to live.

What minced meat should not be defrosted?

It is prohibited to defrost certain types of product:

• an improperly stored product that has changed its color to gray or green, sticks to your hands, and has an unpleasant odor;
• a semi-finished product with a gray-pinkish color, which indicates its improper storage and active growth of bacteria inside;
• green product that has spoiled even before freezing;
• minced meat containing any amount of soy;
• a product with traces of mold, stored for more than three months inside the freezer, past its expiration date.