Chicken leg quarters were on sale this week at my grocery store for $.69 a pound. That’s pretty hard to pass up, although I remember that about 7-8 years ago, they used to go on sale for $.33 a pound. Those were the days…
Anyways, when chicken is on sale, it usually comes in enormous packages. That’s great if you’re immediately having a large barbeque, but not so great if you want to use the chicken a little at a time.
I used to throw the whole package in the freezer, but then I never felt like defrosting the whole thing, and it was very difficult to remove just a few pieces once it was frozen into a large, forbidding chunk. So now I get out a baking sheet or two, spray it with nonstick cooking spray, arrange the pieces on it, and freeze the chicken for several hours, or until it’s hard.
Once the chicken is frozen, it can easily be put into zipper bags(which, of course, I store in the freezer).
Since it’s already hard when it goes into the bag, the pieces don’t freeze together into a large chunk and it’s very, very easy to remove the quantity that I need at any given time. I’m much less prone to letting the chicken get freezer burnt this way, which means I don’t produce as much food waste.
By the way, you’ve probably noticed that these ziploc bags have been reused a number of times. I don’t ever reuse bags that have held raw meat, though…these bags have just been used for bread stuffs so far and after I use the chicken I’ll throw the bags away. It’s probably possible to wash them so thoroughly that they’d be safe to use, but that just makes me feel a little nervous. Plus, when I freeze meat, I try to use bags that have had a decent life-cycle already, so that way I’m not throwing out nearly-new bags.
Filed under: Food Waste, Grocery Savings | 8 Comments
Could freezing in reusable plastic containers work? I’m just thinking around the idea of eventually having to landfill those (already well used!) bags. With a container, at least you know you can clean it out thoroughly.
I know what you mean about bags though; I don’t reuse them once they have had meat in them.
My butcher just throws them in the freezer naked into a cardboard box, but I suppose they are not there for longer than a few days.
It\’s a real job to know what to do sometimes, isn’t it?
Wonder what the solution is there? There must be a way to sanitize those bags so you might use them – even having held raw meat – more than once, and without intensive use of fresh water. This issue has my attention. I will google the ever luvin’ s**t out of this issue and riposte. Perhaps my friends at the ICCoA can help…or maybe I just made up that acronym (I did) and I have no posse…but will still do it anyway…did I mention I really like the name of this blog?
See you in a googol of picoseconds…wait…that’s like…a couple days…years? Khaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!Khaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!
Well, the problem with plastic containers is that they allow more air to come in contact with the food(air, of course, is an enemy of frozen food). And then if I have freezer burnt food, I don’t want to eat it, and then I end up throwing it away(can’t compost chicken!). It is tricky to know what to do. I suppose being vegetarian is the way to go! =P I don’t think I can sell my husband on that idea, though.
We wrap our “meal size” chicken and porkchops portions in plastic wrap, and then put that into the ziploc bag. We typically use 3 breasts or chops per meal, so I wrap them into units of three. It keeps the mess down as the chicken is defrosting in the fridge, too. I wash the plastic bags out in hot, soapy water after each use.
Hi Stacey! I’ve done that before with hamburger. I divide it into one-pound portions and wrap those in plastic wrap. It’s so much handier than having an enormous hunk of frozen ground beef! I save the ziploc bags when I do it that way just like you do.
Unfortunately, I’m still throwing away plastic that way. I wonder, though, if ground beef would work in plastic containers…it could fit the shape of the container, and then there would be less air hitting the meat.
I too find that freezing in individual portion / meal sizes works better for me than freezing huge packages — it’s so much more manageable! Like Stacey, I usually wrap individual portions in saran wrap, then put all the portions into a single freezer bag — then I can reuse the bag without worrying whether the meat has touched it etc.
I, too, break down those huge packages of meat and freeze in smaller portion friendly styles. My favorite is to use the aluminum foil BAGS. They are durable and heavy, shape to fit to reduce air and freezer burn, and then after use I can wash and recycle with my other metals. They’re a little pricier than plastic bags, but I like not having to worry about the landfill issue.
With hamburger meat, I simply run my knife through the meat and plastic dividing the meat into quarters. I then cover the top of the original package with recyclable aluminum foil and freeze. When I need 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 of the package, I simply (gently) hit the package on the corner of the counter top to break off what I need.
I usually make a notation on the foil as to what I intend to use the meat. Not that it’s carved in stone, but sometimes it helps to jog my memory…
A solution for some of the chicken legs… We like to make “oven baked chicken legs” which is simply your favorite bbq sauce poured over the top of the chicken legs and then cooked in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 & 1/2 hours. I’ve placed the chicken legs in an oven proof container; poured on the bbq sauce and frozen the entire entree… when needed; defrost and bake in the same container. When I have potatoes that are on the verge of going bad, I make up a large batch of mashed potatoes and freeze in portions…. they go great with the
bbq chicken. I “refluff” them with the mixer when defrosted and heat in the oven
(along with the chicken) topped with a bit of melted cheese. You can also add an egg to some of the mashed potatoes and lightly fry in a bit of butter for a side dish of potato pancakes.
in the fridge and served with the “bbq” chicken.
Soy Sauce Chicken Legs are great too… serve with rice and frozen store bought
egg rolls.
The sauces help to keep the legs from getting freezer burnt. I like to use a container which allows for very little air space left between the food and the lid.
Note: bbq sauces and the like tend to stain plastic containers!