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Freezing AFTER brining or pre - salting?
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Posted by trsinc (My Page) on Thu, Nov 19, 09 at 19:56
| I live in the boonies and make a long trek for just plain groceries, let alone bargains, etc. Today I picked up some good deals for the deep freezer. I always brine whole chickens (hubby likes it best that way) and I pre - salt hunks of pork or beef (often with garlic and herbs included). I've been wanting to try brining a pork loin roast but never think of it early enough. Sometimes I'll pre-salt individual pieces of chicken.
Depending on the size of it, I'll let sit for 8 to 48 hours, then cook.
Can I do this first, then freeze and have it ready to go when I'm ready? Or are the results better to just freeze, then defrost, brine, pre-salt, or marinate, and cook? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Freezing AFTER brining or pre - salting?
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| Yes, I've frozen brined pork and chicken before and they both comes out fine. The texture of the brined/frozen/defrosted/cooked meat is not as firm as freshly brined but it's not a big difference. |
RE: Freezing AFTER brining or pre - salting?
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| Thanks, kandm. I guess not many others have done this... I think that since the texture is not as firm as freshly brined that it may be a plus for pork. Maybe not so much for chicken... I'll give it a shot with a small portion of pork and beef and see what happens. And, just to clarify, I meant brining or salting raw meat and freezing the raw salted or brined meat. Then - cooking after defrosting. Not sure if that was understood. The written word, you know! Thanks again! |
RE: Freezing AFTER brining or pre - salting?
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| Yep, it works fine. The brining process locks moisture into the cells, so it won't get out. The only thing I've noticed is that, because of the salt concentration, freezing takes longer and you can get a somewhat mushier meat because of cellular damage. To counteract this, chill the brined meat VERY thoroughly before hand and then freeze it as quickly as possible. The colder your freezer, the less cellular damage. Buying a couple of pounds of dry ice to flash freeze the meat really isn't out of the question. |
RE: Freezing AFTER brining or pre - salting?
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| Last fall we brined and then froze 20 pasture-raised chickens, whole. They have been delicious, actually taste like chicken! and we have not noticed any problem with texture. I should add that we freeze in a very cold chest freezer: -10 degrees. |
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