“Stocking your freezer is easy to do. Stocking your freezer the RIGHT WAY, is an art form.” -Me
Ok, so thats not a deeply profound quote that I suspect anyone will ever repeat, but I don’t think it’s a super important and helpful tip for the upcoming holiday season!
It’s super imoprtant to know what to freeze and what not to freezer. Especially when it come to protein. Don’t freeze a cooked steak. It will not be delicious. No matter how you freeze it, or how you defrost it. Do not freeze a cooked standing rib roast. I know there are some who do, but I’m against it. A giant hunk of meat, not covered in sauce, will take for ever to defrost and by the time it does the meat will have a weird freezer-y (yup, its a word) taste!
Here’s what you should freeze:
Why? Because in this situation the freezing will actually enhance the quality of the meat. The marinade will penetrate the protein in a much more flavor inducing way and all you have to do when you want to eat is defrost and follow the cooking instructions!
Why? Something about the liquids it cooks in keeps the meats very soft and very tender even after defrosting and reheating. There sone key rule to braising though. The protein must NOT be removed from the cooking liquids until it has completely cooled. That means no touching. At all! The eat will completely dry out. During the cooling process the meat will reabsorb a lot of those cooking juices and if you take it out it won’t have any juicy goodness to soak up.
Why? No idea but they freeze and defrost beautifully. I actually find that some cakes taste better after they’ve defrosted from the freezer. My only rule with freezing baked goods is that they must be left whole. No cutting a cake in half. Sorry! Wrap the baked goods in a few layers of saran wrap and then foil to keep them safely away from any possible freezer burn.
For part 1 of these5 easy marinades I’m giving you 3 recipes.
Miso + Apricot Roasted Turkey Breast
Garlic + Rosemary Lamb Shoulder
and
Duck Fat Roasted Breast Of Veal
All of these can be marinaded in minutes and cooked up fresh, simply and easily!
HAPPY FREEZING EVERYONE!
1 big turkey roast (you can use white or dark meat)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 c white miso
4 oz apricot jam
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced into rings.
Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic all over turkey roast.
Rub miso all over the over the turkey being careful to get it on all sides.
Rub apricot jam over the miso.
Wrap turkey in 2 layers of Saran Wrap, then wrap in a single layer of foil.
Freeze until ready to use.
Remove turkey from freezer and place the fridge the night before you want to cook it.
In the morning remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temp.
Preheat oven to 425f (220c).
Grease a 9×13 baking dish and lay onions inside.
Place roast on top of onions.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven, spoon any juices that came off already over the top of the turkey.
Spreay a large piece of foil with non-stick cooking spray.
Place the foil, spray side down on top of the turkey and cover tightly.
Reduce heat to 350f (180c) and bake covered for 1 hour.
Serve hot and enjoy!
*This marinade is easy and delicious ious. If you don’t l
1 breast of veal with pocket (you can ask your butcher to do this for you)
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp Pepper
2 Tbsp Granulated garlic
2 Tbsp Granulated onion
4 oz a fat (whole jar) (I like the Pelleh Poultry brand)
Sprinkle both sides of the veal and inside of the pocket with salt, pepper, garlic and onion.
Use a spoon and place tablespoon size amount of duck fat in the pocket. Only use half the jar for the inside of the pocket.
Use the rest of the jar to spoon the fat over the top of the veal gently pressing it down so it stays on top.
The fat will render and melt as it cooks covering the whole breast of veal as it roasts.
Wrap breast of veal in 2 layers of Saran Wrap and than 1 layer of tin foil.
Defrost veal in the fridge the night before you want to cook it.
Remove frim fridge in the morning to finish defrosting.
Preheat oven to 220f (105c).
Place roast in a greased baking dish.
Bake breast of veal covered for 5 hours.