How Long Can You Freeze Meat Before Grinding?

One of the basic rules for grinding meat in a meat grinder is never to grind it at a temperature that’s too warm or too cold.

It doesn’t have to get completely frozen either if you put your meat in a refrigerator before grinding.

It is recommended that you freeze your meat for at least 15-20 minutes before grinding it. 

If you don’t have your meat grinder set up, don’t bring the meat out of the refrigerator. 

Pull the meat out of the refrigerator when you’re ready to grind it to avoid the problem of the meat being stuck in the freezer. 

The grinding equipment should be kept in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes, except for the electrical meat grinder for a seamless process.

Why Do I Need to Freeze My Meat and Equipment Before Grinding?

This procedure is often referred to as the freezer treatment by chefs and bakers.

The person behind the meat grinder will get a lot of benefits, not just from the machine, but also from putting your meat and equipment before grinding.

Below are some of the benefits that are explained.

More Friction

Friction is the key when it comes to meat grinding, and freezing your meat will help you generate all the friction you need.

When warm meat has a lot of fat it will cause you to struggle through the entire process.

Efficiency

One of the reasons we have the latest innovations is due to time management.

The idea of freezing your meat is similar to the idea of our phones and other gadgets being designed to look beautiful but also save time.

When you freeze meat before grinding, you save time and energy that would have been spent removing the meat from the grinder if it was not cold.

It Reduces Overheating

If your meat grinder begins to heat up, you will be in for a lengthy grind. The grinding process can be avoided if your grinder parts are kept cold.

If it wasn’t washed properly before storage, the parts of your meat grinder could have been colonized by organisms that would have been in existence.

It’s possible to do away with heat by grinding slowly, or at medium speed.

When you grind fast, the time you might think you are saving will be translated to heat, which is not good for the whole grinding process.

How Can I Freeze Meat Before Grinding?

Many people don’t know about the process of freezing meat before grinding it.

Don’t dump your meat in the fridge just because it has to be cold before grinding, follow the steps I will be outlining below for the best result.

Step 1:

Before refrigerating meat, one of the first things to do is to remove the fat and skin from the meat.

While this might depend on your meat recipe, leaving the meat skin on your meat can slow down the grinding process, especially if you want to prepare sausages, as the skin also has quite a bland taste.

When freezing, it’s best to separate the fat from the meat. If you intend to use a percentage of fat when grinding your meat, you should freeze it separately due to the texture.

Step 2:

The amount of meat you intend to grind and the size of your meat grinder should be taken into account when slicing your meat.

When it’s refrigerated in thin slices, it will be on time compared to when it’s refrigerated in chunks.

Before refrigerating, make sure the sliced meats don’t touch each other when placing them on the cookie foil.

If you have to start separating the meat from each other when stuck, it will cause you to repeat the entire process, which can cause the meat to thaw out.

Step 3:

It doesn’t have to get frozen if you keep your meat refrigerated for at least 30 minutes after slicing it. As soon as it leaves the refrigerator, grind it for the best experience.

If you need to grind your fat, follow the same steps as before. Making it easy to grind is also a result of cold fat.

Tips to Use Your Meat Grinder

It is possible to become a pro at making the best use of your meat grinder without attending school.

The following tips will help you get the best out of your meat grinder, like a professional.

Refrigerate Your Meat

I can’t emphasize this enough, I have emphasized it in the course of writing this article. To get the best result, your meat and grinding equipment need to be kept refrigerated.

If you do the mistake of grinding your meat at room temperature, it will cause the food tube in your meat grinder to get stuck.

It’s a good idea to do the same with your grinding equipment as well. The combination of a cold meat grinder and cold meat is just as good as a loaf of bread.

Find the Right Meat

The recipe is what makes this all boil down to it. A 70%- 30% ratio of meat to fat is what you should be looking for if you have a hankering for a hamburger.

If you want a high-fat and very tasty burger, chuck steak is the best meat to use because it is the most common meat used for hamburgers.

A good burger is known for the amount of fat content the meat can retain, and each recipe has its moisture requirement which is dependent on the amount of fat you use for such a recipe.

If you want to get the best quality part for your recipe, the best place to get it is directly from the butchers.

To avoid the risk of chemicals and Additives, try as much as possible to avoid buying packaged meat from supermarkets.

Grind the meat at least twice

If you want the best texture, you need to grind your meat twice. You also have thicker meat which takes a lot of time to cook.

If you are a fan of coarse meat, grind it at least twice using a medium grinder blade. It is important to grind the meat twice to get the best result.

When grounded twice, it will give you more consistency, which is important for hamburgers.

Season the Meat Before Grinding

The most common way to season meat is after the meat has been grinding.

Rub some of the seasonings on the meat before feeding it into the grinder to make sure you get the best mix. This will ensure that the seasoning is mixed evenly with the meat.

You can either season before grinding or after grinding, but you have to ensure that the spices are properly mixed by using your hand since the meat is already grounded.

Try out New Recipes

Don’t stick to using only lamb or beef. Try combining the two, it will give you a new perspective on taste.

The combination of lamb and beef in spaghetti Bolognese has been very well received by experts.

Tips to Clean Your Meat Grinder

Preparing a sumptuous hamburger is one part of the equation, however, keeping it clean and free from other elements is essential if you want to continue eating healthy homemade recipes and maintain your meat grinder. You can use the tips below to clean your grinder.

Have Slices of Bread Handy

If you want to effectively clean your meat grinder, feeding slices of bread to it is the first thing you need to do.

The slices of bread help to remove the greasy and oily mess from your body. Feed two to three slices of meat into your meat grinder and grind as you please.

This needs to be done before you can disassemble your meat grinder.

Remove the Removable Parts

The meat grinder’s blade, plate, feed tube, and cover should be removed after you pass the bread from the grinder.

If your meat grinder is an electric model, you should remove the grinder from the power source.

Most meat grinders are very easy to disassemble, however, if you encounter any difficulty during the process, use the grinder manual for more clarity.

Soak the Removable Parts

While the bread will remove grease and oil particles from your grinder, soaking the parts in warm soapy water will help remove oil and grease that might still linger.

If you want to get the best result, soak the dismantled parts in soapy water for 10 to 15 minutes.

Scrub with Brush

Once the parts are soaked, use a sponge to scrub the parts of the grinder, or better still use a bottle brush to get to areas that wouldn’t have been possible with a sponge.

The bottle brush can be used to clean the holes in the blade that are likely to contain meat and bread. To separate the washed parts, rinse them with clean water.

Wipe the Parts with a Towel

To prevent rust, wipe the dried part on a towel. After cleaning, keep them in the open to dry before storing them.

If you want to follow the easy way to clean your meat grinder, make sure you keep them away from the dishwasher as they can harm it.

It’s a good idea to clean your meat grinder after use.

FAQs

How Long Will a Raw Meat Sit out?

Don’t allow fresh food such as meat and seafood to stay at room temperature for more than two hours if you find yourself in a bad situation.

The quality of the food can be adversely affected by any source of microbes forming.

Is It Safe to Leave Meat out to Thaw Overnight?

No, that is not true. If you have to thaw meat that is already frozen, try running it under tap water for a couple of minutes, and experts don’t recommend you to thaw meat at room temperature.

How Fast Will A Meat Freeze?

The content of the freezer can affect this. It takes at least two hours to freeze a 2-inch food pack, but you should freeze your meat for at least 15-20 minutes before grinding.

If you want to increase the freezing time, you need to set the freezer to the lowest setting.

Will Meat Thaw Faster in Cold Water or Hot Water?

Thawing meat in cold water is considered safe as long as the water temperature is less than 40 degrees.

Conclusion

If you do not have a freezer, it is recommended that you get one.

I hope you use the steps and tips outlined in the article to good use, as freezing your meat and meat grinder before every use will save you time and energy.

Drop your suggestions and comments if you have any. Cheers!!!