Have you encountered this situation: hurry home from work, on the way you still need to go to the store and buy something for cooking dinner, and then relatives or friends call and warn you about an imminent visit? The mood is spoiled, you have to run to cooking, spend money on convenience foods. Often, not only the price, but also the quality is not satisfied with this issue. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the coveted bag with cutlets is waiting for you in the freezer. Within 15 minutes they can be cooked, supplemented with boiled spaghetti and sprinkled with cheese. The supper is ready.
To be or not to be
The question is whether it is possible to freeze ready-made cutlets, the hostess often gets up. This is a dream. We come home from work, put it on a plate, pour tomato sauce - and that's it, you can serve it to the table. But all the same, vague doubts remain. Will the product lose its qualities in the process of defrosting, how long can they be stored? Experienced chefs and chefs positively answer the question of whether it is possible to freeze ready-made cutlets. This is a great saving of time and effort, as well as a way to save products.
Choose minced meat
To make the semi-finished product really tasty and healthy, it must be made from quality meat. It is best to buy pulp and twist it yourself. In this case, you will be sure that extraneous ingredients, for example, a large amount of fat, will not get into it.
The choice of meat should also be conscious. Fatty pork is not very healthy. Consider also frying in oil. Lean pork will be tender but dry. The same can be said about chicken. Beef is too stiff. By trial and error, the mistresses found the optimal solution. This is a mixture of beef, pork and turkey. Then the cutlets are juicy and tender. Ask your mothers if ready-made cutlets can be frozen. Surely they will answer that they themselves have done this more than once.
How to form semi-finished products
For a kilogram of cutlet weight, you will need 100 g breadcrumbs. Pour it into a convenient cup and proceed to the formation of products. There are several ways to do this, among which you can choose the most convenient.
- With clean, slightly damp hands, form a cutlet of the required size and roll well in breadcrumbs. To prevent products from sticking together and moving away from packaging, it is recommended to use crackers, not flour. And then the crust turns out more interesting. Is it possible to freeze ready-made cutlets in muffin tins? Very simple. And the hostesses are happy to use this method. After freezing, we simply pour them into a bag.
- You can put ready-to-cook semi-finished products on a cutting board, covering it with a film. Be sure to leave the distance between the products, and tighten the top with cling film. And in this form, send it to the freezer.
- If you plan to make a large number, then you can lay out in several layers. In order not to damage the shape, it is best to make thin minced meatballs, otherwise the upper ones will flatten the lower ones. Or give time to freeze the first batch.
Packaging
Cutlets are frozen in the production in a special chamber, this is the so-called shock technology. Home refrigerators are not suitable for this, but small meat balls will freeze well and will be stored in them. This usually takes no more than three hours.
It is recommended to pack them portionwise. But you can lay them in a stack and wrap with cling film. It turns out a sausage from which you can take the required amount. Do not forget to stick a label on which the date of manufacture will be indicated. And if several types of semi-finished products are sent to the freezer, then write also the composition. Great for storage and container with silicone lid.
Cooking dinner
Now the refrigerator has semi-finished products, but because this process is becoming much faster. Yes, and more convenient. Sometimes you can hear the opinion that after thawing, food becomes carcinogenic. But science has not yet found any evidence for this. The only moment: if the minced meat already contains onions, then after thawing, gourmets can feel a slight change in its smell. But most do not feel any difference. Moreover, you can pre-fry the onion and then add it to the minced meat. Then you will not feel any odor.
By the way, defrosting them is not necessary at all. It is enough to put in a pan and stew in tomato sauce. Another option is to steam. Then it will only be necessary to lay them out in a double boiler grid and turn on the program. If you want to get a golden brown crust, then heat the pan well, pour a little oil and put the patties straight from the freezer. Close the lid and keep the fire to a minimum. First, the crust will seize, and then further cooking will occur.
If there are fried cutlets left
It also happens. Imagine that you cooked a whole dish, and then my husband called and invited him to a restaurant. And tomorrow you will go to the corporate party together and you will certainly not have dinner at home. It does not matter, you just need to remember how to freeze ready-made cutlets. To do this, they need to be laid out on a towel so that excess fat is absorbed, and completely cooled. After that, you can put it in the refrigerator for several hours. Then the forcemeat structure will become denser and easier to pack.
And now just a few words about how to freeze ready-made meatballs at home. If you plan to store them in a freezer in advance, then it is better not to fry until cooked, but only to create a golden brown on the surface. Then you can stew them in the sauce.
You can use any of the methods listed above. Only silicone molds for muffins are not suitable for freezing ready-made cutlets. If the freezer is empty, then simply spread out a plastic bag and lay them out in an even layer. Or use special packages for freezing. After that, assemble and fold into plastic containers. Be sure to sign the date of manufacture, as well as how they were prepared. If the cutlets are fried and ready for use, then it will be enough to simply heat them in the microwave.
Instead of a conclusion
Knowing how to freeze ready-made meatballs, you can ease weekdays and speed up dinner preparation. But they don’t argue about tastes, so there are quite a lot of opinions on this. Some believe that freezing does not affect the taste of the finished dish. Others, on the contrary, argue that after defrosting, processed foods get an unpleasant smell or taste. Of course, if there is enough time, it is best to buy and twist fresh meat and immediately cook delicious meatballs. But such an opportunity is not always there. In any case, this method of preparing semi-finished products is convenient and has the right to life.