What meals taste good cooked from frozen
Discussion
I've recently bought a chest freezer with a view to cooking large amounts of food when I can and freezing leftovers for future use. Just wondering if there are any particular meals that react well to being frozen and then reheated later.
Or maybe I'm just reheating them incorrectly, I tend to bung them in the oven or even sometimes the microwave on low heat for a while but they do tend to dry out a bit. Any hints and tips welcome.
Or maybe I'm just reheating them incorrectly, I tend to bung them in the oven or even sometimes the microwave on low heat for a while but they do tend to dry out a bit. Any hints and tips welcome.
I was always told
'Freeze sauces - never dishes'
Adding fresh meat, fish or veg to the meals when cooking.
Curry sauces seem to age and boost their flavour if left, as does Italian tomato based sauces.
Stock made and frozen normally work well.
When re-heating a full meal, you are subjecting every part to the same heat / cooking.
Things cook at different rates tend to be dry or burnt.
'Freeze sauces - never dishes'
Adding fresh meat, fish or veg to the meals when cooking.
Curry sauces seem to age and boost their flavour if left, as does Italian tomato based sauces.
Stock made and frozen normally work well.
When re-heating a full meal, you are subjecting every part to the same heat / cooking.
Things cook at different rates tend to be dry or burnt.
Sainsburys:
Ready Meal lane:
Good Food Company:
Corned Beef Hash.
Brown sauce, job done. Not Gordon Ramsey, but honest grub.
Fresh pasta/ raviolli et al
Oh and you have to store a MASSIVE fish of some sort near the bottom and leave it there for about a decade, bringing it out to welcome your daughters new boy friend for dinner. (Actually i heard this many years ago on the Steve Wright shows "True Stories" BBC radio 1. Some blokes nan died and on emptying the house he found a fish that was frozen in 1978. 4 Years before he was born.... cracked me up!)
Your options are endless really... massive bags of chips, tins of faggots in gravey (if your into that) Huge tubs of icecream, 16 diffrent types mixs and splendid combinations of frozen veg..... god i'm envious....
Gwiz
Seriously though, a Bloody MASSIVE Fish.
Ready Meal lane:
Good Food Company:
Corned Beef Hash.
Brown sauce, job done. Not Gordon Ramsey, but honest grub.
Fresh pasta/ raviolli et al
Oh and you have to store a MASSIVE fish of some sort near the bottom and leave it there for about a decade, bringing it out to welcome your daughters new boy friend for dinner. (Actually i heard this many years ago on the Steve Wright shows "True Stories" BBC radio 1. Some blokes nan died and on emptying the house he found a fish that was frozen in 1978. 4 Years before he was born.... cracked me up!)
Your options are endless really... massive bags of chips, tins of faggots in gravey (if your into that) Huge tubs of icecream, 16 diffrent types mixs and splendid combinations of frozen veg..... god i'm envious....
Gwiz
Seriously though, a Bloody MASSIVE Fish.
Pretty much all said, but...
Basically, the 'wet' dishes freeze and reheat well, so chillis, curries, stews, soups, and sauces. Potato-topped pies work well, too, though I wouldn't try pastry-topped.
In meat terms, chicken survives well, though I wouldn't freeze a good steak. Sausages, black pudding, and bacon defrost ok, too.
Otherwise, garlic or herb butter is best frozen and keeps for ages. Breadcrumbs work straight out of the freezer, too (bash them a bit to seperate).
Basically, the 'wet' dishes freeze and reheat well, so chillis, curries, stews, soups, and sauces. Potato-topped pies work well, too, though I wouldn't try pastry-topped.
In meat terms, chicken survives well, though I wouldn't freeze a good steak. Sausages, black pudding, and bacon defrost ok, too.
Otherwise, garlic or herb butter is best frozen and keeps for ages. Breadcrumbs work straight out of the freezer, too (bash them a bit to seperate).
Edited by grumbledoak on Friday 10th July 11:08
I tend to buy fresh stuff and freeze it, because most frozen stuff you buy has water/saline forming part of the total weight.
Prawns are a good example of this - they are soaked in a brine solution prior to freezing and the solution contains some ingredient (a phosphate I think?) that causes them to swell up and absorb more of the solution. The prawns can more than double in size and weight due to this, so you end up paying for a bag of water at prawn prices!
Lasagne and chili freeze well (as previsouly mentioned), and I can also recommend frozen Twix - brittle and cruchy, very different from normal!
Prawns are a good example of this - they are soaked in a brine solution prior to freezing and the solution contains some ingredient (a phosphate I think?) that causes them to swell up and absorb more of the solution. The prawns can more than double in size and weight due to this, so you end up paying for a bag of water at prawn prices!
Lasagne and chili freeze well (as previsouly mentioned), and I can also recommend frozen Twix - brittle and cruchy, very different from normal!
I do up massive batches of Chilli Con Carne, Sheppards Pie and curry. The curry and the sheppards pie (filling anyway) still taste brilliant even when prepared from frozen in the microwave. The only thing that doesn't seem to freeze that well contrary to the above is my chilli. It goes very dry and all the beans dry and split.
Infact I am still ploughing on with curries containing Turkey from XMAS day and they are still bang on.
I also agree with the bulk chicken. I usually buy 5kg at a time from Macro, usually when it on offer and obscenely cheap compared to fresh stuff, divide it up into 2 portion bags and freeze it. The only time I buy fresh is when I plan a bit cook up of curries (I usually do 10-20 portions at a time and put them in foil containers and freeze) as obviously I can cook frozen meat and refreeze it again.
Infact I am still ploughing on with curries containing Turkey from XMAS day and they are still bang on.
I also agree with the bulk chicken. I usually buy 5kg at a time from Macro, usually when it on offer and obscenely cheap compared to fresh stuff, divide it up into 2 portion bags and freeze it. The only time I buy fresh is when I plan a bit cook up of curries (I usually do 10-20 portions at a time and put them in foil containers and freeze) as obviously I can cook frozen meat and refreeze it again.
bazking69 said:
The only thing that doesn't seem to freeze that well contrary to the above is my chilli. It goes very dry and all the beans dry and split.
Do you make the chilli using pre-soaked kidney beans or 'ready to eat' canned ones? I use dry beans, soaked overnight, & don't have any problem with them splitting. The long cooking they need also means that they take up a lot of the flavour.bazking69 said:
The only thing that doesn't seem to freeze that well contrary to the above is my chilli. It goes very dry and all the beans dry and split.
Do you make the chilli using pre-soaked kidney beans or 'ready to eat' canned ones? I use dry beans, soaked overnight, & don't have any problem with them splitting. The long cooking they need also means that they take up a lot of the flavour.mrsshpub said:
bazking69 said:
The only thing that doesn't seem to freeze that well contrary to the above is my chilli. It goes very dry and all the beans dry and split.
Do you make the chilli using pre-soaked kidney beans or 'ready to eat' canned ones? I use dry beans, soaked overnight, & don't have any problem with them splitting. The long cooking they need also means that they take up a lot of the flavour.
LordGrover said:
mrsshpub said:
bazking69 said:
The only thing that doesn't seem to freeze that well contrary to the above is my chilli. It goes very dry and all the beans dry and split.
]http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/midi/ekelig/f020.gif[/img] Plotloss said:
GingerWizard said:
Sainsburys:
Ready Meal lane:
Good Food Company:
Corned Beef Hash.
Why on earth would anyone in their right mind buy Corned Beef Hash as a ready meal?Ready Meal lane:
Good Food Company:
Corned Beef Hash.
Its got about 3 ingredients, doesnt need plating up in a specific manner and contains no special techniques.
Why?
Rice only has one ingredient, are you growing it at your house? No, no your not so
Who said anything about being in their "right mind"......
people expect so much now days......
Evidently no one is interested in my MASSIVE fish suggestion..... all back of the bus for the wizard.....
Edited by GingerWizard on Friday 10th July 16:01
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