If you buy ground beef or ground turkey in bulk to save money – this is such a clever idea to store it! The flat little bricks make it easy to thaw and cook whenever you need it – and help you avoid wasting meat by forgetting it. (Has that ever happened to you? I know it has to me!)
1 . Start with any ground meat (turkey, beef, chicken, venison, etc…) arolling pin and a gallon freezer bag.
Amazon has this Hefty Freezer Bags for a STEAL right now – you'll be set for a long while!
(If you don't have a rolling pin, but maybe have a wine bottle in the house, that would work too.)
Put the ground meat in the bottom of the bag and lie it down flat, leaving the zipper part open.
2 . Using a rolling pin, roll to flatten the meat and spread it out in the bag evenly.
3 . Using a ruler, or the back of a long knife, press lines to divide the meat into six sections.
Freeze for 30 minutes and pull out. (It should be mostly frozen already) Bend at the dividing lines until it is separated more cleanly into bricks. Now just seal the zipper and place back in the freezer to use whenever you need ~ you'll be able to pull off just one brick at a time to thaw the next time you need ground beef!
I think this is just SO super smart. It takes up so little space in the fridge and really makes it easy to thaw out when you're ready to cook. LOVE simple tricks like this!
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How much ground meet first in the gallon freezer bag? 2#s?
Hi Sue, yes it was about 2 pounds. We didn’t weigh it but I tried to eyeball it 🙂
Uniform size and thinness also make for faster thawing.
What a GREAT Idea! I’ve been pre-cooking my ground meat for years, but I will have to give this a try too. Thanks Laurie! So glad you posted this!!
Thank you Laurie! This is going to change my life! I love getting hamburger meat at Costco but never really organized the meat like his before. This will save space and separate them so you can just pull a pound of meat out for dinner.
You’re so welcome Sarah – so glad it helps! 🙂
I have been doing this for years n then if u forget to pull something out for dinner u can put Bag in cold water to thaw.in 30 minutes
Linda, I do the same thing! I cook up multiple pounds at a time, season it with my normal spices, rinse the grease off and then divide it up into bags and put it in the freezer! Great for spaghetti with meat sauce, soups, casseroles, etc. Do all the work and clean up once and save time on those evenings when you’re tired or cranky and don’t feel like cooking as much!! I love it when I can just do a “dump it all in” recipe and abracadabra…. dinner is done!!!
I freeze mine in 1 lb ziplock bags, but after I have cooked it and rinsed it. Then I don’t have to brown my hamburger when I am wanting to make a quick meal.
I do this also. If I’m making pasta with hamburger I will throw the frozen chunk in with the noodles to thaw. The little bit of fat in the beef works to keep the pasta from sticking and the extra fat goes down the drain with the water. Keep in mind most of the fat is already removed from the browning of the beef.
I do this but I used quart size freezer bags and put in 1)lb. Of meat. My favorite is when the vacuum packs of grass fed beef or Bison go on clearance for $3-$4 lb. All I have to do is put the sate on it and freeze it 🙂
I would have never thought of that and it makes so much sense! I have a small freezer space too and this is so helpful! Thanks for sharing!
So glad it helps Monica – it really is so much easier!
I do this with my left over cooked rice…. I always make a full cooker of rice and save what er don’t eat in freezer bags… cook once eat twice.
That’s so smart Alita ~ what a great idea! Thanks for sharing!!! 🙂