My husband used to make fun of me for buying ground beef in bulk. He thought we would always have money to buy what we need. Then the recession hit and the company he was working for went under, and he was laid off and with out a job. When we finally ran out of money to buy groceries, guess what we had in the freezer, ground beef, frozen fruits and vegtables. Canned food products as well. Lets not forget the abundance of Hamburger Helper saved up. It helps to have a pantry products lying around. It helped between longtimes we didn't have the money to buy food to have ground beef at our disposable. Needless to say my husband doesn't make fun of me anymore.
Okay now I buy ground beef I only buy it on sale and in bulk. Up to 5lb packs, or even more it's the best way to go for food storage. I have the butcher at the local grocery separate it in to 1 pound sections in butcher paper, and saran wrap so I can freeze it right when I get home. You have to realize if I can avoid it I will not touch meat with my bare hands and I don't mind that a paid professional is willing to do it for me and no extra charge. That and it will come out to be exactly 1 pound each. Works for me.
Frozen Meat can last up to 3months in the freezer, doesn't it mean it goes bad after that. Not exactly. It may taste freezer burnt after that, or it may not. But its still good, and if you vacuum freeze it would last longer. I would suggest
Ziploc Vacuum Bags
for those who can't afford a
Food Saver, of course both products you can get for way better prices than the grocery and department store at
Amazon.com . Both products will help meat last longer than 3 months. I highly recommend them.
Pre-Cooked Meat I have taken 3 pounds of fresh ground beef that I bought cooked the entire thing up in a skillet all 3pounds of it at once. I cooked until it was brown not overcooking I can save that for later. Besides, I never been the type of person that actually likes storing fresh ground beef in the fridge unless I have to for things such a meatloaf or hamburgers, that I will take from the freezer and thaw out to use. Anyhoo, after letting the ground beef cool, after it cools I separate it into Ziploc bags and refrigerate or freeze. This how I figure it, if I know I'm not going to use it within a week, I might as well freeze it. At least when I thaw it, it will only take a few minutes to warm up on the stove then I can add the Hamburger Helper, or Taco Seasoning. It makes for a quick meal at my house. Of course I do use it within a week, I pull the meat right of the fridge and create quick meal. Oh, I have to give credit to my mom who taught me this buying precooking her meat for the entire week.
TIP: Cooking frozen meat and then refreezing that meat again, can take most of the flavor out of the meat.
Another way to make meat go farther is canning it. This I will have to post more about later.
I just wanted to give you an idea that freezing meat will give you help if there is a loss of income in your home. It gives you peace of mind. It has for me.
This same thing can be applied to other meats steaks, ground turkey, pork chops, at least when it comes to freezing meats.
I want to note as well that USDA Guidelines say that Frozen food can last indefinitely in the freezer so there is no need to worry about it going bad, but the of quality of taste is lower. So remember that.
I hope this helps in your emergency food storage. Also helps lessen amount of food you waste, and helps you keep money in your wallet.
