Frugal Idea: Save Money By Freezing Meat
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Freezing meat for the future will save you time and money. I’m sharing a few tips and tricks I use to save money storing meat.
There are many ways to save money on meat. You can buy different cuts of meat, meat in bulk or buy meat when it goes on sale. Sams Club is where we usually find the best cuts of beef, pork and chicken at the best price in our area. Angus Beef is our choice of beef and is raised widely in our area.
You never want to throw away any meat you purchase, so you want to make sure you freeze it carefully and the right way.
What I Use to freeze meat:
- Hand Held Vacuum Sealer by FoodSaver
- FoodSaver quart bags
- Instant Pot
- Cutting Food Mat
- Wax Paper
- Freezer Ziploc Bags
Chicken
I buy several chicken breasts at a time at Sam’s or if I find a sale at Publix. I freeze 2 chicken breasts in a bag using my handheld vacuum sealer. Two breasts will fit nicely in the FoodSaver quart bags.
By using a vacuum sealer, your meat will be able to stay in the freezer much longer than using ziploc-style bags, as shown above in the diagram above, provided by FoodSaver. You can read more information about freezing food with FoodSaver HERE.
To make shredded chicken, I will put 2 – 4 frozen breasts in my Instant Pot with about 1 cup of chicken stock. I season with salt and pepper. Set the IP on Manual for 15 minutes and then just let the pot naturally release the steam. I have found that makes the chicken very tender and juicy to let them sit in their juices for awhile. I like to do this process in the afternoon and after a few hours take the breasts out of the pot. They are always still warm from the IP.
To shred the chicken, place on a cutting food mat and put a fork in each hand and just start pulling apart the meat. I use a cutting food mat with waffle grips on the bottom so it doesn’t move while I work.
Place in quart bags, label, and place in the freezer. I usually use zip-loc bags for shredded chicken since I use it often in recipes. I also cut up the cooked breasts in chunks for other recipes.
Beef
I purchase Angus ground beef and patties from Sam’s. They have the best prices for my area and the beef is 90/10 when it comes to less fat.
I place the 2 patties between 2 small pieces of wax paper. Since there are just the two of us, I only freeze two patties in each bag.
I will then put the two patties in the freezer ziplock bags for the freezer. If I have plenty of FoodSaver bags, I will use those for the patties and they will last longer in the freezer. Don’t forget to date your bags.
I realize that using Foodsaver bags and ziplock bags do add expense, but I don’t like using my reusable storage bags for meat. Even though I use reusable bags often, I’m just not really sure about what meat juices are left behind even after a good washing. I will only buy ziplock-type bags when they are on sale or in bulk.
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I typically freeze my meat in freezer bags. However, I have to look into actually getting a vacuum sealed system. I love that it actually extends the life of the frozen meat.
I do this often! Especially in these crazy times where meat seems to be tough to find. I’ll have to get these reusable storage bags.
Man oh man, you should see our DEEP FREEZE! hahahahahaha! #fullofmeat
I have been disappointed in the past to find out that the meat I froze had freezer burn. These are very helpful suggestions.
That Foodsaver system is such a smart way to save money. When food is on sale you could freeze it for use at a later time, so important.
Great idea to freeze the meat. This way I will have always something almost ready in my freeze without going shopping every day!
Wow! This is such a great idea. Freezing meat is such a good way to save time and money. Especially now that we really need to store food.
I hope a lot of people are being careful about freezing the meat they are buying, especially when they buy in bulk. So important to save and ration right now!
This is what I have done with fruits and vegetables. Now I will do it with my meat.
I think this is always a great idea. We freeze meat as much as possible. It’s a great way to have it last longer too.
I have been freezing some meat over the last month but I didn’t know some of the recommendations on how long meat will be good in the freezer. Thanks for sharing this info!
This is such a great idea and I need to do more of it. We freeze a couple weeks worth but no more than that.
These are really great idea I need try this these so that I can serve some money I love to freeze the chicken and vegetables.
I’m all about freezing meat. We raise our own beef cows, so we always have a freezer full of beef, but I also pick up sausage and chicken on sale. Often, I’ll cook up the sausage and freeze it in portions for meals we like, since that saves a lot of time in making dinner.
Freezing the shredded chicken is a really good idea. That would save me a lot of time.