BRF says that new Saudi rules on chicken shelf life could hurt sales
Freeze meat in meal-sized packages. Remove as many bones as possible because they take up freezer space. Prevent off-flavors by trimming excess fat, which will become rancid.
When packing several cuts in one package, put two layers of freezer paper between the pieces. This layering makes it easy to separate pieces for fast thawing (Figure 1).
The store wrap on purchased meats is not meant for long-term freezer storage. Meat frozen in store wrap will suffer freezer burn in a few weeks. Freezer burn occurs when air dries the meat and causes loss of flavor. Rewrap or overwrap purchased meats that will be kept frozen longer than two weeks.
Precautions with cured and cooked meats
Cured meats
Salt increases the rate at which rancidity develops in meat. For this reason, bacon and cured hams have an extremely short freezer life and should be used within one month. Freezing is not recommended for hot dogs and luncheon meats because their emulsion will be broken and the product will “weep.”
Cooked meats
Cooked meat will dry out much faster than fresh meat in the freezer if it is not covered with some kind of sauce, gravy or broth. The liquid fills up the air spaces and prevents drying by protecting the meat from exposure to the air. Cooked meats frozen in liquid should be kept a shorter time than fresh meats — no longer than three months.
(opens in new window)Poultry
Select plump, unblemished and odorless poultry for freezing.
Choose poultry according to your use. Tender young birds are best for roasting, frying and broiling, whereas the more flavorful birds, usually labeled for stewing, are best for braising or stewing.
Whole birds are always the best buys. Although buying parts is more convenient, you are paying someone else for cutting up the poultry. You can save money by purchasing whole birds and learning the simple task of cutting them up yourself (Figure 2).
Freeze poultry in the form you intend to use it: whole, halved or cut up. When freezing cut-up pieces, put a double layer of freezer paper between pieces or halves for easy separation and faster thawing. When packaging pieces, arrange them to form a compact, square, flat package so that they will stack better in the freezer. Package and freeze giblets separately because they have a shorter shelf life and cannot be stored as long as light or dark meat.
Because of the irregular shape of poultry parts, freezer bags are easier to use than wrap. It is important to get all the air out of freezer bags in which poultry is stored. Even small air pockets can cause freezer burn. The best way to get out most of the air is to plunge the bag into a pan of water to force all the air to the top. Quickly twist the top end and seal.
The store wrap on purchased poultry is not meant for long-term freezer storage. Poultry frozen in store wrap will suffer freezer burn in a few weeks. Rewrap or overwrap purchased poultry to be held longer than two weeks. Commercially wrapped frozen poultry, such as turkey, does not need to be rewrapped.
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