Thanksgiving Prep question

[melissafitz]

so, i'm beginning the prep -- which involves (for me) making things that can be frozen. so today it's cornbread for the stuffing, tomorrow it's turkey stock.

meanwhile, i've got some extra celery, carrots and onions hanging around and was thinking of freezing them (uncooked) for the stuffing as well.

i'm sure this has been asked before, but do you guys think uncooked mirepoix will freeze well? or should this be a "day of" step?

thanks!

melissa

[KarenDW]

I chop and freeze ahead, often. Make the packages small (no more than 4 cups), and flat, so that they freeze and thaw quickly, for best product quality. You might want to drain and/or blot dry after thawing, but I usually just cook from frozen. The slight amount of excess moisture will affect browning.

Or, if you have time, cook the mirepoix before freezing. Heating will destroy some of the enzyme which causes food spoilage

The frozen/thawed mirepoix will be softer than fresh, after cooking.

[Dana]

I make the entire stuffing and freeze. Thaw the day before - works great.

[melissafitz]

thanks for your speedy responses! i'm going to freeze this smallish batch and -- as i am making a "test run" turkey for the t'giving feast for my daughter's class -- will use it then.

dana -- i thought about making the entire stuffing now and then freezing. you don't add the liquids prior to freezing, do you?

[paulraphael]

Uncooked pirepoix freezes fine. Which is great, considering the smallest size bunch of celery most places will sell you.