Freezing Seasoned Ground Meat Mixtures

[gulfporter]

I don't often use ground meats, but have been experimenting with making Banh Mi pork burgers.  I made a batch with a pound of pork, seasoning it with sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, Worcestershire, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, chopped green onions, minced cilantro, ground black pepper.  I grilled 2 of the formed burgers and froze the other 2 burgers for about 10 days.  

 

Both of us felt the burgers that had been frozen tasted stronger (and better) than the fresh batch.  Does that make sense, or are we kidding ourselves?

 

 

[Smithy]

With that mix of seasonings it makes sense that some time to sit and mingle would improve the flavors. Whether that would still happen in the freezer, I don't know. Maybe the time it takes for the mixture to cool down on its way to freezing is enough?

[gulfporter]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

With that mix of seasonings it makes sense that some time to sit and mingle would improve the flavors. Whether that would still happen in the freezer, I don't know. Maybe the time it takes for the mixture to cool down on its way to freezing is enough?

Ahhhh 💡.  Maybe it was the time spent thawing and sitting in fridge, post-freeze?  When I made the initial mix, I grilled the burgers almost immediately.  When I thawed the frozen ones, I put in fridge overnight and grilled for dinner; they were likely sitting thawed in the fridge for several hours. 

 

Thanks Smitty.  

[Alex]

I know that freezing and thawing can cause some moisture loss, so I'm wondering if that could have helped to concentrate the flavors.

[HungryChris]

This may or may not be germaine, but I add it because I believe it is. When I make a batch of Korean BBQ sauce for one application, like rotisserie chicken, I will usually make a double batch and use the excess to bag up packs of chicken wings in portions of six and put them right in the freezer. By the time they have frozen and thawed, they can go right on the grill and seem every bit as good as if they had marinated overnight.

HC

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by HungryChris (log)

[kayb]

Not exactly on point, but when I get overenthusiastic buying tomatoes and am canning them in every preparation I can think of, I often can chili base. It's actually a very thick chili, with cooked ground beef. Then when I want to cook it, I just open a jar, add a bottle of beer and whatever leftover beans I have on hand, if I'm in a notion for beans in chili. Quick and good.

[Bernie]

I guess if you know for certain what has happened to the ground meat before you processed it with flavorings etc and you were fairly diligent in cleanliness and temperature control, the bacteria counts should not be of concern. Perhaps some of the sauces etc might have lower freezing points and would act like a marinade, although a lot slower. I will freeze raw ground beef itself, but only when fresh. If I add things to the meat to make burgers or patties, I tend to cook them and then freeze them. I usually vacuum pack them as well.

[paulraphael]

On 8/24/2019 at 11:56 AM, gulfporter said:

Does that make sense, or are we kidding ourselves?

 

The answer to that, especially since you have a crowd of guinea pigs, is to do a triangle test. If you still have any of the frozen meat left, prepare some bite-sized samples on plates, marked only on the bottom of the plates. Everyone gets three samples (two of one batch, one of another, randomized). Everyone votes on which samples taste better.

 

Then you correlate the votes with what's what. The first thing you look at: did people distinguish between the two batches? Or did people consistently say that B tastes better than C, when on their plates B and C were the same thing?

 

As far as making sense, who knows ... that's a hell of a chemistry experiment, with uncountable variables. Seasonings like soy sauce and worcestershire are complex fermentation products in and of themselves. 

 

My worry with pre-seasoning is the salt. You're giving the salt enough time to start curing the meat, which will give it a sausage-like texture. The process will be slowed or even halted by a deep freeze, will be active during all the time spent freezing and thawing. Possibly, though, this is happening, and one of the qualities that your family likes.