Frozen meat question

[wolcar]

So I noticed that the last time I cut up chicken it was in a slightly frozen state. Then as I thawed portions out in the fridge I noticed that there was quite a bit of liquid in there. In the past when the chicken was cut in a completely thawed state this didn't happen. This made me think of a portion question. If I'm weighing and portioning meat when it is frozen should I change the amount I put in the portion? I hope that all makes sense.

 

[ldg]

No, you don't need to change the portion. What you do when there's dethawed liquid, just use a little bit less meat, and drizzle the liquid on there. Taurine (and some other nutrients) are water soluble - so just add the liquid back in. In fact, it's important to add the liquid back in.

 

[wolcar]

I have been adding the liquid. I just noticed that sometimes there is just so much liquid. I was curious as to why. Lol

 

[Willowy]

As I understand it, the liquid is originally in the meat, contained in the cells. When meat is frozen, the cells burst and the liquid comes out. I don't know why it sometimes has more liquid than other times. . .maybe how long it's frozen? The temp before and after it's frozen? I'm sure someone has done research on that kind of thing but I don't know where to find it :tongue2:.

 

[ritz]

Any chance the meat was "enhanced", as in, added liquid and flavoring, especially sodium/salt?

 

[wolcar]

I don't think o. This particular chicken was from hare today. The only different thing I did was cut it while it was semi frozen.

 

[Willowy]

Maybe more cell damage from cutting while frozen?

 

[scotfold]

I have a storage freezer Question!

How many hours does it take to dethaw?

Can I have a container mixed with all organs eg: mix of random pig/cow/chicken together? or does it have to stay separate to avoid contamination?

Can I refreeze any dethawed uneaten food?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Well, I think the answer to how long it takes to thaw depends on on large the frozen item is.  I have some of my frozen portions in 6 oz tubs, and those seem to take up to 24 hours in the fridge.  But others are in 1 oz "plops", which I transfer from the freezer into snack size ziploc bags, and they will thaw in just a couple of hours in the fridge.  And some folks will put the frozen in cold water to thaw, so it goes quicker.

As far as mixing the organs together, if you are serving them together, I don't see any reason why you can't freeze them together. There shouldn't be anything to "contaminate" anything else.  The only issue I see is if one cat doesn't like a particular organ meat, and you want to try to pick that one out of the mix...the flavor might have been picked up from the others...does that make sense? 

I, personally, don't refreeze anything if it's been totally defrosted more than once.  By that I mean I usually have to defrost it once to separate it out into manageable portions.  Once I do that, then when I refreeze it and defrost it to serve, if they don't eat it, I toss it.