Corned beef is one of the most beloved dishes served during spring in the United States of America. No one can resist having corned beef and cabbage. It is sold in sale during the spring tradition and St Patrick’s Day. If you would like to stock some of the corned beef you have bought from the supermarkets, then you need to know how to store it by freezing. If you have doubts, can you freeze corned beef? Then you have to read below.
Contents
What is corned beef?
Corned beef is nothing but the curing of beef brisket or beef cut in round slices using salt and brine. A lot of people get confused with the word corn being used as a prefix to beef. Corn here refers to the large pieces of salt that are added along with a brine solution to cure the beef. The beef is tightly packed in the salt pieces for curing and later it is put in brine solution and delivered to the various supermarkets.
A lot of people wonder as to how a cured beef, could still retain the pink colour, it is nothing but the addition of sodium nitrite to the brine solution. This particular chemical ingredient helps in stopping the growth of microorganisms like bacteria. It’s not just used in corned beef, but also used in other meats that are generally cured.
Apart from the packed salt in the meat, there are other ingredients like garlic, bay leaf, spices, and peppercorns that are added to the brine solution. It is very easy to cook corned beef. Take the package in which the corned beef is stored.
Put it in a cooking pot and slow, cook it for about an hour and a half.
It gives you a gravy-like texture. One can accompany the corned beef with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.
There are a lot of people who have doubts about the freezing of corned beef.
Things you need to know about freezing beef
There are certain things you need to know about freezing beef. The corned beef comes in various forms like hash, brisket, deli slices, etc.
A lot of people buy different types of corned beef from the supermarket. It is sold in the hash, brisket, and deli slices mostly. So, if you have doubts, can you freeze corned beef hash? Can you freeze corned beef brisket and can you freeze corned beef from the deli? You could very well do it.
Be it any type of corned beef, it is usually sold along with the brine solution and tightly packed. It is suggested to discard the brine solution and then store it in the freezer only. If you are going to cook it, immediately it is recommended to use the brine solution along. The brine solution does more harm to the beef rather than doing any favor in terms of freezing. It disrupts the flavour and the fine texture of the beef slices when it is stored in the freezer.
The corned beef generally comes in tightly packed vacuum bags. If you have doubts, can you freeze vacuum-packed corned beef? You should not prefer going for it, because the tight vacuum packing only leads to the beef getting soggy.
Freezing the corned beef
You should discard the packet and the brine solution.
Wash off the corned Beef completely, so that there are no traces of brine solution left in the corned beef and cover it using packaging materials like a plastic wrapper or aluminum foil.
Put it in a freezer-friendly bag and then store it in the refrigerator.
Corned beef and pastrami
Pastrami is nothing but the Turkish variant of corned beef. The beef briskets are generally. Dipped into the brine solution, later dried and seasoned with using various herbs and spices. These brined and dried meat slices are later smoked and steamed. The smoked state of meat sold at the supermarket is bought and steamed at home.
This is generally served along with corned beef. A lot of people have doubts about Can you freeze corned beef and pastrami? It is not recommended to store corned beef and pastrami together. You could pack them separately using different packaging materials and store them in the same freezer bag.
Pastrami has a different flavour when compared to corned beef and when you pack it both together, both the food ingredients lose their texture.
Common doubts associated with freezing corned beef
There are certain doubts associated with freezing corned beef which you must get cleared.
Can you freeze corned beef after cooking?
It is best to freeze the corned beef after cooking as it stays fresh for a longer duration.
Can you freeze corned beef before cooking?
One could freeze a corned beef before cooking after discarding the brine solution and cleaning it completely. However, it is recommended to freeze the cooked corned beef for increasing the longevity of the corned beef.
Can you freeze corned beef slices?
One could freeze the corned beef slices be it in the cooked or uncooked form provided you have cleaned the corned beef slices completely and packed them in freezer-friendly bags.
How long can you freeze corned beef?
You could store the corned beef in the freezer for about a month.
Can you freeze leftover corned beef?
You could freeze the leftover corned beef in the cooked form for a longer duration when compared to the uncooked form of corned beef. If the package is not freezer friendly, then transfer it to a freezer friendly bag and then freeze it.
How do you store leftover corned beef?
Cleaning the beef completely of the brine solution and then storing is the general procedure.
How long is cooked corned beef good for in the refrigerator?
The cooked corned beef is good for the refrigerator only for about two days. If you are going to freeze the corned beef in the freezer, it stays fresh for about two months.
Can you get food poisoning from corned beef?
You don’t get food poisoning from corned beef. However, if you consume corned beef that has gone past its expiry date, then there are a lot of chances for you to suffer from food poisoning.
These are some of the things you need to know about corned beef. This is one of the most delicious dishes out there, it is served generally during the festival season, and however, with the process of freezing, you could enjoy it at the other times of the year, as well.
FAQ :
1. How to freeze corned beef?
In order to freeze the corned beef, the first thing that you need to do is remove the tightly vacuumed packed bag and bring out the corned beef from it. Now wash the meat carefully and make sure that there are no traces of brine solution over the meat absolutely. This brine solution does no good to the corned beef while you are putting it in to the freezer. The solution disturbs the fine texture of the corned beef slices and spoils the flavor of it as well. After washing the meat cover it using an aluminum foil or a plastic wrapper. Now put the meat in the freezer bag and place it in the freezer.
2. Can corned beef be frozen?
Yes, corned beef can surely be frozen without having any issues.
3. Is it ok to freeze corned beef?
It is absolutely perfect to freeze corned beef. The thing you shall also remember whole freezing the corned beef is that you can freeze it for up to two months.
