Frozen meat

[namechangedforthis1980]

Hi all,

Ready to be shot down in flames as it's probably all disgusting but...

Frozen uncooked meat? Chicken and mince, that sort of thing. Is it ok? Nasty? Where is the best place to buy it? I've got access to most supermarkets and Iceland.

I'm trying to plan the summer holidays and in particular feeding my bottomless pit 15 year old son and most of his mates. I'm looking for lunch ideas, that don't just involve him putting a pizza in the oven or having sandwiches every day. So maybe fajitas etc.

I usually buy fresh meat but want some things in for days when I haven't been shopping!

Thanks

Can you not buy it fresh and freeze it yourself

I buy beef from Donald Russell already frozen and chicken breasts and salmon fillets from m&s and freeze them. All lovely.

(all individually wrapped)

I used to work at Iceland and the relatively unprocessed stuff is good. (And I'm a real mumsnetter who likes Naice Ham etc.)

The chicken and beef is going to be the same as any non-free range chicken anywhere (so most of it). They also do a wide variety of frozen chopped veg which would be easy for your DS to stir fry into fajitas, eg ready chopped peppers, onions, mushrooms etc. Personally I don't think frozen peppers work as well as fresh but I imagine teenage boys aren't aren't that fussy.

They do all sorts of cook from frozen stir fry stuff, eg paella, which would again be convenient.

Probably worth you having a mooch round. It is soooo much cheaper than other supermarkets.

Though not good to eat any convenience food every day.

@dementedpixie - Can I cook meat that I've frozen, from frozen can I? I usually defrost. I'm thinking of the meat that says can be cooked from frozen. Actually, what is the difference?!

Sorry I sound really stupid!

Thanks also @Chewbecca & @CheshireSplat !

If it says you can cook from frozen, you can. You can also defrost it in the fridge over 24 hours. I do this with frozen fish as it often has a fair amount of water in it, so defrosting it first means you can tip away the excess water at that stage.

If it says defrost before cooking make sure you do.

If you cook meat that was frozen when raw, you can freeze it when cooked. Eg frozen mince used for a spag Bol, can freeze the cooked Bol. But never refreeze meat you've defrosted if you haven't done anything with it, ie if it's only defrosted and not cooked.