Any way to defrost only a portion of a block of bolognaise?

[INeedNewShoes]

I stupidly froze a big batch of bolognaise in a glass Pyrex dish with a lid and now I could do with using a quarter of it tomorrow.

Can anyone suggest how to go about separating a bit from the block so that the rest can go safely back in the freezer?

Pick axe?

Chainsaw

Not safely, as cutting frozen food is one of the biggest causes of injuries in the home!

I wold just defrost the lot and eat over the next few days.

I’ve been known to use a bread knife (tip the whole thing out and then hack it).

No advice but I bought a big 24 pack of chicken fillets as I had a voucher for a local butcher and like an idiot I put the 24 fillets into the freezer together. So it was chicken every night that week once I defrosted them.

Nope - it’s all or nothing

Normal knife around the edge to loosen it out the dish, and then a big knife in the middle of the section you need to cut. That's what I do anyway and haven't killed myself yet.

I have a massive heavy chefs knife that I heat up in boiling water - then get dh to attack!

Just defrost it enough to cut off what you need then put back in the freezer

Bread knife or meat knife, carefully start sawing the right size piece at one end. Once you've got part of the way through, maybe 1cm, then place a handle of a wooden spoon under the slit, hold one side down with something and bash the other with something like a meat hammer. Like cutting bathroom tiles.

Do not do this unless you want to be ill.

Hammer and chisel op? Lol

I would just defrost the lot and eat it over the next few says.

This is what I did today with a frozen block of chilli. Easy peasy😆

I'd just defrost it enough so that you can cut off a piece, it will be still full of ice crystals and perfectly safe to refreeze as per the advice given if your freezer fails for example. Don;t defrost on high in microwave, do on the defrost setting so it never actually warms up, you don't want it in any way warm, just sufficiently frozen granita texture to lob off a piece. Or if you let it sit out for a while the edges will soften while the middle is still solid and you can scrape off a bit this way.

Run warm water over bottom of dish so it pops out in dish-shaped block. Use sharpe knife dipped in boiling water to slice into portions.

A friend bought me an axe for a comedy Christmas present. I've considered getting a butchers block for outside so I can hack frozen things apart.

Get it out of the dish into a bag then smash against side of counter.

I'd smash it up in a sturdy freezer bag with a rolling pin, then scoop out the portion I wanted.

Thanks everyone. I've decided not to take any risks this time as I'm a musician and have a couple of concerts this week. Decided my fingers are more important than having to eat bolognaise for a few days. I've broken the news to DD that it'll be spag bol tomorrow, chili the next night, lasagne the night after that. She's delighted!

This is what I do

Ah, you could have batch cooked a couple of things and re-frozen.

Dip casserole in water to get solid lump out. Double bag it is sturdy plastic bags, tie shut. Smash it hard on paving stone or similar. With any luck it will shatter into portion size lumps. .