Confession time, I’m 59 and don’t know how to use a freezer- teach me!

[irishcelticwitch]

So I have a huge American type fridge freezer and it has nothing but peas/ ice cream and pizza in it because I don’t know how to use a freezer properly and I’m scared I’m going to poison people.
I want to batch cook and buy big packs of meat and freeze left overs but how do I know how long I can keep them for before they are inedible? So if I buy chicken today with a use by date of next week and freeze some of it- how long can I keep it?
How do I know which things I need to defrost overnight and which can be put straight in the microwave or oven??
Please advise😶

Basically put stuff in it and close the door?

Seriously you won’t poison people, I put portions of food in boxes or freezer bags and take out the night before to defrost in the fridge. Meat, fish etc the same.
As long as it’s defrosted properly and thoroughly warmed through (as you would with anything) you’ll be fine.

I tend not to bother about how long stuff is in there because it’s never in there that long in our freezer but if you are worried you could write a use by date on stuff, 6 months would probably work best but I wouldn’t be too strict.

I usually defrost first before sticking in the oven to be safe, unless it’s stuff I’ve actually bought frozen and has cooking instructions from frozen on it.

There is really nothing to it. I just cool things to room temperature and lob them in the freezer. I use them when I want to use them, regardless of date. We raise pigs and I have sausages in the freezer from pigs we processed 3 years ago. Had them for a BBQ yesterday actually.

I keep all raw meat (like sausages above) in chest freezer, so only opened once or twice a week. You won’t need to worry about this because you aren’t freezing 200 kg of meat for long term storage. Just use your normal fridge as you normally would. To thaw, it comes out and sits on the counter or in the fridge.

I never cook anything from frozen, except say, peas or fish fingers or a pizza that says to cook from frozen. Everything else (meat, stew, fish, soups, sauces, etc) is thawed before cooking. Thawing is key for making sure food is cooked at the proper temperature all the way through.

So if I buy chicken today with a use by date of next week and freeze some of it- how long can I keep it?

Wrapped well the chicken will be fine for months. I’ll use chicken that’s been in the freezer for 6 months, as long as it’s not freezer burnt. Freezing is an incredibly safe way to store food. I too defrost stuff I’ve cooked before reheating, just take it out in the morning to use at night. I use foil containers, write what the contents are and the date made on the lid. I’ve not poisoned anyone yet.

How cold is the freezer op? Ours is minus 18, a deep freeze and generally you can keep stuff in there for 18 months and even after that it's still fine to eat just compromised on quality/texture.

Learn what freezer burn looks like, avoid that and that's about all you need to know.

Date whatever you put in. You can Google how long things are good for in the freezer: cooked and uncooked.

If your frozen meat comes from an animal with 4 legs then you can safely cook it from frozen (need to allow sufficient time). You MUST defrost chicken, turkey, duck etc before cooking.

I batch cook for the freezer and my general rules are

Cook the food well within the use by date and if it’s beef/pork/lamb based then it goes from freezer straight in the microwave to re-heat (to piping hot).

Allow food youve cooked to cool down before putting it in the freezer otherwise it raises the temp of the freezer for a short time.

Never refreeze food that’s been defrosted/heated up

I keep meat in my freezer for as long as 6 months. It doesn’t go off as such though it does degrade a little which can affect the taste.

Divide the packs of meat up, otherwise you'll end up with 5kg of chicken thighs and 2.5kg of mince frozen into big blocks that take forever to defrost and then need to be used up at once.

Things like solid lumps of meat of meat with bones in need to be defrosted in the fridge or they'll still be frozen in the middle when you think that as the outside is soft, it's going to cook all the way through when it's so frozen that by the time the outside is burning, the middle hasn't even defrosted.

Slices of cooked meat frozen with a sauce/gravy will defrost fine in the microwave.

TBH, you best bet is to start slowly. So try getting used to using the already frozen individual portions of meat/mince in the supermarket and follow the instructions.

Veg is cooked from frozen, usually in either the microwave or straight into boiling water.

Cooked jacket potatoes can be microwaved from frozen and a precooked block of chilli to go on it is usually better microwaved as it can be too thick to defrost before it catches on the bottom of a saucepan unless you remember to take it out the night before to defrost in the fridge.

Get lots of different frozen veg and fruit. Trying frozen onions and herbs/spices like ginger and garlic works really well for a lot of people.

Leave one drawer available/clear for freezing things flat. Splodged bags or hard containers take up too much room and having somewhere you can easily place a tray (lined so things come off it easily) to freeze stuff like fresh pineapple separate rather than in a clump - then take it out and put into a bag for freezer storage.

Always remove the additional packaging/boxes. They take up too much space. Cut the name and the instructions off and attach them to the internal packaging/in the bags.

Label everything. You will forget which shade of red is bolognese and which is beetroot once it's in the freezer and looks a completely different shade the following week.

If you buy meat to freeze remember to freeze it in amounts that you will use. You can also freeze raw meat, Defrost it to make a recipe, eg cottage pie, a regular, curry etc and then freeze the cooked dish to use another time. I usually Defrost everything before reheating it. I dobt even look at use buy dates on stuff I've frozen, it can be in there for months. I've just used some pigs in blankets that were originally bought last December and frozen.
Some things can get freezer burn which shows on the surface of the meat. It's not harmful and the meat can be defrosted and used safely. There may be slight deteriation in texture but nothing harmful.

You just need to make sure the food is covered before freezing. Defrost overnight or in microwave. Beef , fish and veg can be cooked from frozen. I have never poisoned anyone. I freeze bread, milk, cream as well as meat and fish and leftovers. If in doubt just Google.