Most households have freezers these days. They’re a convenient way of keeping a ready supply of different meats, and they mean that you can benefit from the cost savings of buying in bulk. When you freeze and defrost meat, it’s important to follow some tried and tested procedures. That way, you will keep your meat in peak condition and, more importantly, minimise any risk to health.

Does freezing meat reduce the quality?

Freezing for a limited period does not impact negatively on the quality of fresh meat. It simply puts the brakes on the bacterial activity that occurs when meat is left at room temperature. If you freeze meat quickly and defrost correctly, it will turn out just as good as if it were fresh.

Why freeze on day of purchase?

The packaging on meat normally advises you that if freezing, you should do so on the day of purchase. This is to maintain quality, which gradually diminishes the longer the meat is left uncooked. Whilst it is entirely feasible that meat can be frozen right up until the use by date, it is not recommended.

How to prepare meat for the freezer.

It is best to portion up meat before freezing. Otherwise, you could end up having to defrost four sirloin steaks when you only need two. It’s worth asking your friendly butcher if they will provide this service for you.

The portions should then be vacuum packed. The butcher can usually do this or, if you prefer to do it yourself, there are many inexpensive vacuum packing machines on the market. Alternatively, pack meat in resealable bags, squeezing out as much air as you can. Failing that, tightly wrap in food wrap.

What can I do about freezer burn?

Although freezer burn doesn’t look attractive, it’s harmless and is merely the result of meat being exposed to the air. This results in dehydration and oxidation. If you find it too unsightly, simply trim it off. To avoid the problem in future, ensure that all meat is tightly wrapped. Ask your butcher if they offer a vacuum packing service or buy yourself a domestic vacuum packing machine.

Why shouldn’t I freeze meat twice?

Maybe you defrosted some meat intending to cook it but had a change of plans. Maybe there was a power cut and the contents of the freezer thawed out. Whatever the reason, freezing that meat again could prove harmful to your health. When you freeze meat, you make the bacteria dormant, but you don’t kill them. So, when you defrost meat, you reactivate the bacteria. Done properly, this is completely harmless, but the bacteria could grow. This means that if you refreeze the meat, you are also freezing a greater population of bacteria.

What is the proper way to defrost meat?

Ideally meat should always be defrosted in the fridge, and the temperature of the fridge should be around 5 degrees centigrade. In most cases, 24 hours should be enough time, but it depends on the amount of meat. It is best to allow a typical joint of one to four kilos about two days. Anything bigger will need nearer four.

If you use the defrost function on your microwave, please follow the manufacturer’s instructions closely, and once defrosted, cook the meat immediately.

How long can I keep defrosted meat in the fridge?

Once fully defrosted, meat should be kept no longer than 24 hours.

How long can I keep meat frozen?

As long as your freezer temperature is set at minus 18 degrees centigrade, meat should keep for a long time. However, to ensure optimum quality, it is best consumed within three months of freezing.

Is it safe to freeze cooked meat?

It is perfectly safe to freeze and defrost meat that has been cooked. Just ensure that the meat is completely cool before transferring to a resealable bag or plastic container. Once defrosted, consume withing 24 hours.

Meat packs at Traymoor

At Traymoor, we supply a range of meat packs to suit different tastes and budgets. They are renowned for their quality and value, and offer exceptional variety including chicken breasts, sausages, steaks, pork chops, diced meats, lamb steaks, and more.

For steak fans, we offer a sizzling steak lovers pack filled with sirloin steaks, fillet steaks, ribeye steaks, rump steaks and T-bone steaks.

Alternatively, take a look at our wide selection of restaurant-quality meats and choose exactly the items you want. Once we receive your order, our master butchers will get to work, and your meat will be delivered next day (not Sunday) in one of our refrigerated vehicles. We deliver across Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and London (North & East).

Why would you marinate meat when, for many, good meat, simply grilled or roasted, is something akin to perfection? Unadorned by additional flavours, the pure taste of the meat is the star of the show. So, why would anyone want to invite a marinade to the party?

Marinate for tenderness

Certain cuts like fillet steak don’t need marinating. They are perfectly tender and need little more than a quick sizzle in the frying pan. But if you like the more robust flavour of, for example, a ribeye steak, you may find that your appreciation increases when you tenderise it. Marinating a steak for tenderness means soaking it in an acidic liquid such as lemon juice, wine, or vinegar. You leave it for a minimum of 2 hours, but no more than 24. The acid breaks down the tougher proteins making the meat incredibly succulent.

Marinate for flavour

Besides the acid, it’s a good idea to use your marinade to add complexity of flavour. Garlic and rosemary are strong allies to steak. If you like olive oil, it goes great a steak marinade. A pinch of salt will enhance the flavour, and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard will give another punch.

Marinade recipe

There’s no great secret to the perfect marinade. Play around with ingredients until you find something you really love. A bit of sugar helps make a great crust. Soy sauce, papaya, Worcestershire sauce, honey, paprika, and too many other ingredients to mention are all worth consideration. To get you started, we provide an example of a marinade below.

Ingredients

• 250 ml red wine
• 150 ml olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• Half a red onion (chopped)
• 2 tsp dried rosemary
• 2 steaks (ribeye, rump, or sirloin will work well)

Method

1. Combine all ingredients apart from the steaks in a jug or bowl.
2. Place steaks in a resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade.
3. Squeeze the air of the bag and seal.
4. Massage the steaks to ensure they are covered in the marinade.
5. Marinate meat for around eight hours in the refrigerator.
6. Remove steaks from bag and cook as desired.

Bonus tip: Once steaks are cooked, remove from the pan and while they rest, add a glass of red wine to the pan and deglaze to make a delicious sauce to pour over the steaks.

Yoghurt marinade

Traditional marinades as described above can be a little harsh on certain meats like chicken and lamb, and can actually make the meat rubbery. That’s where plain natural yoghurt comes in. Yoghurt tenderises meat in a different way, and is perfect for grilled chicken or lamb. Simply add the flavours you want. Garlic, cumin, paprika, and lemongrass all work well. Marinate the meat in the yoghurt for around 12 hours, and cook as normal. The yoghurt will form a crisp and tasty crust.

Tell us about your marinade

Do you have a favourite marinade or method of marinating meat? We’d love to hear from you. Are there any cooking tips, recipes, or articles you’d like us to publish? You can leave your feedback on Facebook, Instagram or via email.

Traymoor, your online butcher

Through our online butcher’s shop, Traymoor delivers restaurant-quality meat across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and London (North & East).  We offer everything from roasting joints to steaks, chickens, speciality sausages, lamb chops, burgers, stewing steak and more. For great value, take a look at our excellent meat packs.

Traymoor sources only the highest quality produce from approved suppliers with full product traceability. For that reason, we are proud members of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society and the Scotch Beef Club.

If you’re a beef lover, it’s quite possible that you find yourself wondering about all the different cuts of beef. Why can one kind of steak be cut like butter while another takes some chewing? How does a beef casserole can end up like soup when cooked for too long?

Knowing the right way to cook the various cuts of beef will ensure that you always select the right product for your needs, and apply the correct cooking method.

Chuck

Located in the vicinity of the shoulders, the chuck is a hard-working part of the animal and contains quite a bit of collagen and connective tissue. Although this makes it tough, chuck (otherwise known as braising steak) has great flavour and is significantly cheaper than many other cuts.

How to cook chuck

Slow cooking is key with chuck. This will give all that connective tissue time to break down. Consider using chuck for casseroles and steak pie fillings.

Fillet

Fillet is a high-end cut for good reason. Because of its location in the animal’s back, it does very little work. It is, therefore, very tender.

How to cook fillet

There is very little fat in beef fillet so a fillet steak should be cooked quickly over a high heat to retain juiciness. Larger pieces of beef fillet can withstand longer cooking times so it is commonly used in beef Wellington.

Ribeye steak

Popular among steak lovers seeking a good balance of flavour and tenderness, the ribeye steak comes from the area above the ribs, and can easily be identified by the “eye” of fat in the centre.

How to cook ribeye steak

A ribeye steak is usually best cooked to medium. Whilst this may seem unorthodox to steak aficionados, the extra time is recommended to allow the high quantity of fat time to render.

Rump

Popular for its abundant flavour, rump is less tender than the more prime cuts of beef. As the name suggests, it comes from the rear end of the animal and does a lot of work.

How to cook rump

Rare rump steak is not recommended as it can be a bit tough. It’s best to go for medium or medium-rare. Ideally, give it a few minutes each side in a hot frying pan, and then transfer to the oven for about ten minutes.

Shin

It’s no surprise that the leg is one of the hardest working parts of the animal, with the result that any meat on it is going to be particularly tough. This makes it an economical cut but one that doesn’t hold back on flavour.

How to cook shin

Shin should be braised slowly so that the connective tissue breaks down to the point that the meat just falls apart.

Silverside

The silverside is a very lean cut that comes from just above the hind leg. As it is inexpensive, it is a good option for a family roast.

How to cook silverside

Silverside has very little fat so, if roasting, it should be rubbed liberally with oil or butter and roasted while partly submerged in liquid. It should then be basted frequently throughout the cooking time.

Topside

A close relative of silverside, topside also comes from the hind leg. Otherwise known as ‘poor man’s sirloin’, topside is a great value roasting joint that is particularly delicious.

How to cook topside

Topside is usually roasted in one piece. It doesn’t require a long cooking time and, even served rare, it remains tender. It is well-known for being easy to carve into thin slices, so leftovers can be used in sandwiches.

Brisket

Coming from the breast of the animal, the brisket also has to do a lot of work and, as a result, is known to be tough. Nevertheless, because of its intense beefy flavour, it is a favourite of many beef lovers.

How to cook brisket

Brisket could be considered the beefy version of pulled pork. Marinated and cooked for several hours in the oven on a low heat, brisket falls apart ready for filling baps and baguettes.

Sirloin steak

The sirloin is located between the fillet and the rib, and as such strikes a good balance between tenderness and taste.

How to cook sirloin steak

Sirloin steak is at its best cooked medium-rare. This allows the fat to render down into the meat and increase tenderness.

T-bone steak

A T-bone steak is like two steaks in one. On one side of the bone you have a piece of fillet steak, and on the other you have sirloin. So, you get a tantalising variety of textures and flavours.

How to cook a T-bone steak

Ideally, a T-bone steak should be cooked in a hot frying pan for 3 to 4 minutes each side. This will give you a delicious crust on the outside while keeping the meat pink and juicy on the inside.

Restaurant quality meat from Traymoor

At Traymoor, we are experts not only in the different cuts of beef, but in all kinds of meats. If you need advice or cooking tips, please contact us. We’d be delighted to help.

Traymoor delivers an incredible selection of restaurant quality meats all over Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and London (North & East). Our range includes 21-day aged steaks, roasting joints, speciality sausages, chickens, lamb steaks, burgers, and kebabs.

We also offer a wide variety of great value meat packs. Available in a range of sizes and prices, these meat packs are filled with an assortment of household essentials including minced beef, chicken breast fillets, pork chops, sausages, and bacon. In addition, our incredible steak lovers pack is filled with sirloin steak, ribeye steak, rump steak, fillet steak, and T-bone steak.

If you go to any quality butcher or restaurant, it is fairly common to see steaks described as “well-hung”, “mature”, or something similar. In fact, we are proud to state that our steaks are aged for 21 days. You may have wondered why mature beef is considered a mark of quality. Surely fresh beef is better. Well, no! And here’s why.

Ageing is a tried and tested way of enhancing the flavour and texture of beef. The process works thanks to the presence of enzymes that break down muscle tissue. Certain cuts of beef can be tougher than others, and this is often due to those parts of the animal working harder. The ageing process gives those muscles time to naturally tenderise.

As you would expect, much of the water in the meat evaporates during the ageing period. This concentrates the flavour so that you end up with a far tastier steak.

Of course, it’s also important to follow the correct cooking method depending on the cut you’ve selected.

Can’t I just buy fresh beef and age it myself?

You can, but ageing meat doesn’t simply mean hanging it up in your airing cupboard or leaving it lying in the fridge for a month! The maturation process has to take place in specific conditions. Factors such as temperature and humidity need to be taken into account. Otherwise, rather than mature, the meat will simply rot.

If it’s mature, why does it still look so pink and fresh?

When you expose raw meat to the air, you would expect it to dry out and its appearance to change, at least on the surface. You’re right, and that’s where your friendly master butcher comes in. A good butcher will trim the edges perfectly and leave you with a steak that looks like a masterpiece and tastes sensational.

Is mature beef more expensive?

It costs money to maintain the carefully controlled environment in which we age our beef. The process means that there is less water than in fresh meat, and there is a certain amount of waste involved in trimming. Certain suppliers reduce the ageing time or don’t mature their beef at all in order to save money. The result is an inferior product and disappointed customers.

If you want to be sure of a steak you will enjoy, go for mature.

21-day-aged steaks at Traymoor

 As members of the Scotch Beef Club and the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society Traymoor is proud to offer 21-day-aged steaks including fillet steak, ribeye steak, rump steak, sirloin steak, and T-bone steak. Our high-quality meat includes Hereford beef and Angus beef.  Furthermore, we offer next-day home delivery to Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and London.