Seasoning before Freezing (Vacuum Sealers)

[drath]

I’m planning on buying a vacuum sealer soon. I’m just shopping for the right model at this point. I’ve seen a lot of articles discussing seasoning prior to vacuuming and freezing fresh meat. For those of you who do this, do you use the same amount of seasoning as you would normally? It seems to me that some of the seasoning would be absorbed into the meat, even while setting in the freezer and therefore you'd need to use a little less seasoning if you season prior to freezing. I hope this is true because I’ve recently been placed on a low sodium diet and I’m looking for a way to use less salt or salt-based seasonings and still get the same flavor.

Thanks

 

[Just Cooking]

My vac sealer has long been an important part of my kitchen.. I often season before vacuuming..

I have cut back on salt these past few years and am so used to doing so now that I no longer notice the missing salt.. The various herb and spice seasonings provide the desired flavor..

I do not change quantities.. To me, having the seasoning absorbed in to the meat is exactly what I want..

Ross

 

[blissful]

National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Freeze

Effect of Freezing on Spices and Seasonings

• Pepper , cloves, garlic, green pepper, imitation vanilla and some herbs tend to get strong and bitter.
• Onion and paprika change flavor during freezing.
• Celery seasonings become stronger.
• Curry develop a musty off-flavor.
• Salt loses flavor and has the tendency to increase rancidity of any item containing fat.
• When using seasonings and spices, season lightly before freezing, and add additional seasonings when reheating or serving.

I freeze onions all the time. I usually don't season things before I put them in the vac pack bag.

 

[Just Cooking]

Fortunately, for me, I have not experienced an adverse reaction to seasoning before freezing...

Ross

 

[caseydog]

I've worn out two Foodsavers, and am on my third. I use one that much. I season before vacuum sealing when I cook sous vide, but have not tried seasoning meats before freezing. I have thought about it, but have not tried it.

So, I'm glad the OP started this thread.

CD

 

[caseydog]

I freeze onions all the time. I usually don't season things before I put them in the vac pack bag.

I vacuum seal and freeze surplus peppers from my garden. I freeze them on a tray first, so they are rock solid when I vacuum seal them. Otherwise, the vacuum sealer crushes the fresh-picked peppers.

CD

 

[CraigC]

The only time we froze something with spice/seasoning was out of necessity. We were curing hog jowl for Speck and had to seal and freeze it due to an approaching hurricane.

 

[caseydog]

The only time we froze something with spice/seasoning was out of necessity. We were curing hog jowl for Speck and had to seal and freeze it due to an approaching hurricane.

Soooo, did it turn out okay? I understand why you did it, but what were the results?

CD

 

[CraigC]

Even with most of the cure rinsed off before freezing, it was really salty and had to be soaked several times. It came out fine and got smoked with alder chunks on the Egg.

 

[Just Cooking]

I vacuum seal and freeze surplus peppers from my garden. I freeze them on a tray first, so they are rock solid when I vacuum seal them. Otherwise, the vacuum sealer crushes the fresh-picked peppers.

CD

Exactly.... I do that with everything from veggies to desserts..

Ross

 

[caseydog]

Exactly.... I do that with everything from veggies to desserts..

Ross

I now have this mental image of a slice of unfrozen apple pie being vacuum sealed. I guess you would have to call it apple cobbler after that.

Do you remove the desserts from the sealed bag before you thaw them? How do you bring them "back to life" after being frozen?

CD

 

[Just Cooking]

I now have this mental image of a slice of unfrozen apple pie being vacuum sealed. I guess you would have to call it apple cobbler after that.

Do you remove the desserts from the sealed bag before you thaw them? How do you bring them "back to life" after being frozen?

CD

As stated, I freeze on a tray before vacuum sealing.. Picture frozen desserts from a store.. I do remove them from the sealed bag to thaw..

Ross

 

[caseydog]

As stated, I freeze on a tray before vacuum sealing.. Picture frozen desserts from a store.. I do remove them from the sealed bag to thaw..

Ross

Yes, I know. Your post just made me think about what would happen if you didn't freeze them first. Squish!

CD

 

[Just Cooking]

Yes, I know. Your post just made me think about what would happen if you didn't freeze them first. Squish!

CD

I don't think its polite to be looking through my kitchen window when I do something stupid...

Ross

 

[drath]

Wow! I didn't expect all of these replies. Thanks everyone. I've decide to go with the FoodSaver FM2100. I'll make sure to share my results with seasoning prior to freezing. Now that the FoodSaver is ordered I'm off to find some low/no sodium pasta sauce and bread recipes. Thanks again!
-D

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

For me, I do not season prior to vacuum sealing our meats, don't really know why, I just don't.

 

[caseydog]

Wow! I didn't expect all of these replies. Thanks everyone. I've decide to go with the FoodSaver FM2100. I'll make sure to share my results with seasoning prior to freezing. Now that the FoodSaver is ordered I'm off to find some low/no sodium pasta sauce and bread recipes. Thanks again!
-D

The trick to low or no sodium sauce is to make your own. I don't add salt or sugar to my homemade sauce. I start with really good canned tomatoes -- I like San Marzano whole tomatoes in a can. I season with fresh herbs and spices. That's it.

I take meds for high BP, so I try not to use any more salt than needed to make a recipe work. I do use salt, but I do it by taste, and try to keep it moderate when I can.

If you season before vacuum sealing, I would not use any salt. I'd stick to peppers and herbs. I'd save the salt until you cook.

CD

 

[KitchenHack]

There is some controversy about seasoning before freezing. Some people think it adversely affects the flavors of food, that salt changes the texture of meat, and I don't know what else. However, I am a sous vider and I love the convenience of being able to throw seasoned frozen food straight into a sous vide pot rather than open it, season it, and re-seal it to cook, so I've gotten into the habit of seasoning pretty much everything before freezing. I love it so much I've started to do it with steaks for the grill, too.

I've found that you DO need less seasoning, at least for meat. This is especially true if you use a small amount of oil or liquid in the bag. The vacuum pulls the liquid throughout the bag and helps it really get into the meat to flavor it, not unlike a marinade. I use just a small sprinkling of salt, am slightly more liberal with other spices, and use about a teaspoon of olive oil when I freeze steaks. We do a reverse sear on the BGE and they are almost always spectacular.

I've been meaning to experiment with salted-before-freezing vs. salted-after-freezing to see if I can really detect a difference, but I haven't gotten around to it. (There hasn't really been a reason to, I guess.) If anybody has or knows of anybody who has, I'd be interested to hear the results.

BTW Darth, that's a nice sealer. I love love love my vacuum sealer! I haven't kept track of how much it's saved me over the years, but I know it's substantially more than what I paid for it. Have fun!