Freezing deli meat

"Scooby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Local deli has an incredible deal going on good deli meat. Dietz and
Watson products all 50% off. Any one ever froze any before? How did it
turn out? Seems like you should be able to but thought I would ask before
I bought a bunch of pastrami, etc...
Thanks

I have not tried it but I would bet 50 cents that it will ruin the texture.
Buy a small amount and try it. If it works you'll be ready for the next
sale.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the [censored] from my email address before using.

Peter Aitken said:

I have not tried it but I would bet 50 cents that it will ruin
the texture.

My experience in freezing ham is that it aquires a noticeable
grainy texture.

However: this is using a refrigerator's top freezer, which
is subject to defrost cycling. It may work better in a chest
freezer.

Steve

Steve Pope said:

Peter Aitken said:

I have not tried it but I would bet 50 cents that it will ruin
the texture.

My experience in freezing ham is that it aquires a noticeable
grainy texture.

However: this is using a refrigerator's top freezer, which
is subject to defrost cycling. It may work better in a chest
freezer.

Just took some ham chunks out of the deep freeze. Froze in ziplock bags.
been frizzed less than 3 mo. Taste noticeably deteriorated, plus
freezer burn, plus texture wierd. If freezing, make it least amount of
time possible? Sometimes you just can't win.
Edrena

In article <[email hidden]>,

Peter Aitken said:

"Scooby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Local deli has an incredible deal going on good deli meat. Dietz and
Watson products all 50% off. Any one ever froze any before? How did it
turn out? Seems like you should be able to but thought I would ask before
I bought a bunch of pastrami, etc...
Thanks

I have not tried it but I would bet 50 cents that it will ruin the texture.
Buy a small amount and try it. If it works you'll be ready for the next
sale.

I've purchased bulk 2 lb. packages of cold cuts before from the store
and separated/frozen them in 4 oz. portions. I put them into a sandwich
bag and remove as much air as possible, then put the sandwich (ziplock)
bags into a large ziplock freezer bag so everything is double bagged.

I DO try to use them as soon as possible, but I've had them frozen for
up to 6 weeks with no noticible change in texture.

Kat
--
K.

Sprout the MungBean to reply

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell‹you
see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain

I use a vacuum sealer and it lasts for a long time. In an airtight bag I
have had no problem for up to 2 weeks.
Bob

In rec.food.cooking said:

Local deli has an incredible deal going on good deli meat. Dietz and Watson
products all 50% off. Any one ever froze any before? How did it turn out?
Seems like you should be able to but thought I would ask before I bought a
bunch of pastrami, etc...

If you use a vacuum sealer like a Tilia, then it is likely that the
quality will suffer only a bit. If you freeze it using something less, I
would think that the deterioration would be significant.

--
In the councils of government, we must guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought,
by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
-- Dwight David Eisenhower

In rec.food.cooking said:

Just took some ham chunks out of the deep freeze. Froze in ziplock bags.

There's your problem. They work only so-so, especially with stuff that
is cut into small pieces.

--
In the councils of government, we must guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought,
by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
-- Dwight David Eisenhower

In rec.food.cooking said:

I use a vacuum sealer and it lasts for a long time. In an airtight bag I
have had no problem for up to 2 weeks.
Bob

I buy sliced turkey from BJ's in heavy-duty sealed vacuum bags (Perdue
Brand). I usually throw it into the freezer, because I use it only
when I don't have any nice leftovers in the fridge for sandwiches.

I notice no significant difference between the thawed-out packages and
the never-been-frozen packages. It is entirely possible that this is
because the pre-packaged stuff has preservatives in it.

--
In the councils of government, we must guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought,
by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
-- Dwight David Eisenhower

Never a problem freezing cold cuts. (Sure beats throwing it out.)
Turkey, boloney, and ham.

I've used it within a month.

Hi: I found that the deli meats : Ham, roast beef and turkey lose quality
when defrosted after freezing. However, whole salomi and sausage do quit
well.

Joe
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In rec.food.cooking said:

Local deli has an incredible deal going on good deli meat. Dietz and
Watson
products all 50% off. Any one ever froze any before? How did it turn
out?
Seems like you should be able to but thought I would ask before I bought
a
bunch of pastrami, etc...

If you use a vacuum sealer like a Tilia, then it is likely that the
quality will suffer only a bit. If you freeze it using something less, I
would think that the deterioration would be significant.

--
In the councils of government, we must guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought,
by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
-- Dwight David Eisenhower

Well, I can't attest to the scientific validity of it but I went ahead and
tested to see if freezing resulted in a loss of quality. I froze a small
amount of pastrami, bologna and ham. I wrapped each in freezer paper and
then put in a zip loc freezer bag. It stayed in the freezer from about the
time of my first post to about one hour ago when I took it out to defrost.
No noticeable change in quality.

Of course it was only in there for a couple days. A longer visit to the
freezer might yield different results.

Thanks to all who replied.

"Chef R. W. Miller" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I use a vacuum sealer and it lasts for a long time. In an airtight bag I
have had no problem for up to 2 weeks.
Bob

Some pre-sliced deli meats will lose flavor/texture when frozen. Proabaly
the best way is to shrink-wrap it with something like Tilia or some such.
W/o it, those meats with a higher water content will form ice crystals on it
and the flavor will suffer.