Here's How To Safely Freeze Ground Beef

With the price of beef nowadays, we wouldn't blame you if you tried every possible way to score a deal. For some people, that means shopping at cheaper stores like Aldi, and for others, it might be mooching off a friend's Costco membership. While the latter is a good idea if you're trying to source a great deal per pound (after all, it is an excellent place to shop for all of your meat needs), you may be left with a ton more ground beef than you intended. 

Luckily, ground beef freezes well — provided that you do it correctly. One of the biggest mistakes that people make when freezing ground beef is not pushing all of the air out of the package. Leaving air in the package with your meat could lead to issues with dry or freezer-burned beef when it comes time to use it. Instead of freezing it in the tray it came in, place the beef into a resealable bag and flatten it with a rolling pin. Not only will this method extract the air from the bag, but beef that is frozen thinly is easier to thaw than beef left in large chunks.

To make the thawing process easier, freeze the beef in ½-pound or 1-pound portions. That way, you'll have the ideal amount that a recipe calls for at your fingertips. Be sure to label each bag with the amount and date that you froze it as well. While beef will stay frozen and safe to eat indefinitely, for optimal texture, use it within three or four months. 

Thawing ground beef is just as easy as freezing it. Simply pull the bag from the freezer, transfer it to the fridge, and wait a couple of hours. Flattening it makes the process much quicker. One of the biggest mistakes people make when thawing meat is bringing it to temperature on the counter. This puts the meat right in the food safety danger zone, potentially allowing bacteria to multiply and cause foodborne illness. Leaving it in the fridge is safer. In a time pinch, you can also defrost it in a microwave in three- or four-minute increments, though the microwave is a notoriously uneven cooking method. If you do use one, just be sure not to refreeze any leftover ground beef.