Half Boiling and Freezing meat
When I BBQ meat sometimes meat does not cook completely and evenly. So I came up with an idea why not half boil meat (Chicken, Beef etc), put on my marination and put in fridge to be used for BBQ later. In this way I won't have to burn my meat to be tender from inside. Is this practice safe? Can anyone here shed some light.
Thank you Sally
Best Answer
It's not uncommon to par-cook meat for barbecue, as in these recipes:
- http://www.food.com/recipe/best-baby-back-ribs-in-town-57185
- http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/meats/beef19.htm
The meat is basically cooked before it goes on the grill. The grill is applied at the last minute to add extra flavor and to glaze the barbecue sauce.
There is considerable debate among barbecue aficionados about whether this is really appropriate. Some flavor is lost to the water (unless you use sous vide), and you lose the opportunity to spend hours in smoke. You certainly won't win any barbecue contests this way. But it's definitely one way to get falling-off-the-bone 'cue.
As for safety... the same 2/4 rule applies here as elsewhere. The food should spend no more than four hours in the 40-140F range before eating, and no more than two hours before storage.
The meat will be above that range while being simmered. As long as you cool it quickly (perhaps in a sous vide bag, in an icewater bath), you can put it in the refrigerator with minimal time in the danger zone. If you freeze it, defrost it in the refrigerator before cooking.
You can then let it spend perhaps three hours on the grill before it has spent too much time in the danger zone. Since it is fully cooked at this point, you won't need to spend more time than that.
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Can you freeze half cooked meat?
It's always very risky to partially cook meat or poultry and either refrigerate it or freeze it. Even in the freezer, the interior of the chicken will cool slowly.Can you half cook meat then finish later?
The USDA states, \u201cNever brown or partially cook meat or poultry to refrigerate and finish later because any bacteria present would not have been destroyed. It is safe to partially cook meat and poultry in the microwave or on the stove only if the food is transferred immediately to the hot grill to finish cooking.\u201dShould I boil meat before freezing?
Well, you never want to overcook anything whether it be to eat it after cooking it or freezing it after cooking it. Either cook it and then freeze it or freeze it raw. It doesn't matter which.Can you Recook undercooked meat?
There is a way to recook your food without overcooking it. If it's only slightly undercooked, turn the heat back on, even if just enough for pan frying and once oil is hot again, put the meat back in the pan then cover. Cook over low heat for about 3 minutes. Cook longer if your meat is more than half cooked.Buying Bulk Beef? Learn How to Buy Freezer Beef! The Bearded Butchers
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Answer 2
Boil for BBQ? Think some of my friends in Kansas just fainted away.
Would recommend never boiling for traditional bbq; you will end up with stew meat; Mushy stringy texture; bland flavour.
Now the other post mentioned sous vide; that is very common now (use to be in restaurants only due to cost). Sous vide allows to vacuum seal and water-bath meats at a precise temperature. Added bonus; a cheap water immersion unit can be found on amazon for 100 bucks and cheaper:
note; sous vide wands are better for larger batches
Then you can immersion cook for 36 hours at 145-165 pending on texture you want and still have non-mushy ribs. I usually do a large batch and then fridge/freeze to grill up later.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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