Is it possible to freeze my own 'oven-fry' crumbed food items?
I cook quite a lot for a less able person, who would find it impossible to shallow fry the fish-cakes I make for her, but who would be quite capable of taking them from frozen, or defrosting them, and baking them in an oven.
The ingredients (fish,potato,seasonings) are all cooked before frying, but the crumb (flour, egg-wash, dry breadcrumb) is not.
I imagine the commercially available oven-bake fishcakes have been treated in some way, in particular introducing fat, somehow, so the result of baking them is reasonably similar to the result of frying your own, and, of course, safe.
Has anybody any experience of preparing their own 'oven-fry' crumbed items that work in a similar way to the shop-bought ones?
Best Answer
I have experience with 2 methods:
The "parfrying" method:
- Heat your favourite deep-frying oil to 175°C (350°F)
- Fry the crumbled food items until the temperature drops below 175°C (on most fryers: until the red temperature light goes on, on some: until the green temperature light goes off)
- Let the items sit above the oil until 175°C is reached again
- Fry them again for about 20 seconds
The "parbaking" method:
- Pre-heat your oven till 150°C (300°F)
- Put the items on parchment paper
- Spray them with a little bit of your favourite oil
- Leave them in the oven for 10 minutes
- Take them out of the oven, turn them upside-down, spray the other side, put them back into the oven¹
- Leave them again in the oven for another 10 minutes
Whichever of the above method you've used, your items are now ready to freeze (I always use the fast-freeze section of my freezer while they're still hot, but YMMV) and can then be re-heated in the oven at 175°C for 20 minutes if unfrozen or 35-40 minutes if frozen.
Note ¹: This is to ensure your oven is closed and stays at 150°C while you're turning them upside-down.
Note ²: The above method is for items about 2 thumbs in size. If your items would be smaller, (e.g. little balls), diminish the times above.
Note ³: Maybe there is a professional term for "parfrying" and "parbaking" but I'm not aware of any so just these as an analogy to parboiling, without the water... ;-)
Pictures about "Is it possible to freeze my own 'oven-fry' crumbed food items?"
Quick Answer about "Is it possible to freeze my own 'oven-fry' crumbed food items?"
Freezer instructions Either freeze the breaded, unbaked chicken OR the fully baked and cooled chicken. Flash-freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet for ~1 hour before transferring to freezer bags (flash freezing is mandatory for the unbaked chicken, but also very much recommended for baked chicken).Can you freeze crumbed food?
So can you freeze breaded chicken? Breaded chicken can be frozen for around 3 months. To freeze breaded chicken, cook and cool it before freezing on a baking tray. Once frozen solid, they can be transferred to a freezer bag and stored in the freezer.Can you fry something then freeze it?
Frying your chicken and then freezing it will work just fine. If you follow the recommended steps you should not have any concerns about whether your breading will be affected or whether it will turn out soggy. You absolutely can freeze your fried chicken and then enjoy crisp and delicious fried chicken again.How do you freeze homemade fried food?
How To Freeze Deep-Fried FoodWhat kind of cooked food can you freeze?
Foods you can freeze:Cooked pasta. Cooked rice. Nuts (many people don't realise nuts can go rancid due to the high levels of fat they contain) Flour - you can use it directly from the freezer.Can You Cryogenically Freeze Your Body and Come Back to Life?
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Charlotte May, Klaus Nielsen, ArtHouse Studio, ArtHouse Studio