Freezer burn remedy?


Old Philosopher

Old Philosopher

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While rifling through my two chest freezers today, I found an antique bag of store-bought chicken hind quarters. Who knows how long they've been hiding in there? So now I have 5 pounds of accidentally freeze-dried chicken I hate to waste.

No real problem re-hydrating the meat in a stew, or crock pot. But the problem with freezer burn is it usually leaves meat with a musty flavor. It doesn't hurt the food value, it just tastes disgusting.

So my question here is: Has anyone found a formula for bringing back freezer burned meats and avoiding the nasty taste? Something simple to add to the water during boiling? Soak it in something? I'm not looking for a sauce loaded with spices to kill the taste. I'm hoping someone has tried something different that actually works.

Thanks for any advice.
 
Onion and Pepper! It has worked for me a time or two, obviously may differ for others.
 
I'm not speaking from experience here so take this with a grain of salt ( pun intended :)).

Try blanching the meat a few times in salty boiling water. Use fresh water each time. I'd blanch them long enough long enough that it's borderline par-boiling.

That should remove some of the bad flavor. The downside is it will also remove some of the chicken flavor.
 
I had pretty much the same thing happen with some moose. Found it burried under a bunch of other meat and decided moose steak would be good... well the good thing is I didn't die. Hahaha. I didn't even get sick but ughhh... the taste was waaaaay off. Even after a 6 hour marinade and lots of spices it still tasted just kinda old ya know? Not rotten or anything just like burnt and stale. I doubt anything would have repaired that. I say cook it and let your dog chow down. That way it's not a waste.
 
The only thing that I have found that helps is to marinate it. I have used plain ole italian dressing in the fridge overnight. It doesn't get rid of all the taste, but helps mask some of it. Other than that, for soups and stews, just cut off as much as possible of the freezer burnt meat. Sorry I can't be of more help. I would be interested myself if anyone else has a fix for it.
Another + for canning meat. :D
 
Yes. Fresh Ground Black Pepper or diced Green Peppers are what we have used. Obviously it masks the chicken a tad but it's effective.

We also do the same when my FIL gives us beef from his grain fed holsteins...yuk!
 
I had some freezer burned chicken that I used for a stir fry. Marinated it for a day. The marinade had balsamic vinegar among the ingredients and I think that seemed to cover that taste pretty well. The rest of the ingredients included mustard powder, a little canola oil, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and white wine. The amounts are kind of by whim but go easy on the mustard powder and heavy on the white wine. :}

I have also used a bottle of beer to do this but it didn't work as well as the above.
 
It is fine. Thaw it, boil it for 20 minutes, now it is cooked. Marinate it over night. Grill it. You will never know it was burned.
Save the chicken broth and cook some great rice to go with the chicken.
 
Bucketosudz said:
Yes. Fresh Ground Black Pepper or diced Green Peppers are what we have used. Obviously it masks the chicken a tad but it's effective.

We also do the same when my FIL gives us beef from his grain fed holsteins...yuk!
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Try soaking your FIL's beef in whole milk for 24 hours. Vacuum marinading in milk is even more effective.

wsdstan said:
I had some freezer burned chicken that I used for a stir fry. Marinated it for a day. The marinade had balsamic vinegar among the ingredients and I think that seemed to cover that taste pretty well. The rest of the ingredients included mustard powder, a little canola oil, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and white wine. The amounts are kind of by whim but go easy on the mustard powder and heavy on the white wine. :}

I have also used a bottle of beer to do this but it didn't work as well as the above.
Click to expand...
LOL! That sounds like one of my jerky recipes! The meat is practically cooked by the chemicals before it even hits the pan. :dblthumb:
 
fire65 said:
It is fine. Thaw it, boil it for 20 minutes, now it is cooked. Marinate it over night. Grill it. You will never know it was burned.
Save the chicken broth and cook some great rice to go with the chicken.
Click to expand...
Now that's a thought! Marinade it after it's cooked.
 
The palate numbing spices in Indian cuisine are a sure-fire cure for that nasty freezer-burn taste! That's what I save older frozen meats for, lol.
 
FYI, Fire65's suggestion worked great. Thanks again!
Simmered the chicken pieces for about 15 minutes, removed the skins and changed the water. Back with the "magic ingredients" for another 15 minutes of simmering. Yea! A marinade afterwards wasn't even necessary.
FWIW, I'm sure everyone knows to simmer chicken, not boil it, unless you're looking for chicken leather.
 
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