Portion Meat Before You Freeze It

Why Portions Drift Out of a Big Pack

Nobody decides to cook more than they planned. What happens is that a kilo of mince does not divide neatly into the amount a recipe wants, so the extra goes in - it is only a bit, and the alternative is putting a small amount back in the fridge. Repeat that across a week and the plan and the eating have quietly separated.

Portioning at the point of shopping removes the decision entirely. On Thursday evening you take out a bag that is already the right size, and there is nothing to judge.

This is the same mechanism that makes frozen bagged protein work well for a deficit: you cook what you take out. Doing it yourself with a large pack gets the same effect at a lower price per kilo.

Pack Flat, Not in Lumps

A portion pressed flat in a freezer bag freezes faster, stacks like paper rather than rubble, and thaws in a fraction of the time a ball of the same weight takes. With mince this is nearly free - flatten the bag on the worktop and press the air out before sealing.

Flat packing also fixes the small freezer problem. A drawer that holds four lumpy tubs will hold a dozen flat bags, which is usually the difference between using the freezer and filling it.

Press out as much air as you can. Air is what causes freezer burn, and a bag with the air squeezed out gets most of the benefit people buy a vacuum sealer for.

What to Write on It

Three things: what it is, the weight, and the date. The weight is the one people skip and the one that makes the bag useful - "chicken thighs 400g" tells you whether it matches tonight, where "chicken" does not.

Write on the bag before you fill it. A marker will not take on a bag that is already cold and damp, which is how freezers accumulate unidentified flat objects.

Frozen meat stays safe indefinitely at minus 18C; quality is the limit, and a few months is a sensible working window. The date is what tells you where in that window you are.

Do It Before the Fridge, Not After

The habit only works if it happens on the day you shop, while the shopping is still on the worktop. Meat that goes into the fridge whole stays whole, and by the time you next look at it you are hungry and it is dinner time.

It is also the safer order. Handling raw meat once, at the point of unpacking, means one round of washing hands, board and knife rather than several across the week.