Thoughts on freezing meats ahead of comps?

jasonjax · May 20, 2016

What are the general thoughts around freezing various meats ahead of a competition?

IE: I see a great set of ribs or a beautiful pork shoulder a few weeks before a comp, is it worth grabbing and freezing it versus hoping your selection is what it needs to be right before the comp?

Thanks

cpw · May 20, 2016

We almost always buy ahead and freeze, then thaw the week of the comp.

J&B'sBBQ · May 20, 2016

I used to say no to freezing, and I would insist on using everything "fresh". I then realized how much time I can save if I just buy and trim early, and freeze for my upcoming competitions, so I tried that, and I have not seen an impact in a negative way on my scores. Actually, in my last two contests, with previously frozen butts, I've landed 2nd and 1st respectively.

I am already trimmed and ready to go for the next 4 contests we're doing.

tduffy · May 20, 2016

Briskets come froze and I'll buy ribs and freeze them when I see racks that meet my standards. I haven't had to freeze pork but wouldn't have a problem doing so. Same with chicken.

BurntFinger_Jason · May 20, 2016

Freeze fast and thaw slow. Also need to consider if the meat was previously frozen. A lot of retailers (especially grocers) receive their product frozen, then they let it thaw in the display case or cooler. Refreezing will greatly increase your chances of quality degradation.

CUTigerQ · May 20, 2016

If you are freezing, are you doing so in a vacuum sealed bag?

Untraceable · May 20, 2016

BurntFinger_Jason said:
Freeze fast and thaw slow. Also need to consider if the meat was previously frozen. A lot of retailers (especially grocers) receive their product frozen, then they let it thaw in the display case or cooler. Refreezing will greatly increase your chances of quality degradation.

Twice frozen ribs suck. Took me awhile to pin point it in the early days, nothing looked or seemed odd till the finished product

jasonjax · May 20, 2016

Untraceable said:
Twice frozen ribs suck. Took me awhile to pin point it in the early days, nothing looked or seemed odd till the finished product

Interesting thought ... how would you know?

Also, yes, I would vac-seal when I froze the meat for sure.

CBQ · May 20, 2016

Unless you are raising your own, all chicken sold in the US has already been frozen. All of it. That said, we trim ahead, vac-seal, and refreeze chicken with no issues. Ribs we get fresh and freeze still in the factory cryo. Brisket comes frozen and stays that way until the comp.

I haven't frozen pork yet, but I'm tempted to as supply in the northeast is uneven at best.

Ribs and pork in a cryo may be usable up to 30 days from the pack date, so it's generally shipped and handled fresh in the US. (I'm not saying using pork that's 30 days old is a good idea in a contest though...1-2 weeks is better.)

(Swift says 22 days for bone in, 30 days for boneless in the factory cryo, and up to a year frozen. http://www.swiftfreshpork.com/about-us/faq.aspx )

jasonjax · May 20, 2016

CBQ said:
Unless you are raising your own, all chicken sold in the US has already been frozen. All of it. That said, we trim ahead, vac-seal, and refreeze chicken with no issues. Ribs we get fresh and freeze still in the factory cryo. Brisket comes frozen and stays that way until the comp.

I haven't frozen pork yet, but I'm tempted to as supply in the northeast is uneven at best.

Ribs and pork in a cryo are usable 30 days from the pack date, so it's generally shipped and handled fresh in the US. (I'm not saying using pork that's 30 days old is a good idea in a contest though...1-2 weeks is better, certainly no more than 3.)

So you believe most of the ribs in stores were not previously frozen?

Untraceable · May 20, 2016

A quality store I believe would never freeze. I've gotten a case of ribs in on Monday with a pack date of the previous Friday.

CBQ · May 20, 2016

jasonjax said:
So you believe most of the ribs in stores were not previously frozen?

To the best of my knowledge, packing plants ship both frozen and fresh product. As far as what a particular distribution channel is using, YMMV.

Untraceable · May 20, 2016

And it's not to saw the store didn't just put them straight into the freezer off the truck. Expect anything if you don't know them

gettinbasted · May 21, 2016

CBQ said:
Unless you are raising your own, all chicken sold in the US has already been frozen. All of it. That said, we trim ahead, vac-seal, and refreeze chicken with no issues. Ribs we get fresh and freeze still in the factory cryo. Brisket comes frozen and stays that way until the comp.

I haven't frozen pork yet, but I'm tempted to as supply in the northeast is uneven at best.

Ribs and pork in a cryo may be usable up to 30 days from the pack date, so it's generally shipped and handled fresh in the US. (I'm not saying using pork that's 30 days old is a good idea in a contest though...1-2 weeks is better.)

(Swift says 22 days for bone in, 30 days for boneless in the factory cryo, and up to a year frozen. http://www.swiftfreshpork.com/about-us/faq.aspx )

I will disagree with the blanket statement on chicken, but you certainly need to be best friends with your supplier.

swamprb · May 21, 2016

gettinbasted said:
I will disagree with the blanket statement on chicken, but you certainly need to be best friends with your supplier.

A couple years ago I was using Smart Chicken thighs. Local grocer got them Tuesdays and Thursdays and I was able to get my pick in the morning before they packaged them up. Judges didn't seem to care for them.

https://newfrontiersmarket.com/smart-chicken

But they required little if any trimming, most if all were uniform in shape, but they were $3.49 compared to Foster Farms at .99 lb.

JD McGee · May 21, 2016

Do it all the time...no worries! :icon_cool

Burnt at Both Endz · May 22, 2016

BurntFinger_Jason said:
Freeze fast and thaw slow. Also need to consider if the meat was previously frozen. A lot of retailers (especially grocers) receive their product frozen, then they let it thaw in the display case or cooler. Refreezing will greatly increase your chances of quality degradation.

This may be somewhat true, but I'd rather have a chance to pick through cases of meat and select the very best even if I had to freeze them twice...just me though!

Rub · May 22, 2016

jasonjax said:
Interesting thought ... how would you know?

I know for ribs you can tell if they were previously frozen by the amount of juice that's released in the cryo. Fresh ribs have very little if any juice, previously frozen ones have quite a bit. I would imagine the same holds true for the other meats.

jrbBBQ · May 23, 2016

This last weekend I was reminded of a few simple rules for competition BBQ. Cook the freshest and best products you have available to you. I went to a contest with a small prize purse and basically decided to clean out my freezer, cooking chicken from last year, a smallish brisket with a gash in it and ribs that had been frozen twice(from what I could tell from the date). Worst scores in three years. I don't have a problem cooking products that have been frozen, but I want my briskets aged fresh, then frozen and used within 6 months, chicken frozen fresh and used as soon as possible, pork, the same way. The higher quality the product, the less damage to the protein during the freezing and thawing process. Like others have said.. Freeze fast, thaw slow.

RedneckGrillin · May 23, 2016

There is a wholesaler about a mile from where I live. Based on what I've read, it would be acceptable to buy what I need about 5-7 days early, freeze it, and thaw it the day before a competition.

Thoughts on freezing meats ahead of comps?

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