Is Frozen Meat Tougher?

[CarterQ]

I was just talking to our our chef at work about grilling and smoking. We got onto different kinds of meat and he mentioned that he always tries to avoid using frozen meat.

He noted that fresh meat is always juicer and that when juices freeze they rupture the meat fibers. He also believes that freezing tightens up the muscle and it never really goes all the way back when thawed.

I get the juiciness part, but the toughness thing seems a little bit of stretch. This guy is a hell of a cook (and he looks like a Hell's Angel) so I'm the last person that's going to argue.

Has anyone noticed that frozen meat is tougher? Hard to quantify unless you had the exact same meat frozen and unfrozen side by side. Just curious, I use meat from the freezer all the time with no complaints.

Just curious what everyone thought.

 

[TentHunter]

I have cooked frozen/thawed & fresh ribs side by side on more than one occasion and have yet to tell a difference.

 

[Hobbit]

I have done both frozen and fresh together, same recipe and cooked side by side and couldn't tell any difference. I agree with TH.

 

[383inTheD]

I can't say that I've noticed that previously frozen meat is tougher than fresh. Of course, it helps tremendously to have properly packaged food for any time kept in the freezer. I'm on board with Hobbit, TH, and you too Carter.

 

[So Cal Smoker]

When I buy ribs I only buy fresh never frozen, I have no way of knowing how old the frozen ribs are and the fresh ribs just taste better.

 

[Buffalotom]

The debate with fresh and frozen has been going on for an awful long time. It even has been debated on the meaning of frozen. USDA says that chicken is fresh if it has not been stored under 0 degrees. Anything over is okay. Who is kidding who? Frozen is frozen.
Sometimes I wonder if the difference is how long the meat was hanging before freezing or how long the meat was cut up before it was sold. Owning a processing plant we sometimes vary the time we hang, how we age, and when we bag the meat. Of course this is on our own meat for our use. We are finding out new things all the time.
I have cooked fresh and frozen meats side by side and have not been able to tell the difference. One thing that does make a difference is thawing out frozen meat and then freezing again. I do not know what changes occur but the flavor will be different. Definately not on the good side.

 

[scooter]

As long as the meat hasn't been frozen for over 6months to a year long there's little to no difference. The shorter the freezing period the less difference there will be. Cryovac or vacusealed meats do the best in the freezer over long hauls.

 

[Big Poppa]

What Scooter Says!

 

[HoDeDo]

Lots of things can make the meat tough... So we'll save that for another thread LOL from a purely moisture content perspective... as long as you quick freeze the meat so the cellular structure isnt compromised, (quick freeze crystalizes differently, minimizing lysing the cell walls.) you should be OK. If you dont have a blast chiller; dry ice, mixed with Ice in a cooler with good air flow on the racks will get you as close at possible at home.

For my own personal choice, I like to keep my pork and chicken fresh, Brisket I worry less about. I think my ribs are drier if they are frozen by me vs the meat purveyor ... I don't know if they are tougher.... but they dont have the juiciness a fresh slab does.... could just be in my mind though.

 

[Greg]

I really believe frozen meat is tougher than fresh and the reason is moisture (blood). If you buy a steak you will notice that there is not a pool of blood in the package but once you freeze it and thaw you will see the blood in the container it is stored in. Same goes with cooking. A rare steak is more tender than a well done because the well done steak has more of the moisture cooked out of it. Just my opinion. Your best restaurants only use fresh cuts of meat.

 

[TentHunter]

USDA says that chicken is fresh if it has not been stored under 0 degrees. Anything over is okay. Who is kidding who? Frozen is frozen.

I believe that 26° F is where they draw the line for it to be labeled as "fresh". USDA Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms

But it is a little confusing because they allow that to "vary" by as much as 2° below 26° (i.e. 24°) for commerce.

But I with you, Tom. Who's kidding whom? Frozen is frozen even if it's not frozen rock hard.