Gathering of the carnivores.....

Tonight my son and I ventured out to a local grocery store for their annual ‘meat sale’. It’s a 3-day event and this was the last day. I knew I should have gone on the first day but you know how that goes. It was crowded but everyone there was orderly and pleasant. I was amused to see the crowd patiently waiting for their ‘meat’ to be placed out on the counters so it could be snatched up with eagerness. How far we’ve come from our ancient ancestors who would snarl and club someone else to get at a piece of food.

They ran out of chicken breasts and ground chuck while I was there and I didn’t see any more pork roasts either. I managed to get several packages of the chicken and ground chuck before it was gone and I also got 4 chuck roasts. I’ll divide the ground chuck into one-pound packages and freeze them. I’m practically the queen of hamburger, preparing it as many ways as possible. I can even make chop suey that tastes pretty darn good. I have an easy recipe for it if anyone wants it. Just leave me a comment and I’ll post it.

When freezing ground round, chuck or hamburger, let me give you a helpful tip. I usually divide them up in one-pound portions and put them in freezer bags. I flatten the meat out once its inside the bag so its only about ½ inch thick. Make sure you get all the air out before you seal the bag. The meat will be about the size of a piece of paper…8x10 maybe but only 1/2 inch thick. This way I can stack the packages on top of each other neatly in the freezer. If space is a problem, you’ll find you can get much more in your freezer if they are like this. Give it a try….I think you’ll like this idea. Another big plus is that it reduces the thaw out time dramatically. I kid you not.