Prepare chicken breast cutlets in the freezer. Is it possible to freeze fried cutlets? What can you store in the freezer?

At modern technologies even a housewife who is under constant time pressure will be able to freeze raw meatballs, meatballs or dumplings for at least a week and diversify the family menu with freshly prepared dishes every day.

The taste of the product, subject to the manufacturing and storage conditions, does not change.

Frozen cutlets are especially good. If for dumplings, pancakes or dumplings we have to prepare both the dough and the filling, in this case everything is simple: we make blanks from the minced meat, and then put them in the freezer until they are needed.

How to freeze homemade cutlets

You can prepare semi-finished products from meat, poultry, fish or vegetables (vegetarian option).

The principles of freezing are the same everywhere. Let's look at them using meat cutlets as an example.


We make minced meat from familiar products. Since semi-finished products can become dry after freezing, some housewives try to take two types of meat for them: one fattier - pork or lamb, the second - less high-calorie, most often beef.

Fish cutlets are flavored with twisted lard.

Raw onions and garlic added to minced meat may partially lose their taste when stored in the freezer. It is recommended to lightly fry them first and then add them to our semi-finished product. In addition, cutlets with cheese and onions have a shorter shelf life than without it.

The minced meat should be immediately salted and spices added.

The next stage will ensure the integrity of our workpiece during frying. To prevent the cutlets from falling apart in the pan, the minced meat must be thoroughly kneaded and beaten. Then the structure of the meat mass will be homogeneous, and the output will be a juicy, soft and fluffy product.

Let's form our cutlets. It is advisable to throw them from palm to palm several times - a kind of “mini-beat” or hit the board several times.

Although every housewife has her own idea of ​​ideal cutlets, let us remind you that it is not advisable to sculpt large products. They may fall apart when turned over in the pan. Cutlets that are too tall will remain raw in the middle, while thin ones will dry out and harden. The optimal thickness of the semi-finished product is 2 cm.

The taste of the product changes slightly, but this does not pose a particular problem. If you want the feeling that our products are “piping hot,” it’s best not just to heat them up, but to simmer them in some rich sauce.

To freeze ready cutlets simple: after complete cooling, place the result of culinary creativity in a food container (it can crumble in a bag) and send it for storage.

How to properly fry frozen cutlets

Both homemade and store-bought semi-finished products are prepared in the same way. However, factory-made products also need to be chosen correctly. We advise you to pay attention to the following points:

1. Packaging integrity. A torn box or polyethylene may indicate a violation of the storage conditions of the product. It is best to buy products in transparent vacuum packaging– they retain taste and aroma, and, in addition, are clearly visible.
2. The cutlets in the box need to be shaken slightly. If they knock, it means they have not defrosted and are not stuck to the cardboard.
3. A long list of ingredients indicates low quality products: it contains preservatives, dyes, flavors, trans fats and other “harmful substances” that are absolutely unnecessary for our body.
4. You also need to pay attention to the sequence of listing the components. In cutlets from mixed minced meat Beef (poultry) comes first, then pork or bacon. Water should be in last place, or even better, it should be absent altogether. The share of meat in the product varies from 80% to 20%. It is clear that the less vegetable proteins there are, the better the quality of the semi-finished products.
5. Trans fats are listed as "hydrogenated oils" in the ingredient list.
   A large number of bright, aromatic spices most likely indicates an attempt to disguise a stale product.
6. If the minced meat shows through the breading, the cutlets will turn out dry and tough.
7. Appearance. The cutlets should have the correct shape and a pleasant creamy or golden hue (depending on the breading). Gray color indicates repeated freezing, cracks indicate an excess of water and moisture-retaining “chemistry”.

note

GOST or TU? We already know that high-quality products are manufactured only in accordance with government regulations. But manufacturers often resort to a trick: they indicate on the packaging of goods produced according to technical specifications (and they can be absolutely arbitrary) the GOST number, which they supposedly rely on. Don't fall into this trap. The “TU” marking clearly indicates that clear product quality standards are far from achieved.

Weighed semi-finished products have a number of disadvantages: the date of their production, composition and manufacturing conditions are unknown. The main advantage is low cost. If you have to save money, you need to buy goods only from trusted brands.

Is it necessary to defrost semi-finished products?

Most chefs agree that it is better not to do this. After defrosting, cutlets easily lose their shape, “float”, and their taste deteriorates.

However, the question remains whether the meat will have time to cook if semi-finished products are fried, for example, in a frying pan or in the microwave. If you have such concerns, you can defrost the cutlets in the same microwave for about 5 minutes at a power of 600 W. Or remove it from the freezer in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for a while to let it “dead” a little.

But there is culinary tricks, allowing you to bring the product to full readiness without such manipulations. We'll talk about them below.

How to fry frozen cutlets in a frying pan

Heat the oil until light smoke appears. You need to choose fat according to the composition of the cutlets:

• rendered lard is suitable for products containing pork or lamb;
• It is better to fry fish cutlets in refined sunflower or olive oil;
• the same product is also suitable for poultry;
• The exception is chicken Kiev, for which only butter is used.

Place our semi-finished products without defrosting and fry for 8 to 10 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Attention!

The bottom of the pan should be thick or have a Teflon coating to prevent the product from burning. No need to add salt or spices!

Don’t forget about the splashes that will be caused by liquid from the cutlets getting into the oil. Therefore, if we do not strive to get a crispy crust at all costs, it is better to immediately cover the pan with a lid.

You can do this after quick frying over medium heat, reducing it to low. This way we will simmer the cutlets so that the middle does not remain damp, which is dangerous, especially when we are dealing with store-bought products.

On a note

How long to specifically fry the product in a frying pan depends on the minced meat chosen. Pork products take the longest to prepare – up to 20 minutes. Poultry and fish are twice as fast (10 – 12 minutes).

From ready-made meat products clear juice is released.


When stewing, you can add a little water, spices, fried onions, tomato paste or sour cream to the pan. The result will be an excellent sauce that will improve the taste of cutlets, especially store-bought ones.

Cooking frozen cutlets in the oven

Semi-finished products can be baked - it will turn out to be an excellent dietary dish.


There are two ways:

No roasting

1. Place the cutlets, without defrosting, in a greased fireproof dish.
2. Let's preheat the oven to 200ºС and send our semi-finished product there.
3. It is advisable to cover the product with foil - this way it will bake better and hold for 15 minutes, and then the same amount without it.

Alternatively, you can use a cooking sleeve.

Browning in a frying pan

1. Fry frozen semi-finished products in hot oil for literally 3-5 minutes.
2. Transfer to a baking sheet or mold, pour in the sauce and bake in a preheated oven for 20 - 30 minutes.

Diet recipe for steamer

If you have a wonderful steaming device, all you have to do is place the frozen cutlets on a wire rack and cook for 30 minutes. If the meat remains pinkish inside, you need to wait another quarter of an hour.

Quickly cooking cutlets in the microwave

This option is only suitable for devices equipped with a grill.

1. We defrost semi-finished products using the appropriate function.
2. After that, cook them for 7 minutes in a combined mode: “waves” plus grill.
3. Turn over and brush with sour cream. Then let it sit on the grill for 3 minutes to get a crispy crust.
4. You can sprinkle the dish with cheese and turn on the same mode for another 5 minutes.

The finished frozen cutlets should be placed in a glass container for the microwave, covered with a lid and heated for 14 minutes at a power of 650 W. Then turn off the device and let the product stand for 2-3 minutes.

There are enough ways to prepare frozen semi-finished products for every housewife to choose the most suitable option for herself. It is only advisable to make cutlets with your own hands, and not rely on factory manufacturers.

The benefits of semi-finished products in our fast-paced times are difficult to overestimate. After all, they are the ones who help busy housewives quickly prepare lunch or dinner, as well as adequately greet suddenly arriving guests. Probably each of us has heard about the dangers of store-bought products. And no wonder! After all, we don’t know what quality of products were used to create this half-finished food.

To protect yourself and your loved ones from the harmful effects of purchased semi-finished products, you should learn how to prepare your own. I suggest making cutlets today and putting them in the freezer. If you want to learn how to freeze cutlets, read on!

We will prepare the cutlets with the addition of a small amount of potatoes. It will make the texture of the products more delicate and airy. Apparently, due to the presence of starch in its composition. If you want, you can use some other recipe that is more familiar to you.

Even more interesting recipes you can find it in the Home section.

Ingredients:

• minced meat - 800 g;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• chicken egg - 1 pc.;
• raw potatoes - 1 pc.;
• table salt - 1 tbsp. l. (without a slide) or to taste;
• ground black pepper - 1 pinch.

First, take a deeper bowl so that it is convenient to mix the minced meat and other ingredients. Place pre-frozen minced meat in it and break it up egg. It will help achieve a consistency that is convenient for work. Thanks to the egg, the cutlets will keep their shape perfectly and will not fall apart.

Add table salt and a pinch of black ground pepper for aroma.

Now take the onion and peel it. Grind with any in an accessible way. You can use a meat grinder or blender.

If you make minced meat yourself, then for cutlets you can immediately roll it with onions.

We peel the potatoes and chop them in the same way as the onions. Mix the finished mass thoroughly.

Wet your hands cold water. We fashion cutlets of the same size and shape from the prepared minced meat. They should not be made too large. But small ones will also be inconvenient for further use. It is important to find a middle ground.

Place the cutlets on a wooden board.

Place in the freezer for 20-25 minutes. During this time they will freeze a little. We take them out and put them in plastic bags. They definitely won’t stick together during further freezing.

To prepare them, simply remove them from the freezer and defrost them at room temperature. Roll in flour or breadcrumbs and then fry in oil. You can also steam these cutlets.

If you know for sure that you will fry the cutlets in the future and not steam them, you can roll them in flour before freezing. Then you won’t have to worry about cooking at all!

Bon appetit!

Is it possible to freeze cutlets?

If you are making cutlets from non-frozen meat or minced meat, then it is quite possible to freeze the cutlets.

But if they are made from frozen meat, then they cannot be frozen, because they are repeatedly thawed and frozen meat products It's better not to use it. This may be hazardous to your health.

You can store semi-finished cutlets from fresh meat in the freezer for no more than two to three months.

If you made minced meat from frozen meat, or bought frozen minced meat and then made cutlets out of them, then it is better to cook them completely, for example, fry them or bring them to readiness in some other way. And only after that can you freeze the cutlets. This will be safer for your health.

You can also store ready-made cutlets for two months, at most two and a half.

I prefer to freeze ready-made cutlets. I usually make a side dish of buckwheat for cutlets. If I have leftover cutlets with a side dish on the second day, I put them in the freezer along with the buckwheat and take them out and reheat them after four days. The taste is almost the same.

You can freeze minced meat, and you can also freeze ready-made cutlets for future use. It’s best to freeze breaded, then put it in a bag after freezing, and at the right time take it out and fry it, either in the oven or in a frying pan.. It’s convenient when you have such reserves, then you can save time on cooking.

But of course, it would be necessary to observe the shelf life, because they are already with onions and frozen in ordinary home refrigerators - 17 degrees in total.

Already fried ones can also be frozen, but I personally don’t like the taste afterwards. better cutlets If you freeze, then raw, before frying.

You can even freeze it and then use it as a semi-finished product. By the way, it is very convenient for those who do not have time to twist and prepare minced cutlets.

You then take it out of the freezer and immediately into a preheated frying pan over low heat. If you think about it, dumplings are no different from cutlets, but they are everywhere in stores.

Why not?! I always do this) It's very convenient. You can also freeze the fried ones. My mother-in-law actually freezes everything if she sees that food might go to waste. The soup freezes and even boiled sausage! Everything is edible)

Cutlets with onions can be frozen fresh and fried later. In general, this applies to all home-made semi-finished products that contain minced meat: cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers, manti dumplings, etc. Having a supply of your own, not purchased semi-finished products in the freezer is very convenient.

Semi-finished products containing minced meat should not be stored for more than two months.

Frozen cutlets do not need to be thawed before frying. They are placed frozen in a heated frying pan with vegetable oil and fried like regular cutlets, only a little longer.

It takes about the same time to reheat a cutlet as it does to fry it, but a freshly fried cutlet, you must agree, tastes better! That's why I freeze them unfried. And everything is fine! And before frying, I don’t defrost them, I immediately put them in a frying pan, cover with a lid and fry. I don’t particularly like a heavily fried crust, but sometimes I want it, then after 4-5 minutes I remove the lid and then do the same as everyone else.

It seems to me that everything can be frozen). This can only harm taste qualities product and its composition.

And I froze the cutlets uncooked and ready-made. Nothing happened to them.

It’s harder to say with shelf life. As a rule, I kept them for no more than a week.

But I heard that the finished (cooked) product can be stored for up to three months in the freezer.

Of course, you can freeze cutlets, just raw, not fried, but the store sells frozen cutlets, then you take them out, defrost them and fry them. They can be stored for a long time.

Only garlic does not tolerate freezing well. Many people like to add it to minced cutlets. After freezing and then frying, the taste of the garlic cutlets will not be what was intended. As for the rest... you can freeze minced meat without salt and spices, then defrost, add everything and fry, you can freeze the formed raw cutlets and fry without pre-defrosting, or you can freeze the finished dish.

At minus 18, you can store for six months, but keep in mind that the products lose moisture. Optimal time 2-3 months.

In principle, you can freeze any semi-finished products, both home-made and purchased. As a matter of fact, cutlets are no exception, including those with the addition of onions and other seasonings. Most often I make minced meat myself and make cutlets for future use in large batches, since it is then very convenient to immediately send them for frying, even without additional defrosting. The time savings are excellent, and the dishes come out no worse than from freshly twisted minced meat.

But it is not recommended to store semi-finished meat products for a long time. Try to keep your cutlets in the freezer for no more than a month or two, otherwise they will completely lose their taste and nutritional qualities. For example, our family with 4-5 kg. minced meat for cutlets and lazy cabbage rolls enough for exactly a month, and then we buy meat again and prepare semi-finished products.

Semi-finished products prepared at home are always tastier and healthier than their store-bought counterparts. How to properly freeze beef and chicken cutlets? Follow our photoreceptor and you will do a great job with this task.

Every housewife has at least once wondered how to properly make semi-finished products at home. After all, when you make the preparations yourself, you have much more confidence in what products were chosen and whether all hygiene standards were observed.

In addition, when you not only run a household, but also work, there is very little time left to make purchases.

If you have a large family, then semi-finished products prepared at home will be of great help when you are running out of time to prepare dinner. So let's follow step by step recipe to answer the question of how to freeze beef and chicken cutlets.

Ingredients:

Chicken fillet– 500 g;

Beef – 500 g;

Lard – 100g;

Potatoes – 1 pc.;

Onion-2 pcs.;

Bread – 3-4 pieces;

Milk – 1 glass;

Salt, pepper - to taste;

Breadcrumbs;

Recipe:

First of all, prepare the minced meat. We wash both types of meat and a piece of fresh lard under running water, dry them and pass through a meat grinder. Add salt and pepper.

We cut or break the bread into small pieces and pour warm milk over it. In cutlets you can use not quite fresh, but not spoiled bread. Wait until the pieces are well soaked in milk, wait 10-15 minutes.

We peel the onions and potatoes, wash them and pass them through a meat grinder along with the bread. After removing from the milk, squeeze the bread pieces a little to remove excess liquid. Mix all the components of the minced meat together, beat it so that the minced meat is more tenacious.

Forming cutlets. We roll balls in our palms and roll them in breadcrumbs, and then lightly flatten them, giving the shape of an ellipse. For one cutlet we take 2-2.5 tablespoons of minced meat.

Place the resulting cutlets on a tray or cutting board covered cling film. We ship to freezer for 20-30 minutes until the cutlets are frozen.

Place the frozen beef and chicken cutlets in a bag. It is better to use special bags for freezing food; The material from which such food packaging is made is harmless.

As soon as you need it, we take out the required amount of frozen semi-finished products and fry them on vegetable oil, covering with a lid. No pre-defrosting is required.

Frozen beef and chicken cutlets that you can cook at a moment's notice are ready! Fry them or steam them and you are guaranteed an excellent lunch.

Preparation time – 30 minutes

Freezing time – 3-4 hours

Cooking time – 20 minutes

Number of servings - 10

Per 100 g

Kcal – 177.23

Proteins – 14.96

Fats – 10.93