Over the years I have talked to a lot of people who agonize over thawing meat, or they don't freeze meat at all because it's too much of a hassle. But it doesn't have to be! Buying meat in bulk saves money, but is also nice to always have extra on hand, so learning to freeze it and thaw it easily will help both your wallet and your ease of nightly meals.
There are different methods to freezing and thawing with various types of meat products, but they are all pretty similar. I'll give you a few examples:
Steak
Freezing: Take steaks and put them into individual quart-size freezer bags, unless you always eat steak with another person so you want to group 2 together and then put them in a gallon-size freezer bag, side-by-side. Do not do more than 2 though.
Thawing: Take the steak out of freezer, keep in freezer bag and give the steak a nice room temperature bath in a bowl. Check every 5 minutes to see if the water has gotten too cold and run some more water at room temperature. Depending on the size of steak it should be thawed within 15-20 mins.
Ground Beef
Freezing:
I have 2 different methods. This is your choice.
Beef by the Pound: Add a pound of beef to a quart-size bag and press the ground beef into a flat surface. I don't like it to be too thin, maybe 1/4" - 1/2" thick. Squeeze the air out and zip the bag shut.
Small Portions: Individual portions typically work better for my family. I make 2 sizes: a hamburger patty size (no one is judging, make it the size you like it) and a 1/2 lb. portion. For the patty you just form it into the juicy patty size you crave. The larger size you simply form into a mound and tap down to flatten.
To not waste plastic bags I place them on a cookie sheet that has been wrapped with plastic wrap or wax paper and I put into the freezer for about an hour. After the hour I take them out and add multiple to a freezer bag (or reusable freezer-safe container, making sure to add wax paper if you are stacking in two layers).
Otherwise, you do you and use individual bags for grab and go usage!
Thawing:
For the method of a pound of beef or more, I keep the beef that's in the individual bag and put into the microwave (open the bag first) and use the defrost button and put in the 1/2 lb. option, because this thin layer of beef does not take long. I flip it part way through. Watch carefully, because again, it's very quick. You could also use the room temperature water in a bowl method for this.
For the smaller portions that I added multiple to a bag, I take the portion out that I want and I put on a plate and use the defrost option with the correlating weight. Turn halfway through.
If you made it through reading that and didn't give up, I hope it was helpful and that it will be useful for busy nights!
Have you tried these methods? Have they worked for you?
If you need help with trying to simplify life a little more, let me know! There are a lot of things that have worked for me over the years with keeping up in every season of life.