Re-Freezing Cut-Up Turkey Tips

I buy whole turkeys, thaw and cut up into the same pieces like cut up chicken, and refreeze into separate pieces. Have you heard not to refreeze anything?????

Bull, I am 60 years old and have done it for the 40 years I have been married.

The breast is divided in two sections and serves us a fresh dinner, leftover dinner, the remainder diced up for salad, quesadillas, soup casseroles. An entire breast serves the two of us probably 6 to eight meals.

Legs go into soup, for excellent soup you need to crack the bones with a meat tenderizer, using a large dutch oven kettle or a soup stock pot, cover with water just covering the turkey, salt and your good to go. Here folks is the best turkey broth ever. Store bought canned broth is junk compared to this rich wonderful broth. How do you know if your broth is good? It gels when cold, scoop it out just like Jello which melts being reheated. The same goes for beef bones. Yes this is time consuming, but I don't work out of my home.

Turkey legs make good soup, turkey salad sandwiches, leftover scraps goes to my little dog instead of that horrible stuff dog food companies pass off as pet food.

Wings and thighs same as above. I cook the meat very low heat for several hours. 3-4 hours. Try using your slow cooker over night.
Turkey backs don't throw that out! The back has plenty of meat on it and the broth is wonderful. Peel off the skin, I never use it. I also clean all the fat off the meat when cooked.

All turkey soup needs is broth, onion, celery, carrots, rice or noodles. Your imagination is your guide. Put meals in jars to freeze, or plastic containers. It's a great meal all made up.

Cooking "Provincially" is what great and famous chefs do all over the world. All those wonderful sauces they make starts from roasting beef bones and putting them in kettles and cooking for up to 24 hours. I do that to, freeze in jelly jars for gravy etc.

Making soup, salads, casseroles, quesadillas, hot turkey sandwiches, pasties, pot pies, etc. I can have probably 20 to 25 servings of all the above meals for the price of a frozen turkey, $13.00.

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Comments:

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Thanks for sharing these tips Vivienne (I did not know about breaking the bones for stock). I grew up in a household with 5 kids and various other family members and guests at mealtime. My Mom did similar things like this all the time to save money. None of us ever went hungry, and never got sick from re-frozen meat! People need to use common sense and proper thawing and cleanup techniques, as with anything else! Oh, and none us ever got sick from handling raw eggs, either, and we used eggs straight from the hens!

Posted by frugalgramma on March 13, 2009 12:28 PM

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Vivienne--great tips! Question about the homemade broth though: do you store in fridge or freezer? how long does it last?

Posted by ktkat on March 24, 2009 1:47 PM

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I too make homemade broths. During the winter months we go through a lot of broths for soups, but have plenty of opportunities to replenish the supply. I store stock in plastic bowls of various sizes and keep it in the freezer until I need it. I normally do a lot of bulk cooking and eat on it for months before having to start over on a marithon cooking session, Anything I see in the freezer section at the market, I create and make our own healthier versions of those same meals. Works out for us and we have saved a small fortune in eating out for lunches alone, by taking our own ready made meals to work and school. I have made several different meals that last anywhere from 3 months up to a year, Broth lasts a good 9-12 months in a freezer. I also recommend getting meat at a Meat Market, the butcher will wrap the meat according to the amount you need, this is a good opportunity to size down the meat a bit adn have better control over portion control, this helps us since I normally buy a side of beef at a time and this last over a year, when buying in bulk you save money, we averaged 89 cents a day for meat dishes for a year of meals, not bad.

Posted by Crystal on March 26, 2009 3:08 PM

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This is a great post!! Many times I have found partially frozen chicken and turkeys in the meat case of our local Kroger's. Do you honestly think all meat is killed fresh daily?

I save all juice and water that cooks out of pork, beef or poultry. I place it in the refrigerator and as it cools the fat comes to top. I remove the fat and the rest is great broth......just add water. Tastes 50 times better than the stuff in the cans.

I was raised on a farm so alot of what I know was once common knowledge.

Posted by spidermonkey on March 26, 2009 3:24 PM

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You are only supposed to not re-freeze if it has been sitting around the fridge for a while, letting bacteria grow. Obviously, sticking something in the freezer doesn't act as a refresher.

I use to work at a grocery store. The sausage would come in frozen, the store thaws it out and puts it in the meat counter. On the side of the package it says to cook or freeze by xx date...completely debunking the "don't refreeze" rule we've all heard.

Posted by Julie on March 26, 2009 3:50 PM

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By law, chicken can be labeled as fresh when it has been frozen. I believe all super market chicken comes in frozen. That is why you find so man 1/2 frozen chickens.

My vet told me that dogs are not supposed to eat just meat. Makes me wonder what dogs ate in those days before dog food.

Posted by james77777 on March 26, 2009 4:31 PM

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Julie, Hi,

You lost me at RE-FREEZING. You lose most of the flavor and freshness, plus giving any germs a chance.

Posted by A Bruce - Poppy's Kitchen on March 27, 2009 12:18 AM

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Vivienne-great tip on breaking the bones, makes a lot of sense. I also make my own stock, vegetable, chicken, turkey, etc. I also save the washed skins from potatoes, carrots, onions, and other veggies such as broccoli stems to add as well as the bones. I add a bit of seasonings [garlic, salt, pepper, whatever you prefer] and bring to a boil, reduce heat and let cook away for a couple of hours. Certainly saves beaucoup bucks on buying stock [and I mean stock, not broth]. I also freeze in ice cube trays and transfer to a freezer bag for quick add ins for sauce or to give rice extra flavor.

Posted by anonymous on March 27, 2009 3:49 PM

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Thanks Vivienne...You just saved the day. We were "gifted" a 20+lb bird from a vender. It's been taking up WAY too much room in the freezer. I made the decision to cook the buzzard this weekend, knowing all too well much would be tossed (only 2 of us). Now I feel comfortable cutting in half and re-freezing for future use. I haven't boiled a body for years...think I'll pull out the stock pot as well. I assume using freezer wrap is the best method.

Also, what are your thoughts on freezing cooked turkey? My experience is it seems watery and somewhat tasteless when thawed.

Posted by Taylor on April 08, 2009 9:21 AM

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