Freezing Sous Vide Hamburgers?

[thirdeye]

I've been playing with sous vide hamburgers, using ring molds, and silicone weights in the bags. At 135° for 90 minutes, These are excellent, flavorful and so moist it's like eating a medium rare steak sandwich. Now I want to freeze some so I can simply thaw and sear.

My plan is to sous vide the patties, then flash chill in an ice bath until they drop in temp to 40°F. Then open the bag, remove the rings and the weight, then freeze the patties on a tray, and finally vacuum seal them two to a package.

For thawing I could either do a refrigerated thaw for a day, or reheat in the SV pot... then do a quick sear. Does anyone see any issues with my prep for freezing? I have full pasteurization before the ice bath, and I won't be opening the bag until the patties are chilled to 40°F. Here is what they look like during the sear.

 

[DemonPit]

I do that for steaks (filet mignon) when camping. SV to med rare, remove from sv bath, into ice bath, then freezer. Reheat on grill and perfect med rare steaks camping. Campers around us always compliment the amazing smells coming from our grill.

 

[thirdeye]

I do that for steaks (filet mignon) when camping. SV to med rare, remove from sv bath, into ice bath, then freezer

But are you getting into the bag, or freezing the entire bag after the ice bath. My concern is related to handling of the meat from chill down to freezer. I'm thinking I'm in the safe zone on both fronts.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I see no issues. I assume beef?

 

[thirdeye]

I see no issues. I assume beef?

So far all beef. But pork, lamb or even sausage would not be out of the question. I'm just happy I can stay away from the typical 156° internal temps. These rings are for 6 ounce patties. But they also sell 8 ounce rings which would be great for making hamburger steaks, or adding some egg and filler to make more of a meatloaf mixture.

 

[DemonPit]

But are you getting into the bag, or freezing the entire bag after the ice bath. My concern is related to handling of the meat from chill down to freezer. I'm thinking I'm in the safe zone on both fronts.

Sv directly into ice bath, then freezer. I never open the bag until I'm ready to finish/grill. Even when I worked in a few fancy restaurants, we did many dinners SV style, then finish in a pan. Any items we didn't serve that night (no fish, just pork/beef) we would ice bath immediately, into reach-in (cooler). Then reheat for lunch specials. Sv bath is set 5* cooler than cooking sv temps. Then finish/sear in a pan. Plate and serve.

Fish doesn't hold well, pork, beef works perfectly.

 

[SmokinEdge]

So far all beef. But pork, lamb or even sausage would not be out of the question. I'm just happy I can stay away from the typical 156° internal temps. These rings are for 6 ounce patties. But they also sell 8 ounce rings which would be great for making hamburger steaks, or adding some egg and filler to make more of a meatloaf mixture.

Pasteurization is incredible and a great thing to understand. Stay within the tables and it’s a new dining experience. It’s safe even with ground beef. A log 7 that’s intended for chicken is the best to follow safety wise but a log 5 is really good enough.

 

[DemonPit]

Here's a good read

Award Winning Food Temperature Guide And What You Need To Know About Food Safety

We all strive to create tender, juicy, and flavorful meat, but we also want it safe. Monitoring the internal temperature is the best way to have the best of both worlds. Here's the ultimate guide to understanding proper cooking temperatures and food safety to ensure that your meat is cooked...

amazingribs.com

 

[dr k]

It's fine. Baldwin's pastuerization SV chart for beef, lamb and pork is a 6.5D log reduction for a 3.1 million to one reduction in Salmonella, 1,000,000 to one for Listeria and 100,000 to for E Coli. Since it's pasteurized you can cool in the original vac bag in the fridge in ice water quickly and can keep in the unopened original vac bag 28 days in a 37F fridge before eating or freezing. Once you open original bag you're back to 7 days etc to eat or freeze.

 

[zwiller]

THANKS for this. Ran some brat burgers in the SV and liked the results but appearance to a big hit. Your process is pretty much how I do most of SV. I never eat the SV run same day and most always go into the freezer. I can pull a chuckie out I ran for 2 days now at a moments notice. What rings are those? Muffin rings?

 

[thirdeye]

What rings are those? Muffin rings?

They are Sous-la-Vide brand Perfect Hamburger/Burger Immersion Cooking Rings. I found them on Amazon. Mine are the 1/3 pound size (4.25" inside diameter), they also have 1/2 pound size which are taller. One takeaway, they can't be used in a skillet or oven like silicone rings can.

I seasoned with Montreal Steak, then brushed on a mix of AuJus and HC Marinade.

 

[thirdeye]

It's fine. Baldwin's pastuerization SV chart for beef, lamb and pork is a 6.5D log reduction for a 3.1 million to one reduction in Salmonella, 1,000,000 to one for Listeria and 100,000 to for E Coli.

There are some similar charts (link below) for 'non intact' meats, so I'm guessing this means things like stew meat and hamburger?

PASTEURIZATION TABLE... or.. how to safely cook your food to a lower internal temperature..

Cooking food to a lower temperature for a longer time has some valuable side effects... The food can be moist... Fat will not melt and run out into the collection pan... The NOT so valuable side effects.... Folks have a long standing aversion to foods that do NOT looked cooked regardless...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[chp]

I used to do bone in chx thighs SV, then reverse sear. They were good but I always thought I lost a lot of juices going straight from water bath to grill. Now I season and SV one day, then cool and into the fridge or freezer. I grill from the fridge and it seems like they are juicier. It also seems way more convenient.

 

[dr k]

There are some similar charts (link below) for 'non intact' meats, so I'm guessing this means things like stew meat and hamburger?

PASTEURIZATION TABLE... or.. how to safely cook your food to a lower internal temperature..

Cooking food to a lower temperature for a longer time has some valuable side effects... The food can be moist... Fat will not melt and run out into the collection pan... The NOT so valuable side effects.... Folks have a long standing aversion to foods that do NOT looked cooked regardless...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

This will be fine since it's a 5D log drop in E coli from 100,000 to 1. In the chart above. Yes we are over cooking our food and getting sick from bad practices in the kicken. Not from under cooking. Grilling is heating but the math on temp and duration is done for us with pasterization on temp an duration with SV. Since water is 800xs more dense with water and 28xs the thermal conduction of air. Follow the chart above with SV.

 

[thirdeye]

Since water is 800xs more dense with water and 28xs the thermal conduction of air.

??

 

[dr k]

??

Oops. Water is 800xs more dense than air.

 

[rbnice1]

Honestly I had better luck cooking my burgers and getting them the way I want them then vac sealing and freezing them. Then I sousvide when ready to eat.

This works great with pulled pork and brisket as well.

Steak and chicken I still find works better to season and freeze then sous vide when ready to eat then sear off.