There’s nothing worse than taking mince out of the freezer for a meal you want to start preparing in like 10 minutes, only to find that the mince is in a huge solid mass of hardness (move over 50 Shades here, lol).

So, what is the best way to store mince? Nobody likes leaving it out on the kitchen bench to defrost, and even when you put it in the fridge to slowly defrost it seems like it takes forever – plus – we all know that mince is a bit temperamental in the old food safety department.

I had a good think about it, and here are my best tips for buying and freezing mince:

1. I always buy in bulk and always when its on special.
2. Check the use by dates if the mince is pre-packaged
3. Divide it up – for 3 adult size meals (man-sized!) we portion it into 250g lots – this is enough for spaghetti, nachos, etc for all of us and there’s usually some left over
4. Get a vacuum sealer machine – if you don’t want to go to the expense (it’s worth it!) then there is a trick you can use with an iron (but hey, who enjoys ironing right??). If you want the easiest option – go the zip lock freezer bags.
5. Place your mince portions into your storage choice. Using a rolling pin (or large glass) roll the mince out to about 2-3mm thick, spreading the mince into the corners of the bag to eliminate the air.
6. Seal the bag.
7. Freeze! Make sure that it’s stored flat in the freezer! This will save you space. If you are using just freezer bags, place some paper towel or newspaper between each layer of mince to stop it all sticking together – this only seems to happen with the thinner plastic bags.
8. To defrost, either take out a few hours before you need it and defrost in the fridge; or if you are in a hurry, put the frozen mince (still inside the bag) in the sink with some cold (NOT hot) water while you prep the rest of your meal.

As I said earlier, mince is one of those foods where safe food handling is really important. Do NOT refreeze raw mince – for example, don’t freeze your mince, then decide to make sausage rolls and then freeze your uncooked sausage rolls. You can defrost your mince, and then cook it in say spaghetti sauce, and then freeze the sauce again without a problem.

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