Freezer hoarding in action: random Certified Angus beef cuts bought on markdown.
My blogger friend Daniel B revealed something remarkable: he has 40 chicken carcasses in his freezer. Talk about freezer hoarding! These are supermarket rotisserie chickens which have been mostly plucked clean of their meat but with some scraps and connective tissue left as well as the flavor and nutrition in the bones. He’s moving out of state and is looking for a soup kitchen or dedicated stock maker to take the lot. If you are interested, contact him at the link above.
This is our small auxiliary freezer below the fridge. It would be ample for most families.
I will be the first to say I am also guilty of freezer hoarding. We have a good size bottom freezer in our main fridge and a dedicated freezer in the basement. We buy a half pig every year which takes up one shelf in the big freezer. Various frozen produce takes up a second shelf…. including a lifetime supply of sour cherries from the tree in our yard. The rest is chaos, and mostly my fault. My freezer hoarding includes:
- One or more whole USDA Prime briskets purchased on sale on trips to H.E.B. Market in Austin…. Because how could you not? The TSA people recognize the profile of the frozen brisket in the x-ray of your carry-on and wave you through the security line.
- A whole pig belly (with skin on) marked for porchetta, plus five pounds of uncooked tripe for the pickled tripe experiment I promised nearly two years ago. There is also a pig’s foot in case the tripe needs more collagen to jell.
- Any number of packages of Certified Angus beef I buy marked down at Price Chopper because they are past their sell-by date. Typically there are half a dozen packages of short ribs I will accumulate and then throw in the instant pot, and several steaks.
- Multiple sacks of shrimp shells where I peeled the shrimp, then saved the shell for a future stock. As well as several sacks of coriander roots (for Thai seasonings) and curry leaves and Kaffir lime leaves (which we’re not supposed to call that any more) and lots of bacon and the last couple sacks of my Benton ham.
What’s not in the freezer are things nutritionists advise you to put there to keep them in optimal condition, like coffee beans and spices. I don’t disagree, but there’s simply no room.
Part of the problem is that some of my most reliable consumption devices, i.e. teenagers, are absent at school or other activities. Sure, I could make up a whole porchetta, but then that turns into refrigerator hoarding.
Does anybody else want to come forward about their own refrigerator hoarding? Maybe we could combine your frozen pastry shells and my frozen cherries and make a pie!
Women who carry large purses often complain of back and shoulder pain. Men and women who have huge freezer space clog them with food that sometimes they must discard due to freezer burn. The solution for women with back and shoulder pain is to carry smaller purses, much smaller. The solution for freezer burn is to have a small freezer section, with no backup freezer in the garage.
The utility bill for a full size freezer could purchase a new car and you get freezer burn because you do not rotate your stock of goods. Sometimes a good buy is to leave the bargain price in the store for someone who plans to cook the food immediately instead of storing it for the proper opportunity.
What I am saying is, less is more.
*Hangs head in shame*
You are right, of course, Philip. The one thing I’ll say in my defense is that I keep the temp set to zero degrees F, and haven’t had a problem with freezer burn even when I keep meat in supermarket packages. But that takes more electricity, even with an efficient freezer. (And the more you put in the freezer, the more efficient it becomes…. see? There I go again.)
I have two prime briskets that I got from Fresh Market when they had one of their amazing meat sales…seriously…cheaper than choice at other supermarkets or even the wholesale clubs in the area…may pull one for this weekend, in order to free up some freezer space!!
Fresh Market? Do you remember how much you paid? And was this in a flyer or email or what? I’ve given them my email but never receive anything from them.
I run a chest freezer full time and according to National Grid, my kWhr usage percentile is in the teens. My bill is usually about $50.
Things have changed in our home too..absent eaters..One of the best things I have discovered is putting all leftovers in Natural Peanut Butter Jars..they are the perfect meal size..hitting the Beverage Button on the microwave usually gives the correct temperature! These are perfect for a grab and go..or sit as time allows.
No longer do we have tipped over, rotting, shoved in the back..bowl inside of bowl messes in the fridge! If I am going away..I can just move them sideways to the freezer…and when I need a quick meal..I can even look in the freezer.
I also keep them coralled in a plastic shoe bin..so they can be found by anyone!
And as for the freezer..we are cooking the cut of meat and eatting it till it is gone! Kinda like the Cook Once Eat Twice….but with 2 people it is eat Eat 5 Times!
And this is where I can say I have it harder than you..I have to also keep on top of the 2nd house freezer and fridge too..and my husband hunts…not bragging.
The hunting comment reminds me of something I forgot to put in the original post but now will add in the comments. My friend Rick was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation and, as a Native American, had the right to harvest road kill. He would pick up roadside specimens, take them home and toss them in a chest freezer, then feed him to his alligator. This sounds like a yarn but I have seen the roadkill and seen Albert (the alligator) eat them.
Rick was quite a hunter in his own right and got a commission to collect the desert critters that were taxidermied for use in the original western railroad ride at Disneyland. This is going back quite a few years, obviously.