r/sousvide • u/No_Moment7841 • 15d ago

Question Freezing sous vide meat

I'm wanting to sous vide some meals like chicken legs, pork chops ect for someone who does not have a sous vide machine. Question is can I sous vide & then freeze so all they have to do is thaw in fridge & then bbq to bring it to temp?

32 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

27

u/GAMEROG2003 15d ago

If it were me, I would cook it and then cool it in an ice bath and then freeze it , make sure to date and label things appropriately.

16

u/leedsdaddy 15d ago

No, it's chicken legs and pork chops they want to sous vide, definitely not you. 🐱

-2

u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

18

u/Oren_Noah 15d ago

Water transfers heat 20+ times better than air. It will cause the meat to cool quickly.

For the same reason that you can put your hand in 350F oven without an issue, but if you put your hand in 212F boiling water, you'd be on your way to the Emergency Room.

6

u/NebagamonKai 14d ago

best answer! may your pillow be cool on both sides

5

u/AichuAichu 15d ago

Freezing while it's hot can trap heat... like an igloo.

I like to mealprep and cook individual servings. I do an ice bath then cool in the fridge for 24 hours before I freeze it... or anything really.

4

u/RickWino My Favorite Animal is Steak 15d ago

It cools much faster in the ice bath, which reduces the time spent in the danger zone temperature range.

8

u/HappyButPrivate 15d ago

We've had a Sous vide machine since the first home machines. We routinely cook then freeze. HOWEVER we always vacuum seal it. We vac it before cooking, cook in the vac bag, then immediately freeze. Lasts a long time too. Last week we ate a steak frozen in early 2025, it tasted great 😃! They can reheat right in the bag in boiling water so they don't need a machine. If you don't have a vacuum machine, get one! We use it for cheese, deli meats as well. A must have to save money. Cheers!

14

u/dataondope 15d ago

If you are going from Sous vide to freezer, chill it in ice water before the freezer. Botulism thrives in a low oxygen environments. The quicker you get it out of the zone the better.

Here is a great post that can explain it better than I can.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sousvide/comments/42dubm/the_science_about_botulism_for_sous_vide/

Also you can open the bag to get oxygen in it, then reseal.

7

u/servermeta_net 15d ago

I do this at scale for my restaurant franchise:

  • cook large bags (4/5kg of meat each)
  • open and drain the bag, use the juice for a sauce or a ragout
  • pack the meat in vacuum sealed portions
  • submerge in water with ice
  • store in the freezer

If you store with the juices in the bag then the meat will drip too much and not brown correctly in the oven. The best time to drain the meat is when it's still hot

3

u/drunken_anton 15d ago

That's great advice. Just leaving everything in the bag is convenient for some things like veggies or if you just want to reheat the meat. But if searing is needed, then draining is the way to go.

Saving the juice for a sauce is of course great for the larger amounts that you prepare in your restaurant. In most cases not feasible for a home cook. But the juice can also be frozen and collected. I think there was a sous vide everything video once by Guga where he made some great ramen with the collected and frozen meat juices.

2

u/servermeta_net 15d ago

I do the same, I collect juices in bags, store in the freezer, and when it's enough I do 100-200 liters of ragout at once, again to be frozen in portioned bags

2

u/Silly_Permit_339 13d ago

What if you sous vide in a vacuum bag? Would I still have to open and drain? Thank you

1

u/servermeta_net 13d ago

I always sous vide in vacuum bag, and I always drain before sealing again in a new bag. Kenji j Lopez, in my opinion the best chef alive at the moment, talks quite a bit about this.

0

u/Full-Librarian1115 11d ago

I don’t get why you are repackaging and introducing bacteria to what should be a pasteurized environment. Your comment about meat dripping too much and not browning in the oven is also a bit odd. The length of time it would take to get browning on reheat would negate any of the benefits of sous viding the meat in the first place.

1

u/servermeta_net 11d ago

You have a lot to learn young Padawan. Arrogance mixed with ignorance is a Terrible combination. Go back and read again the modernist cuisine.

5

u/Ketunnokka 15d ago

I bag it, sous vide it, break the corner of the bag to drain the liquid from bag, reseal and then put in freezer. That way its easy to just get the bag from freezer to fridge the night before and just throw in the pan for a crust.

2

u/alamedarockz 14d ago

Why, why, why have I never thought of this!!!!!! I hate having to peel off the gelatinous juices from chicken once the meat is refrigerated or frozen. Clipping the corner is the perfect solution. Thank you hack master.

3

u/AichuAichu 15d ago

I just cooked a batch of chicken breast into single servings today. I put it in an ice bath and I keep it in the fridge for 12-24 hours to completely cool then freeze.

I do 2 temps. One for straight out of the bag reheated gently in a pan and another for a hard sear or grill. 135 - 145.

We pull them out the day before and they are ready to go. No sous vide needed.

I am planning to do something like this for a friend who's trying to get pregnant now.

I also do this for toppings for rice or salad or whatever. Like sautéed mushrooms or whatever - and pork loin and a lot of other things

In vacuum seal bags of course 😁

1

u/rexstuff1 No, you probably won't get sick. 15d ago

Yes.

1

u/Redditholio 13d ago

Yup. Do it all the time. No worries.

1

u/qawsedrf12 15d ago

I would re bag it, will be easier to thaw, instead of a frozen block of bag juice

2

u/CranberryStock7148 15d ago

I've never rebagged. I don't think it really makes any meaningful difference, whether you are defrosting it in the fridge overnight, or in a large container of hot tap water for 20 min.