Fresh Meat-

I went over the shopping-freezing-barbecue thing in the prior post. This is a factor in barbecue due to the way many people live. You shop near payday, so that you have food when the money gets thin. I have always lived among people who experienced an ebb and flow in their money.

So, on thin money days it is hard to just run down to the store and pick up a nice piece of fresh meat to barbecue that afternoon. However, you don't always know when you will have a good day for barbecue. When that day comes, you may not have defrosted that fine cut of meat you want to cook up.

I did a bit of thinking. How about purchasing some of those store gift cards when shopping? Invest part of that meat budget in cards that will insure funds are available on barbecue day! Brilliant!

Now, no more problem if pre-planning did not happen, and the meat is still frozen. Grab the "meat card" and scoot on down to the store. That perfect cut can be purchased, prepared and cooking in an hour or less! No ready cash? No problem! The "meat card."

Don't leave home without it.

Frozen Meat-

Our general shopping practice is to buy all of our food at once. We get paid every other week. We shop every other week. Generally, all meat products are purchased at this time. The items that are not going to be cooked in a day or two are frozen. This is a relatively common way of managing food in a household.

Defrosting now becomes an element of the barbecue. How do I get the meat from frozen to fabulous? I did a few searches and learned that the best method is to move the meat from the freezer to the refrigerator. Out on the counter is out. Too much risk of bacteria growth. Microwave is out, due to uneven thawing and pre-cooking of parts of the meat. Submersion in hot or cold water is out, since it can make the meat soggy and impact the cooking process.

The general rule I found is about a day for every five pounds of meat. This means that the meat must be moved into the refrigerator about twenty four hours before cooking begins, in most cases. A bit longer won't hurt.

This requires planning ahead. You will have to decide what you wish to barbecue, and when. Then, in a timely fashion, the meat will have to be moved to the refrigerator.

For me, and many people I know, this is a major lifestyle change. I will try to record my success (or lack of success) as time goes on.