My Post-Grocery Food Prep

Buying meat products in bulk has made it essential to take extra steps after grocery shopping to ensure the meat doesn't become one big frozen mass in the freezer. Here’s how I manage my post-grocery food prep:

Prepping Meat

For certain meats, like liempo (pork belly), steak, and lamb, I prefer to precook them using the sous vide method. I season the meat directly in vacuum-sealed bags, keep them sealed, and then place them in the freezer. It's crucial to label each bag, especially when prepping a variety of meats. This approach is incredibly convenient - portioned and ready to go. To serve, all you need is a quick sear using a hot cast-iron skillet, a grill, or even a culinary torch.

For example, my recent liempo batch was cooked sous vide for 4 hours at 60.5°C with just salt and pepper for seasoning. I like doing huge batches when I use the sous vide setup. I think it's a waste of space in the water bath if you do it a few steaks at a time.

My sous vide setup. Photos by Flickr/Jep.

Other Food Prep Routines

- Bread: Bagels, English muffins, flatbreads, and other bread products go straight into the freezer.

- Canned Meat: A big can of corned beef gets portioned into individual containers before freezing, each properly labeled with its contents and the date. However, I found this process tedious, so I might skip buying this next time.

- Frozen Vegetables: I leave frozen vegetables in their original packaging but place them into resealable bags. This prevents freezer burn, especially if I only need to use a small portion at a time.

- Bacon: Each slice is laid on parchment paper before being rolled up for freezing. This makes it easy to grab just a few strips without needing to defrost the entire batch.

Freezer Space is Important

All these routines are possible because of the ample freezer space I have, thanks to a dedicated upright freezer. One of the levels is reserved exclusively for making ice using covered ice trays.

Do you have similar rituals after a big grocery haul?