I am making chili for my son's birthday party on Sunday. When I bought the meat, the sell-by date was today. I had been planning on making it Friday or Saturday. Is it better to make the chili today and freeze it till Saturday or freeze the meat and defrost it in time to make it Friday or Saturday. Friday would be preferable, but it also seems silly freezing meat for a day. Don't want to get anyone sick at the party.
Unless you're planning to have the chili finish cooking right when you're ready to serve it, you might have to chill it again anyway. In that case, I'd go with cooking it now, freezing it, and reheating it for the party. In my experience, freezing chili doesn't degrade the taste or texture. I've also found that when chili often tastes better the second day than it does right out of the pot. Don't ask me why.
You could cook just the meat and freeze that if you prefer.
I would make the chili today and refrigerate it. Today is Wednesday, so it'd only sit in the fridge for a few days (up to a week is fine).
My son and I ended up getting sick so we had to reschedule the party. Wondering if I should just freeze it for another time and make a new batch. We're planning to have the party Tuesday now so I'm not sure if it makes sense freezing it till tomorrow night (Monday) and then defrosting it to serve for dinner Tuesday. I made it last Thursday. Still not feeling great so I am thinking I could make another batch Tuesday if I'm better. Don't want to get anyone sick by making it tomorrow if I haven't recovered fully.
Chili is one of those things that gets better the next day, and freezing doesn't hurt it. Actually, it helped my last pot o' chili. My wife and son weren't big fans the day I made it. I used my recipe that I've made for them a dozen times or more, but each of the previous times I had served it the next day. But this last time they had it was while it was just finishing cooking, and they really didn't eat much, saying it wasn't like my usual chili.
Last week, I dug out a frozen quart to make for myself for a late meal, and as they each passed through the kitchen, they asked if they could have a little because it smelled good..
We ended up splitting the quart three ways; maybe even less for me after all of their "tastings". (I made an extra turkey sandwich for myself, lol). They said that the flavor had improved significantly.
There's another quart and a half in the garage refrigerator. Shhhhh. No one ever looks in there when the summer is over.
So, I would say make it, refrigerate for a day, then freeze it. Hopefully you'll have the same luck.
I absolutely make chili to freeze. Really hearty chili can dry out so I make mine in the Crock-Pot... which is a little runny straight out of the cooker as there is little to no reduction going on.
But I freeze two portion containers, and when thawed, initially in the microwave, and brought up to a simmer in a saute pan for 10-20 minutes, the results are terrific... and can have wonderful homemade chili (dogs) whenever I want for weeks.
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