Taco meat is a condiment that can be eaten with various delicacies. This tasty meat provides protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals that help in maintaining good brain health and staying healthy. Taco meat is made from browning ground beef with other ingredients like onion, tomatoes, ground turkey, beans, and lentils on the stovetop.
If you love taco meat, preparing a huge bowl to save you the stress and time of preparing a new batch every time you need it, seems alright. You might be stuck with the dilemma of how to preserve it, so it doesn’t go bad before you are ready to eat it.
Can you freeze taco meat? Yes, you can. Taco meat will withstand freezer-cold temperature for about 2 to 3 months if properly stored before it begins losing its taste, smell, and quality. After this period, it can still remain safe to consume but might not be of a premium quality anymore.
Taco meat can be used in making different recipes like taco potatoes, lettuce wraps, and can be eaten with rice or as an appetizer.
What Kind of Taco Meat Freezes Best?
While you are freezing your taco meat for preservation to avoid spoilage and for easy consumption in the future, you should put into consideration how the cold temperature of the freezer can affect the texture, quality, taste, and flavor after some duration of time.
Generally, all types of ground meat that has not been exposed to moisture freeze best at a regulated cold temperature. The fillers added in the preparation of your taco meat reduces the quality if it is not properly stored.
How to Freeze Taco Meat
Freezing your taco meat will help preserve and extend its shelf life. To have the best freezing experience while retaining its quality and sweetness, you should be meticulously careful with the processes that entail freezing your taco meat.
To freeze taco meat, you would need airtight Ziploc bags, a low freezing temperature, and a marker for labeling.
Step 1: Portion the Taco Meat
To freeze your taco meat, allow it to cool off completely before you do anything else. Measure your taco meat and portion it into serving sizes ready to be frozen.
Portioning your meat has its advantages. If you portion before you freeze, you do not thaw the entire pack to get the amount that you would need. Recurring thaw and freezing would affect the quality of your taco meat.
Step 2: Storage
The best way to store your taco meat before freezing is to put it in Ziploc freezer bags. You would need multiple bags for this one as you would be freezing several serving-sized portions. Before you seal the bags, press them flat to expel as much air as you can.
The absence of air in the bag helps keep the savory taste, smell, and quality of your taco meat while freezing. It helps to keep the freezer burn at bay.
Step 3: Freeze the Taco Meat
Freeze your taco meat at a regulated temperature to get the best quality. Before you freeze the taco meat, make sure no moisture content and air find their way into your bag. In addition, keep it constantly frozen at a regulated freezing temperature of 0°F or below.
Remember to label each Ziploc bag before freezing, to know the content of each bag, the date of their freeze, and the amount of taco meat you put into each bag.
Do not freeze your taco meat near the freezer door where the temperature would be irregular. The regulated freezing temperature would make your taco meat easy to thaw and keep it from getting spoiled, freezer burnt, or going bad in the freezer.
How to Defrost Frozen Taco Meat
Taco meat can only be made available for consumption after freezing if you thaw it. The process of defrosting frozen taco meat is without stress, requires no special knowledge, and is done with the use of simple equipment. There are several ways you can go about thawing your frozen taco meat.
You can make your taco meat ready for consumption by thawing it In the refrigerator overnight. This is the best way to defrost thaw your taco meat because the refrigerator keeps the temperature regulated enough to retain the taco meat’s original quality.
If you are in a hurry to use your taco meat and do not have the luxury of time by thawing the taco meat overnight in the refrigerator, you can run the airtight Ziploc bag filled with taco meat under cold water. This would make the frozen bag loosen up enough to be poured out of the bag and ready for consumption
You can also thaw your taco meat faster by heating it on a stovetop or microwave. Empty your frozen taco meat into a microwave-friendly and allow it to heat up in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes.
How Many Times Can You Reheat Taco Meat?
There is no restriction on how many times you can reheat your taco meat for consumption. You can reheat your taco meat as much as you want but the best practice would be to limit the number of times you do that. Reheating taco meat repeatedly can make it lose its taste and texture.
How to Recognize Spoiled Taco Meat
The best way to determine if your taco meat is still good to eat or spoiled is to use your sense of smell and touch. You need to smell, touch the taco meat and examine it. Spoiled taco would have a slimy texture, would have an odd appearance that would be accompanied by an offensive odor.
If you notice the change in color to a brown or gray, it could mean that your taco meat has gone bad. If you see mold, then you should throw it out. Eating spoiled food is unhealthy and could expose one to food poisoning.