Refused to believe the freezing tofu trick for years until I tried it on a pork shoulder at 2am

I always thought the whole "freeze your meat before cooking it for better texture" thing was internet nonsense. Like those videos where people say freezing avocado makes it last longer. But I was up late last Thursday scrolling through some random cooking forum and a guy broke down the science of ice crystals breaking down muscle fibers. I had a pork shoulder in the freezer that was already 3 weeks old so I threw it in the fridge to thaw overnight. Cooked it the next day in my slow cooker with just salt and pepper and it literally fell apart like pulled pork from a BBQ joint. No searing no brine no fuss. Has anyone else had this work on chicken or does it only work on tougher cuts?

3 comments

3 Comments

xenaf511mo ago

Freezing tofu works but I tried it on chicken thighs once and it turned into mush.

kellys781mo ago

@xenaf51 yeah you are totally right about that. Its funny how freezing works for some things but totally backfires on others. Like how you can freeze bread to keep it fresh but try that with lettuce and you get a sad soggy mess. There is definitely a pattern here where some foods have a lot of water in them and freezing just breaks everything down. Ever notice how even freezing certain fruits like berries works great for smoothies but turns them into mush if you thaw them for eating plain?

grant.felix1mo ago

Has anyone tried freezing eggs? Not the whole shell obviously, but like beaten eggs or yolks separately. It's actually a thing if you have extras from baking or something. The trick is you gotta add a little salt or sugar first so they don't turn into rubbery blobs. I've done it with yolks for custards and they thaw fine. But the whites alone? Forget it. They get this weird watery texture that doesn't whip up right at all. Same with heavy cream - freezes decent for cooking but don't expect to whip it after.