• About
  • My Favorite Blogging Tools
  • Archives
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms & Policies

Family Balance Sheet

where family, life, and finances meet

  • Home
  • How to Budget
  • Finances
    • Our Debt Freedom Plan
    • Christmas Savings Club
    • Debt Free Stories
    • Marriage and Money
    • Medi-Share
  • Grocery Budget
    • Saving Money on Groceries
    • Freezer Cooking
    • 31 Days to Slash Your Grocery Spending
  • Recipes
    • Freezer Cooking
    • Recipes – Appetizers & Snacks
    • Recipes – Beverages
    • Recipes – Breakfast & Brunch
    • Recipes – Desserts
    • Recipes – Grilling
    • Recipes – Main Dish
    • Recipes – Sides & Soups
    • Recipes – Slow Cooker
    • Cooking ‘How-To’ Series
  • Family
    • Frugal Holiday Fun
    • Frugal Family Activities
    • Travel Destinations
    • Camping
    • Budget Travel
    • Giving
  • Frugal Living
    • How We Frugal-ed
    • Saving Money on Groceries
    • Saving Money in your Home
    • Saving Money during the Holidays
    • Gardening
  • 31 Days to Find $1000

Batch Browning & Freezing Ground Meat and Sausage

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you sign-up for services or make a purchase after clicking on a link below, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Also, I am not a financial advisor. I'm a blogger who LOVES to share how I manage the finances for my household.

February 27, By Kristia 17 Comments

For years, I’ve been buying the larger packages (3+ pounds) of ground turkey and sausage, because the sale price per unit is so much better than the smaller packages. I would divide the raw meat into 1 pound portions and freeze individually.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to figure out that browning ground meat and sausage in one big batch will save time in the future. I’ve changed my ways. Now, I’m still freezing in portions, but I’m browning the meat in one big batch first. This step is saving me so much time with meal prep. Lasagna, tacos, sloppy joes are all meals that I’ve recently made by using cooked meat from the freezer.

How to Batch Brown & Freeze Ground Meat and Sausage

1. Heat your largest pan (I used my big dutch oven) over medium heat and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add the ground meat or sausage to the pan.  If cooking sausage, remove the casings before putting in the pan. If your package of meat is too large for the size of you pan, you’ll have to brown the meat in several batches.

My favorite tool for browning meat:

2. Cook over medium-low heat and break up the sausage while cooking. Allow the sausage to brown a bit on the pan and then scrape the brown bits on the bottom of the pan to add flavor.

3. Once the meat is cooked through (no pink), you can drain any fat if you’d like and then allow to cool.

4. Divide up and store in freezer containers or bags. Stretch your dollar and store in 1 1/2 cup portions, but approximately, 2 cups of cooked meat will equal 1 pound of uncooked meat.

Think about how you will use the meat that you just cooked. Personally, I divide bulk sausage into smaller 1 1/2 cup portions, because I know that I’ll likely use it in spaghetti sauce, pasta dishes, and egg casseroles where the meat is not the main star of the dish. While, I divide ground turkey into 2 cup portions, because I use that for tacos and sloppy joes where the meat is the main ingredient.

I have also combined ground turkey and sausage, browned them and packed them in storage containers together. This gives the ground turkey some extra flavor.

Do you buy meat in bulk and then cook it in one big batch? Let us know in the comments.

Filed Under: Saving Money - Groceries

Comments

  1. Rebecca says

    February 27, at 5:04 pm

    oh, yes, I do this too! It’s so simple to grab a frozen tub of browned ground beef in the a.m. when I decide…”tonight’s going to be burritos!” Or if worse comes to worst, I’ll thaw it at 4 p.m. in desperation to save dinner. 🙂

    I occasionally crock pot a turkey breast and save individual servings of diced turkey, but most of the time, my poultry solution is flash-frozen chicken tenders sold in a 10-pound bag, which enable me to grab from the bag and cook up however much I need.

    Another supper-prep time saver? Filling quart-size freezer bags with the dry ingredients for your favorite quick bread (baking powder biscuits and corn bread are ours), then labeling the bag with the needed wet ingredients and baking instrux. It’s nice to just pull one from the pantry, add egg and milk, and pop it into the oven. (And it doesn’t taste like Bisquick because it’s homemade!)

    Thanks for sharing your revelation to cook the meat before freezing it.

    Reply
  2. Tracie Nall says

    March 2, at 12:52 pm

    It did not even know this was possible. I would have been afraid it would give me food poisoning or something (not a crazy fear, as I have done that to myself at least once).

    So this is a great tip. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Family Balance Sheet says

      March 2, at 1:29 pm

      You shouldn’t have a problem with food poisoning as long as you cook the meat all the way through.

      Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  3. Khloé Belle Gadson says

    March 2, at 4:33 pm

    Happy Sharefest!

    I didn’t know you could do this! I thought meat had to be stored in the freezer uncooked.
    Great tips!

    xoxo,
    Khloe
    http://www.kgstyleblogs.com

    Reply
    • Family Balance Sheet says

      March 4, at 1:06 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Khloe!

      Reply
  4. Cathy says

    March 3, at 4:55 am

    I do this too! I buy my ground beef at Costco – only place I will buy it – and cook it up and freeze it in one pound batches in ziploc bags. Working full-time I find this to be a great time saver at dinner time!

    Cathy
    http://apeekintomyparadise.blogspot.com/

    Reply
    • Family Balance Sheet says

      March 4, at 1:06 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Cathy!

      Reply
  5. Jennice says

    March 3, at 5:31 pm

    I always buy ground meat 5lbs at a time and I waste most of because I,only use abt a pound for tacos,which we dont eat that ofyen and taco soup which I also,only usr a pound for. I hadn’t even considered that yoy could brown the meat and freexe it and I thonk it’s best for me to know how I’m going to use all 5lbs before buying it.,I’m Jennice visiting from #SITSSHAREFEST and do visit me at mommyincolor.com.

    Reply
    • Family Balance Sheet says

      March 4, at 1:07 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Jennice!

      Reply
  6. Tom Zappone says

    January 28, at 10:48 am

    Can I par boil link sausage,then freeze? And for how long?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Kristia says

      January 28, at 2:38 pm

      I’ve never done that, Tom. I don’t see why not though. Try googling it.

      Reply
  7. Finally getting smart grandma says

    February 22, at 6:05 pm

    I’ve been cooking ground beef & turkey together for some time now and will start adding bulk sausage next batch. I put about 1 1/2 cups in a plastic zip lock & freeze. Great for just my husband & me and easy to make lots of dishes. If I need more, I take out an extra bag. I’ve also started roasting stew meat this way too & add carrots & potatoes then bag up and freeze. All this is great for no fuss camping. Don’t know why I didn’t do this 40 years ago.

    Reply
    • Kristia says

      February 23, at 10:18 am

      Love the idea for no fuss camping. We bought a camper last summer, so I need no fuss ideas! Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Reduce Your Grocery Spending Without Sacrificing Quality | 31 Days to Find $1000 says:
    October 15, at 3:25 pm

    […] Batch Browning & Freezing Ground Meat and Sausage […]

    Reply
  2. Tortellini & Spinach Soup says:
    March 29, at 9:26 am

    […] of adding shrimp, brown raw sausage in the beginning before adding the other ingredients OR use cooked sausage and add it in place of the […]

    Reply
  3. Grocery Budget Challenge | March Meeting says:
    March 31, at 2:33 pm

    […] made with pre-cooked sausage and my homemade roasted vegetable sauce. I keep both in the […]

    Reply
  4. Homemade Stromboli says:
    April 7, at 6:01 am

    […] batch pre-cooked sausage from the freezer […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

WELCOME!

SEARCH

recipes

Recent Posts

  • How We Frugal-ed in June 2023
  • 20 Spring Cleaning Tasks to Freshen Your Home + a FREE Checklist
  • 8 Action Steps for a Frugal February!
  • Our 2023 Financial Goals
  • 3 Smart Steps to Pay Cash for Christmas
Follow Kristia Ludwick's board Best of FamilyBalanceSheet.org on Pinterest.

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Kristia Ludwick is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

COPYRIGHT

I love it when you share! Please keep in mind that all images and text on this site are property of Family Balance Sheet. Feel free to use one or two photos provided that a link back to my original post is included. Please do not remove any watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images without first obtaining written permission from me. Please do not replicate or copy any content from Family Balance Sheet without written permission from me. All free printables & spreadsheets offered are for personal use only. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Thank you!

Disclaimer

FamilyBalanceSheet.org is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a financial professional. I’m a girl who loves to talk and read about personal finance and how it relates to hard working families. If you feel you need financial advice, please seek out a competent professional.

Disclosures

  • The content on FamilyBalanceSheet.org may contain affiliate and/or referral links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I believe in.
  • Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in