I am hoping to replicate the commercial "Frozen boil in the bag" meals for consumption at home. These seem to be mainly fish in sauce these days, but I vaguely remember meat dishes of this genre from my childhood (e.g. beef curry).
I was intending on following this process:
- Cook a stew/casserole/pasta dish etc. as normal with fresh produce
- Cool quickly using a water bath if necessary
- Portion and place in an open Sous Vide bag
- Freeze, once solid, vacumn seal extracting as much air as possible
- Store for up to 6 months in a domestic freezer
- Reheat by adding to a pan of boiling water and boil, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes
My questions are threefold:
- Is there any hidden food safety risks here?
- What (if any) dishes would not benefit from this process?
- Are standard Sous Vide bags capable of being boiled?
Best Answer
There are no food safety considerations, as long as the food is cooled quickly enough it will be safe whether the food is in bags, plastic containers or whatever else you want to put it in. Sous vide plastic is designed to be in hot water for long periods of time and be safe, so there shouldn't be considerations if it's boiled for a relatively short period of time. The packaging should tell you whether it has a maximum rated temperature.
As for what dishes would not benefit, it's the same as any other frozen food, you are just taking a long-winded approach to cooling it down, freezing it and then re-heating it. Boiling it in a bag for 30 minutes will be a great way to turn whatever it is to mush, you'd be better off gently heating reheating it.