You probably used to buy like everyone else, food to last a week or two. However, buying enough bulk to freeze your meat is a better plan as long as you have the right knife to cut what you need. Unfortunately, your standard kitchen knives probably won’t do the trick. Luckily, it’s not difficult to solve that problem. Professional chefs and butchers know how to cut through the hardest freeze to create choice cuts for meals. You can do the same thing at home to save money in the long run and eat better all the time. I’ve been buying in bulk and freezing meals for years, and I’ll walk you through some of the best ways to trim the fat and get the choicest cuts.
What Type of Knife Cuts Frozen Meat
There are four main types of knives that you need to cut your frozen meat. Each one is best for a particular kind of frozen cutting.
The last option is a saw, which could be considered a very specialized type of knife since it shares the blade and handle features, making it similar. Moreover, you can find knife-style saws. Still, the standard setup is easier on especially unyielding cuts of meat. We’ll include saws on the list, but only as a bonus.
Any of these four types will work for cutting. However, the subtle differences mean it’s a good idea to keep one of each in your kitchen or bug-out gear if possible. Since they all have different uses, more is better for home butchering.
- Use Butcher knives for boneless meats like sausage.
- Serrated knives help separate the joints and slice right through a frozen roast.
- Mechanical knives save your hands and make everything easier.
- Saws are for the most substantial and robust, solidly frozen cuts and getting through bone.
How to Preserve Frozen Cuts Longer
Once you start cutting your own frozen steaks or fish filets by hand, you need more than just the knife. You need plastic wrap, aluminum foil, and leak-free freezer bags to store your cuts right. Using the method below will help prevent freezer burn and allow you to save more meat for longer.
Unfortunately, improper meat storage can make you sick. Moreover, you’ll end up wasting a bunch of money unnecessarily. Even in schools that still teach Home Economics and Cooking, it’s rare for kids to learn vital skills like this.
To preserve your meat the longest, use this simple process. First, use plastic wrap around your meat. This layer should be tight. Next, take some aluminum foil and wrap just as tightly around your clingwrap layer.
Finally, place your wrapped meat in a freezer bag with a double zipper. You’ll want to remove as much air as possible. By following these three quick and easy steps, your meats will remain fresh for at least three months, and often longer.
Thaw Meat Faster
Now that you know which knife to cut frozen meats with, and how to store them, there’s only one crucial thing left. Thawing your meal so you can cook it is a step some people skip. However, for the best flavor, and when you’re in a rush, the trick to fast thawing meat is well worth knowing.
You can use this trick to cut your frozen meats if you don’t have a knife that’s up to the task. However, I mostly use it to make meals quicker when I’m hungry. You’ll need a wide-bottomed pot, room temperature water, and a baking sheet.
Take your frozen, properly packaged cut of choice out of the freezer. Next, remove all the layers of foil and cling wrap. Save the bag because you need to put the meat back inside it. Once the meat is sealed into a leak-proof bag, place it on the baking tray.
Fill your pot with room temperature water. Hot water will not help speed the process, and it will cook the surface of the food slightly. Colder water will slow down the thawing. Set the pot of water on top of the bag with your meat inside. Strange as it may seem, doing this will thaw most cuts in five to fifteen minutes.
Top Five Best Knives for Cutting Frozen Meat
With so many options, there are a lot of great choices, so narrowing it down to the best cutting knives for frozen meat wasn’t easy. So I searched through hundreds of different styles and features to curate the perfect top five collection. Any of these outstanding knives will slice your beef, chicken, or other meats into whatever cuts you want to eat.
Once you have used the right tools, you’ll see how easy it is to get all the cuts you need while saving cash buying bulk. Eating your hand-cut steaks or chicken cutlets is more than satisfying because you can get precisely what you want. You will never go back to grocery store butchers again.
1. Wallop Heavy Duty Butcher Knife
This incredible Wallop Heavy Duty Butcher Knife lives up to its name and deserves our first place on the list. The beautiful Pakka wood handle is sturdy and non-slip. You’ll be able to make a solid cut into even the most solidly frozen chunk of meat with a good grip on the Wallop.
The German HC stainless steel won’t rust like cheap knockoffs do after the first few cuts. Moreover, at one and a half pounds, you’ll have the weight you need for a solid swing. Whether you want to mince pork or slice right through a roast from the freezer, the Wallop Heavy Duty Butcher Knife from Amazon can handle the job.
For those who are used to Chinese style chefs knives, this blade will be familiar in your hand. However, those who are new to home butchering will learn quickly with a superb knife like this. Plus, at seven inches long, you can make quick work of large game animals or small chicken breasts.
To slice off the choicest cuts with a Wallop, click here.
2. Cuisinart CEK-41 AC Electric Knife
For thin cuts, semi-frozen meats and sausages, you can save your hands a lot of trouble with this exceptional Cuisinart CEK-41 AC Electric Knife from Amazon. Although this model isn’t meant for cutting through larger, hard frozen roasts or bone, it’s ideal for smaller projects. High tech survivors will love the ease of an electric carving knife.
Despite whatever mess you make, the quick release blade on this Cuisinart knife can go right into the dishwasher. There’s a safety lock to keep you from hurting yourself. Additionally, you’ll appreciate the storage tray and long-tined fork.
Upgrade to electric by clicking here.
3. Victorinox 45520 Fibrox Pro Chef’s Knife
A Victorinox 45520 Fibrox Pro Chef’s Knife is a wise choice for chopping right through frozen bacon or chicken breasts. If you don’t already have Victorinox knives in your kitchen, this slender yet sturdy blade will surprise you. Made in Switzerland, Victorinox has been around since 1884.
Long-standing fans of this superb brand may be shocked to learn that, despite the lack of serrated blades, the Victorinox 45520 Fibrox Pro Chef’s Knife is ideal for cutting meat from your freezer. The handle on this model is thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE). Luckily that means you have an ergonomic, non-slip grip to reduce the chance of kitchen accidents.
Check the outstanding reviews on Amazon right here.
4. Sky Light Cleaver
The military-grade high polymer handle and precise 17°angle per side hand-polished edge makes the Sky Light Cleaver a fantastic choice for home butchering. Happily, the full tang blade is secure in the three rivet handle. Hence, you won’t have to worry about the parts coming loose as they do on cheaply made models.
You can separate bones, or slice cleanly through thicker cuts of meat quickly without wearing your arm out too fast. Moreover, the Sky Light Cleaver is stainless steel at a 58+ on the Rockwell Hardness scale. Additionally, you can rely on the thirty-day money-back guarantee and a one year warranty against defects.
Get a Sky Light delivered to your door when you order here.
5. Honmamon Reito Bocho
The serrated edge of a Honmamon Reito Bocho from Amazon is ideal for cutting through frozen beef or other cuts of boneless meat. No one wants a knife that breaks down soon after they get it. Fortunately, you won’t need to worry about that with a high-quality, rust-resistant molybdenum stainless steel blade in your hand.
The single-sided bevel is for right-handed butchers. You’ll appreciate this Japanese made meat knife when you need to gut through semi-frozen and thin meats like sausage. Plus, you can also use this knife for hard foods like pumpkin.
Get a Honmamon from Amazon by clicking here.
Bonus Saw: LEM Products 640 Meat Saw
When you need to cut through large bones or whole frozen flanks of beef, then you need a meat-saw to handle those larger, tougher jobs. I recommend the Lem Products 640 Meat Saw. The blade tightening lever makes it easy to replace your half-inch sawblades when the time comes.
The durable heavy nickel-plated frame will last much longer than flimsy wannabes. Hence, cutting through big game won’t be a daunting enterprise. With a high-quality LEM meat saw, you can spend more time eating great food, and less time working on meal prep.
Check out the amazing Amazon reviews right here.
Finer Points of Knives that Can Slice Through Frozen Cuts of Meat
Regardless of what style suits you best, the right knife makes all the difference when you’re cutting frozen meat. Any cut, no matter how thick or solidly frozen, will yield to good steel. As long as you keep your knives sharp, they’ll be there for you when you need them.
When you decide to make your own cuts, the knife is half of what you need. Make sure you learn what the meat you want looks like. Find out where to make the slices to get the most out of every roast or rack you freeze.
It’s incredibly satisfying to cut out the middle man and butcher your own meat. More importantly, it’s a survival skill you can take to the bank as you save money.