I just cooked up a bunch of chicken and steak. I do this 2 or 3 times a month - it's really convenient to pull a few ziploc containers out of the freezer, defrost them, and take them to work.

The chicken containers have 225g of chicken, the beef ones have 200g of flank steak.

Let's hear it for healthy eating!

Bob

I was under the impression freezing cooked food gave a higher chance of food poisoning, maybe that when you defrost and then refreeze.

Nice! Cooking is bulk (I've never done anything of this quantity though) is the best way to do it imo. I try to cook once a week only.

I've never heard of the food poisoning thing. Don't think it makes a great deal of sense, but I could be wrong.

wow! how'd you cook it all??

i love the lone peice of chicken in the steak tupperware. :lol:

I need to do this! Did you use a crock-pot to cook the chicken?

I was under the impression freezing cooked food gave a higher chance of food poisoning, maybe that when you defrost and then refreeze.

I think it is when you thaw and refreeze that you run the risk. I also read you should let the food cool off before packing it up and putting it in the freezer so I spread it out on plates so it gets to room temp quicker.

Nice! I love bulk cooking pictures. :lol:

I do this 2 or 3 times a month
You go through 40-60 pounds of chicken a month? :eek:

Hey guys, glad you enjoyed my cooking photos :)

I'm eating 2x 225g chicken portions every day, so this 20lbs produced (after cooking) approximately 4950g of meat, or enough for 11 days. Of course, I'm sure I'll eat out a few times during that period, but doing this 2x per month isn't unreasonable.

I cooked it in two 10-lb loads, by roasting it in the oven. I use a covered roasting pan, and put 10lbs of chicken breasts into it. I also chop up some potatoes and onions, and add about 350ml of chicken broth. And I add a good amount of pepper to the whole thing. I cook it at 450 for about 1.5 hours, flipping the chicken in the middle. Next time I do it I'll take some "in progress" shots.

I always let the meat cool before freezing it, but I've never heard of any trouble with cooking / freezing / defrosting. I've been doing it for years with no ill effects. I imagine you could get into trouble if you let it sit out for hours before you freeze it, but I leave it for 45 minutes or so, just so it's not hot. You could always put it into the fridge and cool it there.

If you're going to cook up a bulk amount of food like this, I highly recommend buying it from a butcher shop. Where I live (Toronto, Canada) there is a huge difference between some grocery stores and the butcher shop. Boneless, skinless chicken is $2.99 / lb at the butcher, and $7.99 at a grocery store. What a rip-off!

Next time I think I'm going to try roasting some bone-in chicken breasts, since I just end up cutting it up anyway. As I type this, I'm enjoying some of that steak, and it's delicious!

On a slightly different note - any opinions out there on Eye of Round vs. Flank Steak? I'm enjoying this flank, but I formerly ate quite a bit of Eye of Round. Is Eye of Round generally considered the leaner cut?

Can somebody post a picture of a 4 oz grilled chicken breast and 6 oz chicken breast? How many oz is a full chicken breast? My dining hall serves grilled chicken breasts, but I'm not really sure how much each is, so I've been estimating 200 calories for each, and I'm not sure if this is too high or too low. Thanks!

Where I live (Toronto, Canada) there is a huge difference between some grocery stores and the butcher shop. Boneless, skinless chicken is $2.99 / lb at the butcher, and $7.99 at a grocery store. What a rip-off!

Ive noticed the same as well. When buying in bulk, it can really hurt your wallet. I purchase my chicken from Costco for $3.29/lb which is expensive considering it used to sell for $2.99 a few months ago. They sell foster farms chicken breast which, in my opinion, is the best chicken available on the market for the $ value.

I was in a pinch last week and purchased chicken breast at Safeway. It looked :nono: compared to the Costco chicken... more fat, more blood, more tendons/chewy parts.

I never cook that much food at once because it doesn't work for my lifestyle right now but I am impressed with your organization. :tu:

Just curious, what are the macros of the steak, say per 4oz for example?

Keep up the awesome work.

Hi Spartan,

I pulled the macros off nutritiondata.com - I trim all the fat from the steak before cooking it - I slice it up into strips and cook it in a frying pan, with some pepper and steak spice.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/beef-products/7499/2

So, for my 200g containers, the macros are:

372 Calories
14g Fat (6g saturated)
0g Carbohydrate
56g Protein

For 4 oz, the macros are:

208 Calories
8g Fat (4g saturated)
0g Carbs
32g Protein

And I actually answered my own question by visiting nutritiondata - the stats on Eye of Round are a bit better. 200g of Eye of Round has:

336 Calories
10g Fat (4g saturated)
0g Carbs
58g Protein

So I'm going to give that a whirl the next time I'm at the butcher. I used to eat a lot of eye of round, but I would roast it. I think slicing it thinner and cooking it like steak makes it tastier.

If you're going to cook up a bulk amount of food like this, I highly recommend buying it from a butcher shop. Where I live (Toronto, Canada) there is a huge difference between some grocery stores and the butcher shop. Boneless, skinless chicken is $2.99 / lb at the butcher, and $7.99 at a grocery store. What a rip-off!



Ouch, I never pay more than $2/lb for boneless/skinless (frozen).

Sometimes I can get fresh (unfrozen) in the styrofoam with plastic wrap for $1.79-$1.99 on sale in family packs. I buy this whenever possible because I think when you buy ice glazed, frozen in-the-bag chicken you are paying for 15% by weight salt water that they inject for "tenderness and juicyness".


Isn't flank the same as tri-tip? I think that is the cheapest cut on the cow, not real lean either. Tri-tip can be had some places for about a buck a pound. Sam's I think.

That is the most remarkably empty freezer I have ever seen!

Love the mass cooking. I usually prepare a few days at a time, not such massive quantities. Great photos, though!