# HUGE crockpot full of stew...can part be frozen?



## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

A while ago I brought one of those big crock pots. Today I made stew, lots of top sirloin, baby carrots, turnips, gold potatoes, sweet onion, celery, etc., I kept adding stuff to fill that void. I sorta went nuts on how much I made.:2thumb:

Well, I like stew...but for this there will only be a few of us. I can give away some of it, but has anyone frozen stew like that and if so, was it good when you thawed and reheated it?:dunno:


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## Daegnus (Nov 12, 2010)

Freezing works really well! The flavors will be just as good if not better. The only problem I ever have is the texture of the veggies, it can get a little bit mushy, but that's no problem! Just cook the leftovers down a bit and serve it over rice


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

Yep. What Daegnus said. We do it often. It depends on the veggies, too. Some things like corn and peas freeze well in stews, but carrots and green beans not as well.

By the way, it sounds like it was delicious!


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

We can most of our leftover soups and stews. If you have a pressure canner, I'd do it that way. In the event of a power outage you won't have to worry about it thawing and you could even eat it at room temp if you had no way to heat it. Just my 2 bits. (.02 just doesn't cut it any more)


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

UncleJoe said:


> We can most of our leftover soups and stews. If you have a pressure canner, I'd do it that way. In the event of a power outage you won't have to worry about it thawing and you could even eat it at room temp if you had no way to heat it. Just my 2 bits. (.02 just doesn't cut it any more)


Heh, heh, heh ... We don't have power outages 'cause we live off grid. We'd have to lose all nine solar panels plus the batteries plus three inverters, and in a real serious case, two generators, to stop our fridge from getting power!

But the canning is a good idea. We have canned stew, chili, baked beans (my own recipe! ), meatloaf and lots of other goodies ready to eat!


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

the lower the water content, the better it will taste when thawed & reheated/hydrated... the ice crystals are what destroy the textures of the vegetables, potatoes/carrots don't taste that bad, but mushy celery?!!?!? yuck


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

I do it every week. Being a bachelor I have too many chores to spend an hour or more cooking every night. I designate Sunday as DD day (Domestic Drudgery Day) for laundry, cleaning and cooking. I make a big batch of stews, roasts and soups and then eat them all week. My trick is to make the original batch as bland as possible then divvy it up and freeze in individual portions. Each day I re-heat a portion and flavor it with a different herb or spice so it isn’t all exactly the same tasting. Example: for last week’s beef stew I made it with a watery base. On Monday I made a rue and added some bacon fat to thicken up the stew. Tuesday I sautéed some onions then into the broiler with bread and a sprinkling of cheese on top. Wed was a ticker gravy and pepper over noodles, and so on.

If you want crunchier vegetables toss some raw ones in before re-heating. I don’t mind them being soft, actually they end up being that way when I first cook it! To help get a better freeze, make sure it is frig cold and space the packages out in the freezer so they freeze quicker.


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## efbjr (Oct 20, 2008)

*Another option...*



The_Blob said:


> the lower the water content, the better it will taste when thawed & reheated/hydrated... the ice crystals are what destroy the textures of the vegetables, potatoes/carrots don't taste that bad, but mushy celery?!!?!? yuck


Drain the broth and dehydrate the remainder. Vacuum seal into meal size portions when dried out and and just add hot water (and maybe a boullion cube when rehydrating). Great for camping, BOBs, etc. :2thumb:


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

We freeze soups and stews from time to time with no problem. In short: I agree with the abouve statements.


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## SaskBound (Feb 13, 2010)

We do the majority of our cooking on the weekends, and freeze meal-sized portions for lunches (and sometimes suppers) through the week. We have found that 'liquidy' stuff like soups, stews, and chili freeze the best, but pastas also work pretty well. We try to stack the individual portions so that if you just grab what's on the top of the pile in the freezer, you will get something different every day for at least 3 days. This usually involves pulling out the entire stack and interspersing the additions, but it keeps lunch from getting boring. Right now, we have beef stew, turkey stew, chili, cabbage casserole, and a pasta dish (vegetarian lasagna, I think). I don't think anything stays in the pile more than a couple of months, and we've never had to throw out a lunch. 

So, the short answer is yes, you can freeze soup, lol


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. 

I sorta ate everything. Stew for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...but next time, I'll have a solution!


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