Cutting Frozen Ground Chuck??

I had a lot of ground chuck that I formed into 1 pound loaves (approximately 2"x3"x10") and froze.

Any ideas on how to cut off about a third of one? I am hesitant to try my good serrated knife as I’ve never needed to sharpen it (and don’t want to dull it), but I have a cheap serrated knife with fairly large scallops on one side, and almost hack saw like serrations on the other.

Thoughts?

Is 2" thin enough that you could break it? Either whack it on the edge of your countertop or cantilever it over and try to break off the overhang?

Or maybe an ice pick/chisel.

You might try bringing it to your local butcher and see if they will cut it for you.

Many won’t (for health and safety reasons b/c it was not from the store), but if you have a good relationship with one, they are more than happy to oblige. Especially if it’s frozen.

And after the butcher says no, go to your local Wallyworld, dollar store or restaurant supply, and buy a really cheap serrated knife and have at it.

by then it’ll be thawed :upside_down_face:

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Yep. And a cold chisel is a lot cheaper than a bandsaw. Just don’t do it on your $$$ countertops or in your sink.
Cold Chisel

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Or just go to Home Depot and rent one of these.

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I have a drywall “jab” saw - works wonders on all things frozen . . .

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I have let some thaw a bit in the fridge or thaw setting, rotating as prompted in the microwave, then cut/scrape off as much as I can, and put the rest back in the freezer. It’s not pretty.

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I am thinking that too (if I am in the same situation). Alternatively, a plasma light saber is another option.
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Cold chisel was going to be my response as well. You’d probably only need to hammer it about 4 spots half-through on one side, then go to the opposite side and repeat. After that you could probably just pry it loose.

Of course, I would have said “Cold chisel (pun intended)” if I’d been fast enough to get here before these other interlopers. :wink:

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In this thread we learn why it is always smart to portion your comestibles before freezing.

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I learned that the hard way many centuries ago. It was a difficult lesson to …swallow.

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Yeah… but had so much of it (6 pounds was cheaper than 3). Portioned the first two pounds into smash burger balls, used two more for chili, and have two more left which I will eventually use for meat sauce or loaf… just was wondering if there was a way to easily cut sections from the loaves.

Will try using my hack saw like serrated knife later this week (if not no big deal).

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As was mentioned upthread, let it sit at room temp, scraping off the meat as it thaws. It can still be quite cold when you scrape it. Refreezing the core doesn’t harm the quality…

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Now, I’m thinking a sterilized saw-all.

Hopefully no one loses a digit or limb trying to liberate the 1/3 pound of ground chuck lol!

I found the food saver vacuum sealer to be my gamechanger. I portion every thing out . Vacuum seal and freeze. If i need one portion ill use one bag. If i need two so be it .

Me too, but as this was an unplanned amount (due to the member discount), I simply did not have the time or the bags to do 36 of them. (c;

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