Ok I’m about to make a huge batch of falafel, 3/4 of which I will freeze. Online… the recommended freezing process is to form the balls and place on a cookie sheet and freeze 'till hard, then place in freezer bags. But that’s a lot of work as there is only room for one such sheet in my freezer, and I would have to do it in batches.
So what if I just put the mixture in bags or pint containers and freeze that way. They say to thaw overnight in fridge… so if I do that with the mixture, will I be able to form the balls from it after thawing? Is there any reason why this is a less desirable way to freeze it?
I freeze on a sheet and fry from frozen, no thawing.
With what you’re asking, it just sounds like a hassle and you’d want to use a lot of containers because otherwise you’d be defrosting a large amount when you might only want a portion of it. Shaping would likely be ok, though.
I’m always amazed people have that much freezer space.
No reason you can’t do what you described, but another way to go is to make them all (including frying) and freeze them after (no sheet pan needed, they won’t stick together).
Reheat in a hot oven (fry the ones you’re going to freeze slightly less, they’ll brown when you reheat).
We’ll see. It is all in the fridge now for an hour or so.
I suppose so, but don’t want to fry 30+ of these things today. Plus I’ve read they are better from raw (after freezing).
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
7
I’m actually hoping you’ll go with the original plan (freezing mixture as batch, thaw then shape and fry).
Then when you report back I’ll know whether or not to try it myself. I’ve got the same space problem regarding sheet pans. I have big freezers, but they’re too full to try to work in more than one sheet.
My guess here is that this might affect texture somewhat, and you might find the thawed stuff a bit mushier when you go to form balls.
One sheet is enough for a batch of falafel. You don’t need to have any real space between the falafel to freeze them—just enough so they aren’t touching. You can easily fit a minimum of 30 falafel on one sheet. I fit a sheet however I can until they’re all frozen and there’s no danger in throwing them into a bag.
I make falafel patties, and I’ve saved (horizontal) freezer space by laying parchment over one layer of falafel and putting the remaining falafel on top.
The frozen ones turned out pretty well today. I didn’t fry them from frozen as they had some ice crystals on them, and didn’t want to put that in hot oil, so I thawed them a bit on paper towels for an hour or so.
I found the flavor to be a bit muted compared to fresh, so I think I will amp up the aromatics and seasoning in them if I plan to freeze again.
