Defrosting Frozen Beef

[TheFlame]

I've only recently moved to a place where I have my own kitchen, so this is probably the first of many of these sort of questions

I bought some beef from the butchers to make a curry on Thursday. It turned out to be rather more than I actually needed, so I put the rest in the freezer.

I left it in the thin plastic bag it was sold to me in, which probably wasn't such a good idea because by now it's frozen to the bag.

I'm hoping to be able to make some more curry with it - any suggestions?

[Zuul]

Let it thaw in the fridge and it should be okay. If you want to get it out of the bag to start cooking it before it's thawed entirely you can run hot water over the bag in the sink until it comes loose.

However, don't refreeze what's thawed without cooking it first. Freezing, thawing, and refreezing is not going to do your meat (or your health) any favors.

In the future, if you get too much meat you can divide it up into usable portions and put them in sandwich bags. I don't usually have any issue with them sticking, either.

[Hatshepsut]

The real reason not to freeze it in the thin plastic bag it was sold in is not the sticking issue - as Zuul points out, that's easy to overcome - but because that thin plastic probably won't offer adequate protection against freezer burn, which is the damage caused by air touching the food (dehydration and oxidation). It won't hurt you to eat food with freezer burn, but it will be much less appetizing and (just a guess on this second part) less nutritious. Of course, you aren't going to get much freezer burn in a few days. Generally, though, it is best to store things very well wrapped in a double layer of cling wrap/plastic bags, or use freezer bags or freezer paper. Always be sure to seal well so no air can get in, and keep as much air as possible out of the sealed package.