Can You Freeze Bologna? For more information, please click here
Introduction
Have you ever wondered, can you freeze bologna? A lot of people want to know whether the shelf life of this kind of meat can be prolonged by storing it at very cold temperatures, and how long it will last if so.
You can freeze this sausage, and it will last well in the freezer, retaining its taste and texture. You do need to wrap it well to ensure it doesn’t become chewy, but as long as you do this, you can keep it in the freezer for up to 2 months. This is a great option if you’ve got leftovers and you don’t want to waste them.
A lot of people freeze deli sausages as a way of preserving them and ensuring that they always have some to hand, so let’s learn a bit more about this!
Can You Freeze Bologna?
One of the frustrating things about deli meats is that they don’t necessarily last every well. In most cases, you need to use refrigerated bologna up within about 5 to 7 days of being opened, or it will go off.
That’s not long, especially if you’re part of a household that aims to limit grocery shopping. You’ll soon find that you run out of this sausage, or that it has gone off before you’ve managed to finish it.
Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: wrap the sausage up and freeze it. This works surprisingly well. Some people are wary of doing this because they think freezing it might ruin the texture, but actually, this kind of sausage has a low water content, and this makes it very suitable for freezing.
Some meats go mushy after being frozen and defrosted because the process has turned the water inside into pockets of ice crystals that then create a soggy mess when they defrost. Bologna, however, tends to retain both its taste and its texture well because it doesn’t contain much water.
That said, it is important to wrap the sausage properly before you freeze it – so let’s look at this next!
How Can You Freeze Bologna?
To prevent the meat from being damaged and to limit the risk of freezer burn occurring, you need to minimize the airflow. That usually means that you’ll want to wrap it up, and ideally in a double layer of plastic.
Most people prepare the sausage by closing up the original packaging (or leaving it intact and not opening the sausage at all) and then adding a secondary layer of plastic. That could be plastic wrap, a plastic bag, or a suitable container such as a Tupperware.
The two layers will work together to minimize the drying process that often occurs in the freezer, thus preventing freezer burn and keeping the sausage fresh and appetizing. If you fail to wrap bologna properly, there’s a risk that it will become dry and chewy, which makes it much less enjoyable.
You may wish to pre-slice the meat before you freeze it. This makes it very easy to remove the exact amount you want, and makes defrosting it a breeze. However, because it increases the surface area, it does make the sausage more vulnerable to freezer burn, so you’ll need to wrap it even more carefully.
How Long Can You Freeze Bologna For?
It’s generally advised that you use the meat up within 2 months of freezing it. This maximizes the chances of it still being fresh and tasty, and reduces the risk of chewiness. However, even the most organized person will occasionally forget something that they have frozen, and fortunately, bologna should be safe to use even if it has passed the 2-month mark.
It is simply likely to have lost some of its texture and flavor. If this has happened, you can use it in casseroles or other oven-baked dishes, or slice or shred it into another meal. It won’t hurt you, provided it has been stored correctly!
Take a look at some of the articles on our website Can You Freeze Crumbl Cookies?, Do Crescent Rolls Need To Be Refrigerated After Baking?, Do Cupcakes With Buttercream Frosting Need To Be Refrigerated? , and Do Crumbl Cookies Need To Be Refrigerated?
How Do You Defrost Bologna?
The best way to defrost this kind of meat is to place it in the fridge while it thaws. It will probably take a few hours, so make sure you plan in advance and don’t take it out of the freezer just before you need to use it.
You can speed the thawing process up somewhat by putting the container in a bath of cold water and refreshing the water every 30 minutes to keep it cold. Don’t use warm water or put the sausage in the microwave, or there is a risk of food-borne bacteria forming inside it.
Conclusion
You can freeze various kinds of deli meats safely, and bologna is a good option because of its low water content. It will last well in the freezer, but you should aim to use it up within 2 months to ensure it still has a good texture.
