Today, while cleaning out the freezer, I found a tri-tip roast I bought 3 years ago, way in the back. It looked discolored, but had no discernible frost inside the original packaging. Threw it in a ziploc bag, and cooked it along with 2 other fresh tri-tips (each in their own ziploc bag). The old tri-tip, going in, tended to float more than the fresh, and seemed to have less liquid in the ziploc after cooking, but didn’t smell or taste ‘off’, or different.
Assuming I survive, has anybody else tried to sous vide food that may have been ‘freezer burned’?
Heh. You won’t get sick. Just like food in cans can’t really go bad, they just change…and not usually for the better.
“Freezer burned” foods are drier as the moisture has been leached out by the cold, dry air in the freezer. It does make you wonder - if you put a little water inside the bag, then cooked it longer (to make it more tender) if the result would be as good (or even better) than the fresh tri-tips. (likely best to add a little fat - such as butter or oil as well - as natural oils would also leach away). Just a bit mind you…no more liquid added then a few tablespoons or so.
Just like food in cans can’t really go bad, they just change…and not usually for the better.