Succulent and bursting with flavour, cooked lamb with all the trimmings makes for a delightful family meal. If you’ve prepared a big leg of lamb but can’t eat it all in one sitting, you’re probably wondering how best to store the leftovers.
Can You Freeze Cooked Lamb?
Yes, you can freeze cooked lamb for up to 2 months. Once your cooked lamb has cooled to room temperature, you need to wrap it well, place it in a container, and transfer it to the freezer.
Do Does Cooked Lamb freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Cooked Lamb? No
How to Freeze Cooked Lamb
If you’re hoping to preserve your cooked lamb’s delicious flavours and succulent texture, freezing the leftovers is a great option.
Below are the steps you need to follow to ensure your cooked lamb is frozen to perfection:
- Cool: When freezing any cooked meat, you must ensure it has cooled to room temperature before you wrap and freeze it. Place your lamb on an airing rack on your countertop and allow the air to circulate it.
- Wrap: The best way to preserve the flavour of cooked lamb is to freeze it whole. Wrap it well in aluminium foil when cooled, ensuring no cracks or splits in the wrapping.
- Place in a Container: To protect your cooked lamb from freezer burn and deterioration, it’s best to wrap it before placing it in a container. You can use a suitably sized Tupperware box with a lid or a heavy-duty freezer bag that should be knotted and sealed.
- Label and Freeze: Once sealed, write the date that you cooked the lamb, as well as its use-by date, on the front of the container or freezer-safe bag, before transferring it to the freezer. Remember, you can freeze cooked lamb for around two months.
3 Tips for Freezing Cooked Lamb
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing cooked lamb to have the best results:
Slice Into Portions
Although freezing lamb whole is the best way to preserve its flavour, slicing it into portions is a good idea if you aren’t planning to reheat it whole. Slicing it in advance allows you to easily remove smaller portions from the freezer without worrying about wastage.
Refrigerate Leftovers
If you only have a small amount of leftover cooked lamb, you can store them in the fridge for 2-3 days. This is an excellent option if you plan to use your lamb soon after it has been cooked, and saves you from preparing it for the freezer.
Freeze the Gravy
One of the most enjoyable aspects of a roast lamb dinner is the gravy or jus accompanying the meat. If you have some gravy left over, bag it up and store it in the freezer alongside your cooked lamb, so you can enjoy your succulent meat covered in a delicious gravy.
How Long Can You Freeze Cooked Lamb?
You can freeze cooked lamb for around two months.
It needs to be thoroughly wrapped and frozen in a suitable container to protect it from freezer burn and to protect the texture of the meat.
If you think you will eat the cooked lamb within a few days, you could always refrigerate the leftovers to save you from freezing them.
Cooked lamb will keep in the fridge for around 3 days. Keep it wrapped up in foil or in a covered dish until you want to eat it.
How Do You Defrost Cooked Lamb?
It’s really important that you defrost cooked lamb carefully, as poorly thawed meat can cause illness.
The day before you plan to enjoy your frozen cooked lamb, remove it from the freezer and place it directly in the fridge without unwrapping it. You should then leave it to thaw in the fridge overnight.
You should never defrost cooked lamb at room temperature.
Can You Refreeze Cooked Lamb?
Providing you have stored your cooked lamb meat safely, and if it has been defrosted in the freezer, it’s perfectly safe to refreeze it.
That being said, freezing cooked lamb for a second time will affect its taste and texture, and it’s unlikely to be as tasty or juicy as you would have hoped.
If you don’t think you will use your leftovers in one go, it’s a good idea to slice the lamb into portions before you freeze it, so you can easily remove whatever you need without worrying about waste.
Does Cooked Lamb Freeze Well?
Cooked lamb freezes extremely well. As long as you wrap it well and store it in a suitable container, it won’t be affected by freezer burn and will retain its delicious flavours and succulent texture.
Whether whole or sliced, freezing cooked lamb ensures you can enjoy delicious cooked lamb from your freezer for up to two months after preparing it.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing cooked lamb or lamb in general, then these may help:
The good news is that any cut of cooked lamb can be frozen. Where possible, we would remove the meat from the bone as the bone will not benefit you in the freezer but will take up valuable space, which can often be tight.
Although it’s perfectly safe to do, we would advise trying to freeze the gravy and the lamb individually so you can grab some gravy or some meat (or both simultaneously) when you fancy it.
Yes! Any cut of roast lamb can be frozen. It’s a good idea to carve it into portions before freezing it so you can grab a portion at a time. The carved roast lamb can be frozen for around 2 months.
Yes, you can. However, if you have cooked them well, you’ll find that the meat falls off the bone. Pulling the meat from the bone to freeze it is a good idea to save space.
Sources
We have verified the information on this page using the following resources:
