Can You Freeze Ox Tongue?

3 minutes

Ox tongue is unlikely to be a favourite food in your household. If you’re the only one who enjoys it, you’ll probably have leftovers regularly. So, is there a way to store those leftovers?

How to Freeze Ox Tongue

Freezing ox tongue isn’t as simple as just throwing the meat into the freezer. Instead, there’s a list of different steps to bear in mind to ensure success.

1. Clean, Trim and Slice: Cleaning, trimming and slicing meat before freezing can be really important. You want to do as much prep work before freezing it as possible. Of course, if you have bought it sliced then you can skip this step.
2. Wrap: Wrap the tongue in a layer of baking paper to create a permeable layer that will prevent frost from forming directly upon the surface of the tongue itself. So wrap portions of the tongue in baking paper.
3. Wrap Again: Wrap the tongue in a layer of cling film over the paper to ensure that any condensation which forms will form between the baking paper and the cling film.
4. Bag Up: If you have lots of packages of meat then pop them all into a freezer bag so they’re easier to find.
5. Label: Label the meat with the date to ensure that you eat it while it’s still totally safe to eat and is also in the best condition possible.
6. Freeze: Finally, freeze the meat packages. It’s a good idea to place it as close to the centre as possible so that it’s away from the frost on the walls.

3 Tips for Freezing Ox Tongue

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing ox tongue to have the best results:

Check for a Tight Seal
If the cling film forms a seal, then you significantly reduce the chance of cross-contamination. This means that the tongue itself can be kept more safely. 

Bag It
Double-bagging the tongue might seem odd, but when you consider that the meat is liable to contaminate other items in your freezer, it becomes sensible. Consider placing the whole package into a freezer bag in your freezer – that will be safer in terms of long-term storage. 

Label It Clearly
Ox tongue is not to everyone’s tastes. When frozen, ox tongue can look like pastrami, corned beef or even ham so make sure you write a clear label explaining the contents to avoid shocking people.

How Long Can You Freeze Ox Tongue?

You can freeze ox tongue for around 3 months.

The reason that we wouldn’t freeze ox tongue for any longer than that is that beyond the 3-month mark, it’s likely that the tongue will have succumbed to freezer burn, damaging it greatly.

How Do You Defrost Ox Tongue?

The best way to defrost ox tongue, and any form of raw meat, is to place it into the fridge and allow it to thaw overnight.

This will ensure that you can use it as though it were raw and fresh the next day while also making sure that the ox tongue is kept at a safe temperature.

Can You Refreeze Ox Tongue?

No, you cannot refreeze ox tongue.

Generally speaking, it’s not at all safe to thaw and refreeze any kind of meat, due to the maturity of bacteria that grow on meat when stored at room temperature.

Does Ox Tongue Freeze Well?

Yes, ox tongue does freeze well. As it’s quite a dense form of meat, it doesn’t lose too much texture during freezing.

To ensure that you get the best out of the ox tongue that you’re using, make sure to follow our instructions in this article. Most of all, though, make sure that the ox tongue doesn’t succumb to freezer burn! This is when the flavour degrades and texture changes.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing ox tongue or tongue in general, then these may help: