Can You Freeze Nduja? How to Freeze Nduja Without Losing its Flavor?
To all the meat lovers out there, have you tried nduja in your recipes? If you say no, then maybe you still aren’t aware of this secret ingredient in many recipes. Check out this blog till the end to know more about ways to store nduja.
Nduja is an Italian-origin meat delicacy that gained popularity in combination with pasta sauce. But, in recent years you can find it in your pizzas, meat recipes, and others. If you are wondering what nduja tastes like, well, it has all three flavors in a mouthwatering combination.
It has got a sweet, kinda spicy, and salty taste to it. You can use it for many recipes with proper cooking instructions. When you store nduja in a freezer then you will have to use it within a month. But, surprisingly when blended with chili powder, nduja can be frozen for up to several months.
Healthy Nduja Recipe – Salami Spreadable Nduja
The fiery ‘nduja sausage is the ideal accent for your upcoming Italian meal. It is made with pork that has high fat content and Calabrian chilis. Well, now we will show you one of the best healthy winter recipes, i.e; salami spreadable nduja. Well, it’s time to dive right into the recipe!
Ingredients for Salami Spreadable Nduja
- 4 ounces of thinly sliced pancetta
- ⅓ cup Calabrian chili peppers in oil
- 12 ounces sliced salami
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
¼ cup butter, at room temperature
Recipe
- In a chilly pan, add the pancetta. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly, over medium heat, until the pancetta just begins to crisp.
- Remove the pepper’s stems and seeds, if desired. Keep two or three tablespoons of the oil aside.
- Place the salami pieces in a food processor after slightly separating them. Add the Calabrian peppers, chilli oil, and pancetta. Till the mixture is finely ground, pulse on and off. Add butter and olive oil. Process until the desired degree of smoothness and spreadability is achieved.
- Put the spread in a bowl. For the greatest flavor, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
How to Freeze Nduja Without Losing its Flavor? Can you freeze fresh nduja?
Can you freeze fresh nduja without losing its flavor? Now, this is quite a tough job to accomplish. However, we are here to help you rather than disappoint you. So start by setting your nduja on clean cling films. Wrap the entire bunch of nduja in a cling film tightly.
One thing that you can do at this stage is to cut it into small meal-sized portions. This way you can freeze and thaw the required amount of nduja every time. However, do not cut nduja into many slices and freeze them together.
cut nduja into slices and stick them together in a cling film, then you are creating room for bacterial invasion. Either freeze the entire nduja together or we can freeze it in pre-portioned slices for long-term storage. Then wrap nduja in cling film extremely tight so that no air bubbles are left within.
After the first layer of wrapping, you can wrap nduja in the second layer of foil. The foil prevents further contact with air and acts as a barrier to prevent any bacterial contamination. Thus, if you intend on freezing nduja for more than two weeks then wrap it in foil.
Shift the wrapped nduja into freezer-safe bags and label it. Mention the name and date of freezing on nduja for future reference. That marks the end of the freezing process for nduja. The process sounds easy, right? But, when you let the slightest bit of air into the bags or in the cling film, you will end up having a destroyed piece of meat.
Is there a way to freeze nduja pasta?
If there’s one effective way for nduja to be stored and frozen, then it’s going to be this one. Freeze nduja pasta in clean and dry airtight containers and use them anywhere for a month or two. The greatest benefit of this method is that you won’t face any texture changes or flavor changes in nduja. It’s because these changes get masked in pasta sauce. Whenever you wish to eat your meal you can thaw it in the fridge for a couple of hours and heat it up in the oven.
What to do with nduja sausage? Can you freeze nduja sausage?
Nduja can be frozen for up to a month, but you should carefully consider whether freezing is your only and best option because there’s a danger that doing so would ruin its flavor and texture. When used in a dish like pasta sauce, nduja freezes a little bit better.
1. To give a deep, meaty taste to any batter for savory baked items, stir in crumbled ‘nduja.
2. Add a tablespoon of this hot spreadable salami to your omelet, frittata, or scrambled eggs.
3. To make a savory pie topping, sprinkle ‘nduja on top or use it as the foundation for a handmade pizza sauce. Learn to bake pizza at home.
4. Nduja will fit in just well on a salumi board next to prosciutto, pepperoni, and soppressata. Develop your charcuterie-making skills.
5. Use your homemade ‘nduja as the base to give your soups and stews a richly spiced flavor.
6. To add a boost of flavor while cooking your favorite pasta meal or spaghetti sauce, add ‘nduja.
Can You Freeze Nduja for Longer Periods?
Now that you know how to freeze nduja, read on to know if you can store it for a longer time than just a month.
If you have jarred variety, nduja lasts unopened for one year in a refrigerator without losing its flavor. Also, if you have a packaged variety. But, if you have a fresh variety then it will quickly lose its texture and taste. Fresh nduja is an extremely tender fragment of meat and performs badly in the cold.
Moreover, it gets easily contaminated by dust and bacteria in the air. Thus, even if you take the required precautionary steps for freezing nduja, you can freeze nduja for a maximum of one month. You will risk the texture and freshness of nduja if you freeze it anywhere ahead of a month.
Therefore, try to use nduja in your recipes within one month of freezing, or else you will have spoiled nduja in the foil.
Is it Possible to Refreeze Nduja?
Well, the answer to this question is quite predictable, isn’t it? A food item that is difficult to freeze is the worst recommendation for refreezing. Thus, you can even freeze it for later use but you cannot refreeze nduja unless you want to spoil its texture.
Therefore, when you are thinking of freezing nduja, it’s better to freeze it in small portions. This way you can use nduja as and when needed in specific amounts. There’s no good in thawing an entire batch of nduja only to use a slice of it, right?
How Should you Defrost Nduja?
Freezing nduja is all easy, but how should you defrost nduja to use it in your delicious recipes? Let’s find out!
Slow and steady wins the race. Slowly thawing nduja will yield you the best possible flavors that are nearly similar to that of fresh nduja. Take out the amount of nduja you will need and keep it in the fridge for a night.
Allow it to slowly get back to normal temperature, and then use it in your recipe directly for cooking. If you drizzle it with sauces you won’t notice the slightest change in texture. If it is possible, and you have an access to vacuum wrapped storage options then pick those. They will help to keep nduja in a better state.
Tips to Freeze Nduja
After knowing all the basic details about freezing nduja, you must have now understood that covering up and storing it in your freezer is quite an easy thing! This last section showcases some basic tips to keep in mind when freezing nduja.
1. Try to prepare a meal routine involving nduja and prepare the dishes. Then freeze nduja dishes directly in the freezer in airtight containers or zip-lock bags. This way you won’t notice any change in the flavor or texture of the dish.
2. If you are freezing fresh nduja then add clear labels to it stating its name. It is because if you store other meats in the freezer, they’ll resemble each other in appearance. Thus, to avoid confusion, labels are a must.
3. Double-wrap your nduja to prevent any air molecule from getting in contact with it. It is the most basic thing you can do to protect the texture of nduja. Also, try to use frozen nduja as quickly as you can.
Nduja is served best with Italian dishes like pasta but with a spicy twist. This is one of the reasons why this meat is gaining high popularity in different nations these days. Nduja is a type of meat with which you can create different flavorful combinations. Follow these easy and effective steps to freeze nduja for using it within a month.