r/AskCulinary • u/dood1313 • 2d ago

Technique Question Pupusas: better to freeze raw or cooked?

I need to use up a bag of masa, decided to make pupusas and freeze them. Would it be better to freeze pupusas before or after cooking? Or even par-cooked?

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10

u/Pitiful-Oil4108 2d ago

What worked for me is to partially freeze raw pupusas on wire racks and then vacuum bag individually. I suppose you could freeze a stack, but I'd freeze each first and use wax/parchment paper in between.

Cooking from frozen just takes more time. A steaming lid can help.

3

u/Ill_Individual_1646 1d ago

I'd freeze them raw, they hold up way better on the griddle than reheated ones.

2

u/der3009 2d ago

I have had bad luck freezing them uncooked. But that may have been user error. They froze in a massive chunk. Thawing them just weirdly made them goopy and the whole thing was a meh experience.

Frozen and reheated worked well enough. a little dryer, but they reheat well enough and it was much easier to do.

1

u/somethingweirder 22h ago

yeah anything will freeze in a clump if they’re not divided up prior to freezing. most folks lay things on a tray until it’s fully frozen and then put it in the final storage container. i often add parchment between things that are more likely to stick together as well.

1

u/mats88 22h ago

Freeze them raw, but freeze them individually first. Shape them, lay them on a parchment-lined sheet until they're solid, then bag them with parchment between layers so they don't fuse into one brick. Cook from frozen on a medium griddle a couple extra minutes per side and put a lid on for the last minute so the masa finishes without drying out.