Frozen meat

[Bad Water Bill]

How long can you keep it frozen then SAFELY thaw it out for consumption.

[duckey]

Ive done it up to 2 years vacuum sealed, no worries, tasted great.

[Wild Bill 7]

As long as it doesn't get freezer burn(greenish-white sponge looking) should be good for a long time. When thawed cook it and don't referee. JMHO.

[44man]

All we avoid is freezer burn, had good meat after 3 years.
I had a lot of trouble with vac sealers with bags leaking. No adjustment helped so I bought a new one with the same problems. I now double seal each end.
Seems I have better luck with freezer paper sometimes. Use good masking tape and never buy freezer tape.
They dug mammoths out of ice that was edible.

[GhostHawk]

Op did not really explain his situation IMO.

Do you have one skinned/unskinned frozen deer in one chunk? Or something else?

I have only had a deer freeze up on me once, left it hang for 3 days till we got just enough warming to let me skin, debone, reduce it to garbage bag sized chunks. Which went home, got cleaned up, sliced, packaged, and refrozen in a freezer.

I do not believe you want to leave it frozen, personally I don't like to freeze meat that has big chunk of fat, glands, or bone in it as I think it changes the taste of the meat. Your mileage may vary.

Get it skinned, deboned, into chunks, then get it in where you can let it thaw to 33 degrees, cut it, package and freeze.

[rush1886]

I have meat thawing out in the refrigerator, right now, taken in 2011. It was cut into steaks, roasts, etc, with all fat and as much silverskin as possible, removed. Wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap,, then freezer paper. As much air as humanly possible, squeezed out during the wrapping.

On an average, for my house, 2-3# pkg of meat, I will occasionaly, have quarter or fifty cent sized piece, with freezer burn, which I will cut off. Then, proceed as normal.

As mentioned above, get rid of ALL fat during the initial cutting. Wrap carefully, and enjoy. We just had a 2011 moose roast over the Christmas break, and it was delicious.

[waksupi]

I've heard of people eating mastodons they have dug out of the permafrost! I've had packages lost in the bottom of the freezer for over five years, and it was still good.

[Smoke4320]

My processer puts all cuts on a foam tray then vacuum seals .. I then double wrap in freezer paper .. Meat still good after 3 years ..
Mine does not get any older than that so can't say if it would last 1 or 2 more years

[Springfield]

I use a vacuum sealer a lot, and I find that after the light goes out, hold the button for 5 more seconds to get a good melted seal. Never had one loosen up in the freezer, but never had one go longer than 6 months. If they are going to lose seal I find it happens within 3 hours, after that they seem to hold forever.

[quilbilly]

Ive done it up to 2 years vacuum sealed, no worries, tasted great.
Ditto for deer and elk and we don't have a vacuum sealer, just wrapped in cellophane and butcher paper. Fish is different.

[Cornbread]

If you put the meat in a container of water and allow it to freeze into a small block and then put the frozen block into a larger container of water and freeze that, and then do it one last time(3 times total) into an even larger block as long as it stays frozen it will stay good for hundreds to thousands of years. Not joking, this was why scientists could eat mastodon meat frozen into glacier ice that wasn't freezer burned after thousands of years. The oldest thing I have ever personally experienced frozen that way was a chicken from the 1930s that had been preserved that way when the great-grand parents bought their house and had kept frozen ever since. We ate it in the 2000s so it was at least seventy years old and it was just fine with no freezer burn.

For my regular deer meat processing I wrap in slick side freezer paper, tape it, label it and then freeze and have had it be just fine with no freezer burn after five years.

[white eagle]

like most have said wrapping is key
I butcher and wrap my own venison
just watch out for ill fated freezer burn and you
are good to go
mine only last a year what ever is left goes for sausage

[TXGunNut]

I have a vac sealer and since I started using the double sealer I haven't had a seal fail. That said, I've eaten game sealed in Ziploc bags for two years + with good results. If think the old freezers may actually do a better job of long-term storage than the frost-free versions, will take a few years to form an opinion, lol.

[CITYREPO61]

The vacuum seal bags I've used usually lose the seal right away or they stay intact for years.

[Viper225]

We normally put our meat in Good Quality "Freezer" Zip Loc bags. Not the ones with a Zipper, the ones you pres together to seal. Then put the Freezer Bag into a Brown Lunch Sack, fold down and tape with masking tape. Label with CUT and YEAR. I have a Butcher Paper roller, with most of a roll of butcher paper on it. The wife prefers the Brown Paper Bags. I cannot tell any difference in how Butcher Paper wrapped meat lasts as compared to Brown paper Bags.
As for how long it will last, that was covered pretty well above.

Bob R

[44man]

Put meat in a ziplock and leave one corner open. Submerge in water to the corner and all the air will come out, seal it and wipe the bag off.

[MT Gianni]

We have had great luck with putting meat in zip lock sandwich bags and then wrapping with a good butcher paper. One sandwich bag holds about 1 1/4 lbs of ground and it is easy to get out. Roast or large cuts get a double saran wrap before getting papered. Just get a good double seal. I have eaten meat up to 5 years old in a freezer without it going bad or burned, there may have been some loss of flavor.

[Bad Water Bill]

Wow

Looks like a dirty old man now living by myself can cook the 5# tube of frozen ground beef safely.:bigsmyl2:

I just have to remember that I am only buying for one after all of these years.

Thanks for your help folks.

[brassrat]

My (cow) steaks stay 100% like new after years of being frozen in plastic wrap, then aluminum and into a freezer bag. I was recently informed that my luck my be due to not having used a frost free refrigerator. Someone actually thought of putting a heater in a freezer?

[Wayne Smith]

"Freezer burn" is a result of oxidation - exposure to air. As long as you remove all air contact from the meat and mantain this you are good to go. I have read (Putting Food By) that pork should not be kept in the freezer more than six months to be safe. We seldom have pork that lasts anywhere near that anyway!

[Ural Driver]

Five years has been my record. That was before the vacuum sealing was being used. It was 5lb tubes of smoked sausage wrapped in Saran wrap and then in butcher paper which was taped shut. The ends were sorta dried out so I cut off bout half an inch and ate the remainder.

[XDROB]

Ate some chicken that was 5 years old. Had been using a Food Saver sealer. Bottom of freezer. I didn't realize until I was cleaning up, the date was 5 years ago. Family didn't even know.

[HamGunner]

I have used a Food Saver vacuum sealer for years with great luck. Normally, a leaking seal is caused by either water or grease getting sucked out of the bag messing up the area that seals, preventing it from getting a good clean seal. I fold up about a half of a paper towel and place it completely across the end below the seal area next to the meat or fish or whatever I want to seal so that the paper towel will absorb any liquid that tries to come out of the bag and across the seal area. A clean seal area will normally seal with just one try as long as the bag is placed into the vacumm sealer properly and not wrinkled, etc.

Hope this will help anyone that might have a bit of trouble. I messed up a lot of bags in order to get good seals before I figured this out.

[JWFilips]

All meat is good! Freezer burn or not; Better then you can buy in the Super Market regardless of age

[cva34]

in 2114 I was cleaning freezer found a foodsaver bag of deer steaks marked dec 08///I thawed and boiled for dog..He loved it so I tried some it tasted perfectly fine other than boiled

[RP]

Put meat in a ziplock and leave one corner open. Submerge in water to the corner and all the air will come out, seal it and wipe the bag off.

Great tip I have to remember that trick for next year deer season.

[Jeff Michel]

If properly packaged, (frozen) meat could remain safe to eat indefinitely. Indefinitely does not mean tasty or nutritious. After storage for about 18 months to two years the nutritive value is about gone. Thaw your product under refrigeration, if burned (dried out) trim affected areas and you are good. In spite of rumors floating around, you can refreeze meat and it will be quite safe as long as it was not thawed at room temperature or time abused. FWIW, Vegetable values degrade much faster than meat products and should be gone in a year.



How long can you keep it frozen then SAFELY thaw it out for consumption.

[user55645]

in 2114 I was cleaning freezer found a foodsaver bag of deer steaks marked dec 08///I thawed and boiled for dog..He loved it so I tried some it tasted perfectly fine other than boiled
When exactly did you return from the future? :D

[Edward]

Just had a vintage pork shoulder June 2012 vac/packed ,leftovers tomorrow!

[Elkins45]

After storage for about 18 months to two years the nutritive value is about gone.

FWIW, Vegetable values degrade much faster than meat products and should be gone in a year.

Source for this? This information seems highly suspect to me.

[Jeff Michel]

Well, I've been in Food Inspection with the USDA for 32 years and part of my duties is reviewing scientific papers the industry publishes to provide support for their food safety programs. In short, all chemicals oxidizes, this includes things like vitamins. I said it was safe to eat, the nutritional value diminishes over time. It would still be digested and some portion could be utilized, mostly as bulk. Sure you can eat it, but your body won't get much out it other than peristalsis. Choice will always be yours of course. For my part, 18 months is my cut off. http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/storagetimes.html
This relates to food quality not food safety.

[Elkins45]

Well, I've been in Food Inspection with the USDA for 32 years and part of my duties is reviewing scientific papers the industry publishes to provide support for their food safety programs. In short, all chemicals oxidizes, this includes things like vitamins. I said it was safe to eat, the nutritional value diminishes over time. It would still be digested and some portion could be utilized, mostly as bulk. Sure you can eat it, but your body won't get much out it other than peristalsis. Choice will always be yours of course. For my part, 18 months is my cut off. http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/storagetimes.html
This relates to food quality not food safety.

Are you saying it loses caloric energy? So eating older stored foods actually provides less energy than newer?

[jonas302]

Interested in hearing more on that also I'm not at all worried about frozen food being safe but it would be interesting to know if vacuum packed foods lose value

[Blanket]

I use 12 months as the cutoff for frozen, will say my mother canned meat for longer periods and her dad had cured smoked meat longer

[Jeff Michel]

I think you should be more concerned with C. perfringens and C botulinum when your dealing with vacuum packaging meat/poultry/cheese. It is an anaerobic bacteria (grows in the absence of oxygen) the link below will provide you with some time and temperature considerations.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/T0279E/T0279E03.htm



Interested in hearing more on that also I'm not at all worried about frozen food being safe but it would be interesting to know if vacuum packed foods lose value

[44man]

I think you should be more concerned with C. perfringens and C botulinum when your dealing with vacuum packaging meat/poultry/cheese. It is an anaerobic bacteria (grows in the absence of oxygen) the link below will provide you with some time and temperature considerations.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/T0279E/T0279E03.htm
I see that. Four legged animals have their butt in the air. Oxygen kills that stuff but humans have no oxygen there so the bacteria grows. Work with meat and do not wash your hands all the time will transmit bacteria.
Mexicans poop in fields they harvest. In the east they fertilize with human poop. They feed fish with chicken poop. Do you know where the Chipotlie restaurants got people sick from? Mexicans picking produce is where.
I feel safer with a gut shot deer then I do with veggies from the store.

[54bore]

Ive done it up to 2 years vacuum sealed, no worries, tasted great.

I've done this many times, just recently made up 80 pounds of deer and elk summer sausage from burger we had buried in the bottom of the freezer, it was right at 2 years old, no problems whatsoever

[ripshod]

I always wrap my venison with plastic wrap before putting it in vacuum seal bags.I also switched to vacmaster bags.They seem to have fewer fail to seal problems.ripshod

[44man]

I have been experimenting with the sou vide cooking and it makes great tasting meat. I see where cooking vegies that way will keep vitamins from degrading too. Cooking them ruins more then freezing.
I agree that nutrients will degrade with freezing but there is always something in the bottom of the freezer we forgot.

[Victor N TN]

Using a "Food Saver" brand vacuum sealer, I have kept beef steaks ball park of 10 years. I don't remember the exact date. But it was a good long time.

[Greg5278]

How long You can keep Meat Frozen varies greatly by method. Wrapping in Saran, and Freezer Paper givers 6-9 Months. Frozen and Glazed in Ice gets you a few more months. Vacuum Packing is the way to go. the Foodsaver and external Machines have been problematic for us and give erratic results.

The best way is to use a Chamber type Vacuum sealer Machine and 4 or 5 Mil Bags. The machines are expensive, and best with a Group Buy or Hunt Club. The Bags have 2 types of Plastic, one for the Seal, and the other that is not Permeable to Air. Even well wrapped Meat will eventually Freezer burn if only wrapped in Polyethylene, AKA Saran.
Greg
AKA 12 Bore

[Don Fischer]

I used to cut and wrap my own game. After it was cut up, it went into plastic freezer bags, zip lock type. Then we had a small pump with a skinny hose on it to suck out air. Closed the bag all except were the tube went in. Sucked out the air and with my finger on the tube into the bag, on the bag, I pulled the tube and shut the bag at the same time. I always used enough freezer paper to double wrap the meat. had a vacuum sealer but bag's were expensive and they leaked. Tried vacuum packing a bunch of rifle brass and every one leaked in a short time.

[44man]

Yes, leaks so I double seal now. Some bags are better then others too.

[Virginian]

Ive done it up to 2 years vacuum sealed, no worries, tasted great.

Same here.