What is the best way to package meat in the freezer to prevent freezer burn for as long as possible? We usually just put it in freezer ziplocks, but it seems to freezer burn in a few months. Anyway to keep it food for a year? Like vacuum sealing it or something. We are about to put some deer meat in the freezer.
We use frezeer paper so does the packing houses around here that process deer foor people make sure to wrap it well and use the frezer tape to close .
Purchase a vacuum sealer from Sears and your troubles are over. Don't get one from Wallyworld like we did at first. They are junk. We have used the Sears for over a year with no problems.
Hi there - I really rely on freezer paper. I can wrap it down tight and tape it shut and meat keeps for a long time. This year I also pressure canned deer and it is great so that is always an option. I find that meat stays much better in freezer paper than it does in ziploc bags. The vacuum bags are also a good option if you have the equipment. Just make sure that they don't get any holes or the plastic isn't too thin. Nance
I gave up on freezing deer meat for long term, if your gonna eat it all within 6 months, ok. longer than that I can it or dry it. figure out what you plan on doing with the meat and preserve it accordingly. ALL your stew and soup meats dry, dust with salt and freeze it. break it up and toss it dry into the soup or stew and poof, you got meat again. and it lasts a long long time. steaks, youll have to freeze those after you cut them nice, my mom and sis like steaks so they vacuum bag them, and they keep very well. small steaks, roasts and strips for stir fry you can can. (yea, for a roast you need widemouth half gallon jars if you can find them) but canning a solid hunk of meat take longer. I didn it for a few halfs and didnt care for the results, for one person its too much at once. If you want a roast, vacuummbag it and cook it before a year passes. here is thing my granny did.... she would cook the roast and freeze it in a block of gravy. her food aleways was good.
My youngest daughter got a Tilia vacuum packer 3 years ago and wouldn't ever even let my try it out she used it so much for her wild game. I broke down and bought my own last summer - best investment I ever made. My brother sends me fresh caught fish from Fla and I vacuum pack it, and it stays perfect - got 2 packs left at 7 months. I have heard from friends that have this that they have found packs in the bottom of the freezer (lost and forgotten) that were 2 years old and no freezer burn, and tasted fresh. Hard to do poultry because of all the sharp bone ends but I wrapped paper towels around the leg and wing ends and the bags stayed sealed.
Here is how I freeze my deer meat and I guarantee you that it will last more than a year. In fact I have had some deer meat frozen for three years before I used it and it was still good. I place the meat in freezer storage bags (not zip lock bags) and then I squeeze all the meat down into the very bottom of the bag and roll it up toward the bag opening. Roll it up tight and place a piece of freezer tape to hold it in place if you want. Then I place the bag on the edge of a piece of freezer paper and then I roll it up tight in the paper. Roll the bag of meat in the paper in the same direction that you rolled the meat in the bag. This keeps all the air squeezed out of the bag. After rolling the plastic storage bag inside the freezer paper, fold the ends over the roll and tape to itself. With a little practice you will have a bag of meat that is virtually airless just as much as any vacuum packed machine can do. When the storage bag is wrapped in freezer paper the meat will not get frost burn. Here is how to save money on freezer paper. Talk to a restuarant manager or grocery store manager and see if they can order you a paper dispencer and freezer paper. They have access to them through the food distributors they use. The paper dispencer will run you about $30 dollars but will last for years to come and each roll of freezer paper will cost you in the neighborhood of $30. But a roll of freezer paper usually comes in 1100 ft. rolls. Compare that cost to the 3 yard roll you get at walmart, etc. A 1100 foot roll will freeze a lot of meat. When I was processing deer for people I cut up about 80 deer the first year and used about 4 rolls of freezer paper (not all the deer was frozen as some was cooked into jerky and such and stored in different containers). I froze the meat in serving sizes which was about 1 pound to 1 1/2 pounds per package. I would tear off about a 10 inch piece of paper per package. To me, freezer paper is a lot cheaper than buying those special bags for vacuum system.
You must have missed my post a couple months ago, wherein I was bragging up my seven year old liver. I learned to wrap meat at a local processor and since following their method, have never had freezer burned meat. The first wrap is plastic, just plain old plastic wrap on a roll, then in freezer paper with a waxed interior.
There is a company called ULine that furnishes all sorts of packaging for offices, etc. They have dispensers and various grades of freezer paper in those 1100 ft. rolls. They are at www.uline.com and are a great company to do business with. You want to look for freezer paper and a dispenser (sold separately and in different widths).
We got a black and decker vacuum sealer and it was worth every penny! Even ground beef tastes fresh after months of being in the freezer.
