How long does meat last in the freezer?

[kennyazman]

I was just curious what you guys think about how long deer/elk/antelope meat would last in the freezer. I love the stuff but my wife not so much and since she does most of the cooking it takes us awhile to eat through all the deer and other game that i get. all of the meat is butchered proffesionaly and wrapped in the white freezer paper. what do you guys think?

[hunter1026]

Less than 2 months in my house haha

[pwrguy]

The oldest I have eaten has been around 5 years. It depends on how it is packaged. We like to wrap it in plastic and then in the coated butcher paper. I have eaten meat that was just in the butcher paper that was over 2 years old. I think as long as it stays hard frozen it will go for a very long time. I have never really done any research on this, it would be interesting to see what the pro's have to say!!

[azmetalman]

We are eating both elk and deer from 2010. It is double wrapped in Reynolds freezer paper. Occasionally there is a little freezer burn at the end of a package if the wrapper (me) didn't allow plenty of overlap. I just trim off the burn and the balance of the meat is fine. I have found packages in the back of the freezer that are 4 -5 years old occasionally. All are edible. A couple of months ago I cooked a 2007 roast that was great. I haven't started on the 2011 elk and have no concern about the quality when we start on these packages which will be several months from now. Pwrguy has the right idea......take a small amount of time to double wrap and you will be fine.

[BML]

The key if you wrap it yourself is the first wrap in plastic wrap. If you make sure there's no air left in there it will last a long time without getting freezer burn.

[azmetalman]

BML I would almost rather have the flu than work with plastic wrap but I will defintely give it a try. I appreciate the tip.

THANKS!!!

[BML]

It's one extra step but well worth it. I had a good run with filling tags from 08-10 and had more than a freezer full of meat. I'm positive using plastic wrap kept a lot of meat from spoiling.

[tjhunt2]

It sick'ns me to throw out game I havested but it happens. We try to eat all our game within a couple years but find an occasionally piece left from a few years back. Some have been good and some have not. We have been putting our meat in vacumm bags as of late and find it to last for a couple years before going bad. Most our meat is gone before the next huntig season rolls around. so it hasn't been a big issue with us.

 

TJ

[yotebuster]

A good alternative to plastic wrap is the cheap plastic bags from walmart. I'm talking the really cheap ones, they should be 99 cents for 100 or so. They are just standard super thin bags about a gallon in size that are super thin, just like plastic wrap. They are wothless for anything other then wrapping meat cuz they are too thin, but drop your meat in it, spin it till its tight, then double wrap in freezer paper. I like to put all cuts in the baggies first, then go back and wrap that way I keep the my bloody hands off the freezer paper and it looks nicer.

[BML]

It's one extra step but well worth it. I had a good run with filling tags from 08-10 and had more than a freezer full of meat. I'm positive using plastic wrap kept a lot of meat from spoiling.

[BML]

Good tip yotebuster

[savagman]

Packaging is definitely the key. Most of the meat goes quick at my place and with plastic wrap and then good butcher paper we have had no freezer burn. I am also convinced that freezer aged meat is superior to fresh. About six months seems to be best. Same is true with summer sausage, fresh sausage, etc. With that said, I have helped others salvage older meat that wasnt wrapped well and quite frankly wasn't butchered or trimmed well. We lost the outer 1/4 to 1/2 inch on most cuts but still ended up with good quality meat for jerky.

[azgutpile]

It also helps if you have a dedicated freezer that doesn't auto defrost.

[nighthawk]

I like to do freezer paper then freezer gallon bags. Seems to work great never ha any issues.. I would say 3years or so would be best

[payson ff]

Cut meat for about 18 years... AIR..... IT IS WHAT EFFECTS MEAT...... Try the Food Saver it is not bad. IT WILL KEEP MEAT FOR A LONG TIME...

If you have old meat it is good to thaw slowly and than make sausage or grind out of it. Once thawed the (meat) needs to change structure. You will be able to freeze it again.