stocking up on meat while it's still cheap..

[miked2345]

I've been watching all the news stories about how meat products are going to spike in price soon due to the drought and feed grain conditions..

While I have some meat products stored away in the form of store-bought canned goods, I'm thinking of also stocking up the chest freezer with meat before the price goes outa sight!

Obviously I can't store meat in the freezer for long-term storage, (several years..) but I would like to get as much freezer storage time as I can without it going bad..

What techniques does everyone use to get the longest freezer time? One tip that a neighbor told me regarding freezing the fish I catch, is to "water pack" them... I put the fish in zip-lock bags, then fill the bag with enough water to cover the fish, then freeze it. The water covering the fish prevents the fish from getting freezer-burn. I have frozen salmon for a year like this and it still tasted ok.

Has anyone tried this with other meats? I'm not sure how well it would work with beef, pork or chicken. What do you use? vaccum bag sealing? Cellophane wrapping? Some other method??

[MustangGal]

I use a Food Saver for meat we butcher here or beef (bought on sale @ grocery store). Thus far, everthing has kept very well - much better than ziplocks.

[jimmycthemd]

I use a Food Saver for meat we butcher here or beef (bought on sale @ grocery store). Thus far, everthing has kept very well - much better than ziplocks.

+1 for the Food Saver. I can keep meat frozen in the FoodSaver bags for about 18 months.

[SeldomSeenSlim]

+1 for the Food Saver. I can keep meat frozen in the FoodSaver bags for about 18 months.

Add in another Foodsaver user. Vacuum sealing is the only way to go. The only downside is that the bags aren't exactly cheap. I like to use the bags for food. Custom bags from rolls are good for odd items. I've even seen pictures of folks that used the rolls to vacuum seal rifles with desiccant packs in it for long term storage.

Have any of you bought one recently? I've had mine for several years and it's starting to have problems. Instead of automatically sealing after it vacuums out the air I have to reach up with my thumb and hit the seal button manually while holding down the top. Luckily have big enough hands to reach. I think it's lasted pretty long for the amount I use it.

I'm tempted to change brands to this one from Cabelas. A bit more expensive though.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

on the fish we used to trot line alot and I woud water pack them in old jugs

[WiseOwl]

Good thing i decided to get into hunting this year. I hear all the spots i have been scouting are prime.
Hope to fill the freezer with a good bit.

But if you play the sales paper game, the stores round here rotate the sales on meat.

[Daelith]

I wish I had the space in my freezer. For that matter I wish I had another freezer. Bad enough the gun safe is going in the dining room. I wonder how hubby would feel about a second freezer in the living room.

[MustangGal]

Add in another Foodsaver user. Vacuum sealing is the only way to go. The only downside is that the bags aren't exactly cheap. I like to use the bags for food. Custom bags from rolls are good for odd items. I've even seen pictures of folks that used the rolls to vacuum seal rifles with desiccant packs in it for long term storage.

Have any of you bought one recently? I've had mine for several years and it's starting to have problems. Instead of automatically sealing after it vacuums out the air I have to reach up with my thumb and hit the seal button manually while holding down the top. Luckily have big enough hands to reach. I think it's lasted pretty long for the amount I use it.

I'm tempted to change brands to this one from Cabelas. A bit more expensive though.

Mine does that sometimes. Dunno why, but it still seems to work quite well. I paid $25 for mine at an outlet store. A similar model is $100+ I use the roll bags and have found it is cheaper to buy them by the four-pack.

[1Admin]

I know my "we ate food that was 300 years old" stories get repetive.... LOL But you CAN get more than a couple years out of meat in a deep freeze.

We put up a lot of meat in the mid 90's and raised a calf for beef. We did the deep freeze thing cause it was 'easy.' It was also easy to forget it.

When we moved to our retreat, our energy system was initially pretty small, we didn't want to risk a deep freeze on our system. We pulled lot of "old" (5 years or so average) beef, rabbit and chicken out. None of it was "bad", there was some freezer burn but who cares?

Since the move, we have just used the small freezer on the bottom of our Conserv. It holds 4-5 months of meat at a high note. We don't eat a pile of meat anyways. Other than some steaks we buy once every couple months, all our meat comes from the homestead.

Hunting is definitely the easiest and cheapest way to acquire meat. We usually get a doe once a year and that rounds out our meat from fall through late Spring. Just the skills your learn out hunting are worth the time involved, the meat is the big bonus.

[tommixx]

we use zip lock and then food saver

[MustangGal]

we use zip lock and then food saver

Can you explain further? Are you using the foodsaver to seal the ziplock or the food saver to suck the air out... I'm confused! :D

[miked2345]

Can you explain further? Are you using the foodsaver to seal the ziplock or the food saver to suck the air out... I'm confused! :D

We've used something like that... We have a generic brand "food saver" gismo that sucks the air out, then seals the bag. I've used the cheap off-brand ziplock bags, put the food in, cut off the ziplock part with scissors, then used my "food saver" on it. It seemed to work.

When I started this topic, I was curious how many others used the food saver method.... It seems to be the most popular way. I have seen special "freezer bags" for sale, that are supposed to prolong the freezer life of food, WITHOUT vaccum sealing them.... I don't see how they could be better, if there is still some air in the bag.

[VIPER]

I own and use a commercial grade vacuum sealer sold by cabelas like the one posted earlier. I use this for a lot of venison every year and it works very well.We raise our own beef every year and take it to a processor who vacuum seals all the meat. I have found meat in the back of the freezer that is 3-4 years old and is in early stages of frezer burn. For true long term storage you are better off canning the meat.

[Tackleberry]

How long will canned meat last? In addition to shelf life, canned meat doesn't require electricity to keep the meat from spoiling. Frozen meat requires either electricity for the freezer or you be an Eskimo living in an igloo.

[cpwhip]

this is pretty interesting.

http://grandpappy.info/hshelff.htm