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My two hunting partners have given me some venison from the 2014 season (processed mid November 2014) that they are simply not going to be able to eat. I don't want it to go to waste (most of it is venison/pork sausage), but also want to make sure it is still "good to go" after 16 months in the freezer.
If you trust that it has stayed below 34 degrees F and primarily been frozen (if thawed only briefly and then refrozen) it will be fine. Food keeps indefinitely in the freezer but loses some quality due to moisture loss. The fat in the sausage should protect from that. Leaner meats don't store as well.
I can't figure out how to attach a link with my phone. If you google US food and drug administration frozen meat you will find good info. Health Canada probably has stuff too but I saw good info on the us sight first.
HD
That's actually reversed...the problem with fat is that it will go rancid in a freezer. So the fatter the meat the quicker it spoils.Quote:
Originally Posted by huntingdad
If you vacuum seal venison, being a lean meat, it will actually last 2 years and come out almost as good as the day it went into the bag. However, I have had venison sausages (more fat introduced) that took on a funky flavour in a shorter period of time.
Pork and bear are two fats that seem to go rancid pretty quick in the freezer. While I do grind meat, we do not make sausage with foreign meat added.
if I trim large lumps of fat then I don't worry about 2-3 year old venison. The age of the animal and quickness (speed) of death makes most difference.Some meat is worthy of an open fire, other stuff needs a crockpot
Feb BBQ at home
Agree with Mike on this. Generally rancid fat is the cause of loss of frozen meat.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
Huntingdad is correct if you're worrying about moisture loss - fat can't dry out. Lean meat can. But unless meat is very poorly wrapped, moisture loss is not the killer, rancid fat is.
I try to eat my venision (or give it away) within 6 months. ...and here's a tip for giving venison away for all you guys who wind up with year-old venison in the freezer. Give it away when it's fresh, not when it's a year old. It will be much more appreciated. It took me a long time to figure this out, but after deer season, if there's more meat in the freezer than I can use, I get rid of it then.
As long as it's been frozen it will be safe to eat. It may suffer a little quality wise depending on how it's packaged and how much fat is in it, but probably not enough to be noticeable. Just trim away any freezer burn and get cooking.
I posted a thread a couple of years ago about 8 or 9 year old moose meat that my uncle found in the bottom of his freezer. I thawed it out enough to trim off the freezer burn and ground it into burger. There wasn't any noticeable taste difference.
I make some venison jerky, this is a great way to use up your roasts . There are lots of recipes on this site . Also a bag disappears quickly at the hunt camp , or any place that friends gather. Currently working on a bowl of venison meat loaf, my wife doesn't care for venison. But being a good girl she cooks it for me.old 243
I find that is the meat has been properly vacuum packed, it will last substantially longer. I always vacuum pack my venison even if it has been wrapped in butcher paper as sometimes a piece of meat can get lost when it drifts down to the bottom of the freezer.
Case it point a couple of months ago, I found a venison loin roast for 2012 and 2013. The first one we ate was fine and so was the second one that we ate earlier this week. Both were wrapped in butcher paper and both were vacuumed packed.
I agree with Mike and Werner, rancid fat and drying out (freezer burn) are your greatest concerns. Open a pack and check the colour and smell of the meat and you'll know right away. If it's not too bad, you can grind it in with some other meat and make sausage.
If it's not discoloured and doesn't smell, then you've scored. I would then vacuum pack any of the meat you do not intend to use right away as that will extend it's life. You can vac pack it when it's frozen, although I prefer to do it before freezing.
Roe+
Try it .you will know right way when you cook it .I have tried it after two years in the freezer. With no problems.
I know that freezing deer meat is the easiest way to keep it but if people have a lot of it they should consider canning it - there is a raw pack method that is very easy and once done the meat will not only taste real good but will last forever - you do need a pressure canner for doing this
canning is usually safe but many people have in the past succumbed to botulism from canned foods. freezing is much safer.Quote:
Originally Posted by JoePa
That's why you have to use a pressure cooker - if you do it right you have no worries - raw pack is so easy - you put pieces of deer meat into a clean gar - put the lids on and pressure cook it - when you want to eat it - just heat it up - very tender and good tasting - believe me - just google - raw packing deer meat and see how it is doneQuote:
Originally Posted by lazyman
Any canned venison that I have had has always tasted like it just came out of the slow cooker......pot roast.
I canned my deer sausage one year..made about 25 jars using a pressure canner.
The Mennonites made the sausage in one longe price.
i cut to length for the jar.
turned out awsome!!!!
You can add a small piece of garlic, onion or other spice to flavor the meat when you put the meat into the jars - sometimes I put in a couple drops of vinegar - adds additional flavor to the meat - canning is the way to go if you have a lot of meat - having the canned meat you don't have to worry about power outages as you do when freezing something
I wonder Joe how many on here have ever even seen a root cellar full canned goods from the fall harvest...when I bought this old Farm house it was one of the big selling features to me..complete with dirt floor :)
We added 800 sq ft to our 1000 sq ft house about ten years ago. One 6x6 insulated room in the basement was left with a dirt floor just for this purpose. A passive cooling system kept it at 40 all winter and 50 all summer.....
After being forced by code to insulate the rest of the basement walls I expected a problem with the inspector over the dirt floor but it was OK....
We have one that was built into our semi and has a concrete floor. the common walls it shares with the rest of the basement are insulated. It is directly under the front porch. I glued Styrofoam SM to the ceiling and on the walls down to ground level to act as a thermal break in the summer. Works great, I store wine sauerkraut, pickled hot peppers home made beer etc. in there.
Roe+
My wife and I had 5 kids - she was a real home maker - one year she canned nearly 90 jars of fruits, vegetables and meat - I remember the one year we picked 90 pounds of cherries at an orchard - we ate about 30 pounds but she canned the other 60 - she also made home made yogurt and boy mixing the yogurt and cherries was a real treat to eat in the winter time - I still have hundreds of jars and other canning equipment up in the attic -
Its something how people live differently - when the kids were young and the wife still around we were always so busy doing things like gardening, canning, fishing, hunting etc. - never had to go anywhere to be entertained - always had something to do - it was good and healthy life style - those were the days -
JoePa, she sounds like my mother.
Roe+
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roe+
Yes she was - she passed away nearly 20 years ago - still think of her everyday - she loved her family and worked hard - was the last one to bed at night - always finished the day reading the bible - looking forward to seeing her again -