freezer burnt vension

[jamesh76]

Originally posted by nhbuck1:
im a bit confused on your post doc, so a vaccuum sealer wont work good?

Any of the methods will work. You have to keep the air out. If don't get the air out on plastic wrap you get freezer burn, the vacuum bags can break, the seals don't always seal solid, you can get freezer burn. The last one I did, I wrapped in plastic wrap and then vacuum sealed. (they are kept the top of my garage refrigerator/freezer instead of the chest freezer where the wife and kids bang stuff around looking for something which can break the bags or puncture them if dropped on the garage floor. The plastic wrap/butcher paper is good because if you properly get the air out, properly wrap it and drop it on the floor you don't take near the chance of breaking the bag/seal. Vacuum seal is great, its easy but not a guarantee the seal or bag wont break. I used vacuum seal on my sons doe last week. But as anything you have to do your part and ensure you get the air out if using plastic and paper, or be a bit more careful handling the vacuum bags.  Nothing is 100%.

[Stump73]

We have a Food Saver vacuum sealer and it works great. Sometimes we have a problem with it sealing and it's due to to much moisture. We just received dry  the meat the rest vacuum seal it, then pull it out a little bit and reseal it. We now double seal every package. Not had a problem with freezer burn.

[nhbuck1]

this meat was all wrapped tight with butcher paper and plastic wrap i dont get it, i have 3 trips planned this year and would like to keep my venison for longer then a year

[newhouse114]

My usual plan is anything left from the previous year is use in that years sausage making endevour.

[nhbuck1]

i know when i got it we put it in our freezer for a few days then drove it down to my dads about 45 minutes away and put it in his chest freezer but that shouldnt do anything?

[nhbuck1]

the texture of the meat was all dryed like checking coffee grounds and was a browish color

[Doc Nock]

That is interesting, kYle, Never experienced that... I've frozen fish in baggies filled with water or milk cartons when waxed cardboard, but never had that severe freezer burn...

To get burn you need air to get to it... not sure what you're experiencing... I've kept well wrapped and vacuum sealed for many years, That sucks what you describe!  :(

[Kudu Kid]

I just double saran wrap, getting out the air and a single freezer paper over that.  I am still eating venison from 2013 that is fine.  

Make sure you don't freeze in a frost-free freezer.  With frost freeze freezers, items don't last as long.

[shedhunta]

I agree that frost free freezers do not keep meat as well.  During defrost the temp comes up and down.  Did you have a power outage then refreeze??

[nhbuck1]

No power outage, meat was in chest freezer, the two other deer are fine wrapped same way, I didn't wrap it but the farm did, was it possible they let it hang too long in the cooler? I let it hang over night outside it was warm but I put ice in cavity, they let it hang 3 more days

[nhbuck1]

How long should the venison last double wrapped in paper?

[Holm-Made]

Is the whole deer damaged or just that package?

[Doc Nock]

Originally posted by nhbuck1:
How long should the venison last double wrapped in paper?

Wow! So many variables...

I'm sorry I missed your comment p.2 about I confused you with comments on vacuum sealed but another clarified.  Vacuum sealing is great, but the bags sometimes get pin holes in moving around in freezer to find other stuff and then air gets in and air is the killer.  I am sorry I confused you with my typing.

Freezer wrap paper seems to have gotten a lot thinner in recent years.  Wrapping air tight in seran wrap then wrapping in freezer paper is a good bet.

One friend gets his deer cut, wrapped and frozen at a local deer processor and then when he gets it home, he vacuum packs ALL THOSE cuts and they're wrapped in seran wrap, then butcher paper then he vacuum seals those packages!

As another said, I've had meat for a couple years that was quite good.  Both in freezer paper and with vacuum sealed.

I've heard the comment offered earlier about Frost Free being an issue because there is an element (I'm told) that heats up the freezer and thaws the frost, then refreezes and it's supposed to be quick enough it doesn't hurt the things frozen...but....???

[Eric Krewson]

For bloody meat, I put it in the vacuum bag with the bottom sealed, freeze it, then complete the vacuum sealing. Quite often you will have frost on the meat after sealing this way. I run the sealed bag under the water faucet and the frost disappears.

I occasionally find a bag in the freezer that has lost it's seal, these bags go into the consume first category.

I recently ate some burger patties that I found in the bottom of the freezer that were probably 10 years old and well sealed, they were fine.

I have two vacuum sealers, a Food Saver that I use for just a few packs at a time and a Cabala's commercial model that is a real workhorse for large jobs.

[nhbuck1]

I think they used butcher paper instead of freezer paper, I'm doing my own this year so I know its right

[Mark R]

You never know unless you do it yourself, last year I butcherd it myself for the first time and could tell the quality was better than ever. I still have a bit left, just wrapped in saran wrap and freezer paper, no burn what so ever.

[Captain*Kirk]

Was the venison the only thing in the freezer?
My freezer self-defrosts. I keep several gallon milk jugs full of water in there so if there is a power outage, a self-defrost, or the lid doesn't seal tightly there is enough ice to keep things frozen for several days.

[nhbuck1]

no theres other meat in that freezer its a big chest freezer, it was only that deer that was bad, im doing my own from now on so its done right double wrap it with freezer paper not butcher paper

[ChiefStingingArrow]

Originally posted by Bill Turner:
Handled correctly freezer burn should not be a problem after 12 months. I always de-bone my venison and clean it well before preparing it to freeze. Next, I dry it and then wrap it in siran wrap, forcing out all the air. Finally, I double wrap it in freezer paper, seal it with freezer tape, and mark the package with date and contents. I've taken venison out of the freezer after 3 to 4 years and have found it to be in excellent condition. I'm not recommending keeping it that long, but if handled properly in the beginning you should not have a freezer burn problem after 12 to 15 months.      

X2

This is what I do and have had no problems...the only other thing I do is after wrapping it in freezer wrap we through it into a ziplock baggy.

[nhbuck1]

what do you guys dry it with?