best meat wrap procedure...

[walks with deer]

I personally wax paper or seram wrap then single freezer paper or double wrap when there's lots we use as it comes in aND have barbecues every Sept when bounty comes in...

What do you do..

[Mikey Rafiki]

Food Saver vacuum sealed bags. A little more pricey and time consuming but you can't argue with the quality plus I love being able to thaw a pack of steaks without blood dripping all over the fridge or cooler.

[landphil]

Single freezer paper tightly wrapped - no issues with the odd package that was "lost" in the depths of the freezer for three years - which in reality is too long anyway.

[rifleman]

what mikey said.. can't beat vacuum packed...

[Whonnock Boy]

Another for freezer paper. Less time consuming, cheaper, and you don't have to worry about breaking the seal like you do with vacuum packing. Once that seal is broken, the contents go downhill fast.

Single freezer paper tightly wrapped - no issues with the odd package that was "lost" in the depths of the freezer for three years - which in reality is too long anyway.

[walks with deer]

I am pretty happy with my system I have the wife wrap as she does a better job always looking for a better option. .

[ElectricDyck]

I have a nice cabelas vacum sealer which I use for fish and crab but for game meat siran wrap and butcher paper do an awesome job for cheap!

[Wentrot]

Freezer paper. Save the vac bags for fish.

[Boner]

Double wrap. We use the store baggies you put your fruit and veggies in, and then meat wrapping paper.

I have had trouble with vaccuum sealers. Even double sealing sometimes doesn't work. But partially freezing the meat before vaccuum sealing definitely ups the success rate.

[jag]

I bought a vac sealer when they first came out, and was really disappointed with the results, the seals broke and/or the bags cracked after a few months in the freezer, so I went back to the waxed wrapping paper. But for burger I use the plastic bags that you get with your groceries at the super market. I put about 1.5 lbs in the plastic bag, squeeze all the air out and give the bag a couple of twists and then fold the bag back over it's self, twist and tie off. Works really well and with burger and I'm recycling that plastic at least once before throwing in the landfill.

[Ohwildwon]

Vacuum Seal... I double seal both ends, waiting 20 sec after the light goes out, haven't had any failures with this method...

I also make the bags a little larger then needed, so I can reuse them a couple of times...

[srupp]

Hmm use chamber sealer..Vacmaster 215..with 4mm bags..each takes 45 seconds..has double seal..bags are .09 cents each..I think thats less than double wrspping and tape? Anyhow works awesome for us.
Cheers
Steven

[Steeleco]

I used a Foodsaver system but find the bags pin hole and leak. Now it's saran then good butcher paper. My dad pulled a roast out of his freezer last fall it was 6 years old and not a speck of freezer burn.

[guest]

Vac Pack is a good way but as said can get a pin hole and loose seal. We have done dozens of critters over many years with a good quality freezer wrap paper and mask tape. squeeze out and fold out air as you go from burger to stew to roasts , steaks , and chops, when done right lasts longer then you really need. Big good rolls are about 45 bucks for hundreds and hundreds of feet.

[wideopenthrottle]

Another for freezer paper. Less time consuming, cheaper, and you don't have to worry about breaking the seal like you do with vacuum packing. Once that seal is broken, the contents go downhill fast.

yes my observation as well...over 50% of my expensive vac sealed bag failed before use so paper all the way now and no complaints

[kenadiens]

Saran wrap then freezer paper. Can last for a couple years with no issues. Not that I would want it to, but it can happen.:biggrin:

[ajr5406]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS_6sWWjAZ8&list=PLrwvK9BVMF2fssf21xWIkMHMmJecNGlzq&index=2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfHyn2JWYc - good video on vacuum sealers

[wideopenthrottle]

Saran wrap then freezer paper. Can last for a couple years with no issues. Not that I would want it to, but it can happen.:biggrin:
just ate the last of the 2013 goat a couple of weeks ago and had the 2nd last pack of moose meat from 2014 last night..no freezer burn on either..no hesitation to eat it even after much longer time has passed..

[ajr5406]

just ate the last of the 2013 goat a couple of weeks ago and had the 2nd last pack of moose meat from 2014 last night..no freezer burn on either..no hesitation to eat it even after much longer time has passed..

Was there much of a difference in taste compared to the same animal that was frozen only a few weeks or a month? I have some ground moose in my freezer that is 18 months old, and am wondering if its still OK to eat.

[MichelD]

Saran wrap first then freezer wrap.

[Philcott]

Was there much of a difference in taste compared to the same animal that was frozen only a few weeks or a month? I have some ground moose in my freezer that is 18 months old, and am wondering if its still OK to eat.

This will depend on how it was wrapped.

I also use saran. I double wrap it in Saran then use a single wrap of freezer paper. This takes a bit of time but the meat comes out as good as it went in.

[wideopenthrottle]

Was there much of a difference in taste compared to the same animal that was frozen only a few weeks or a month? I have some ground moose in my freezer that is 18 months old, and am wondering if its still OK to eat.

For the moose, it was the same as far as I could remember (all but a few packs got eaten up/shared with friends and relatives pretty quick) and it was cooked as a plain roast with nothing but a bit of olive oil, montreal steak spice, and some parsley and bay leaves from the garden.....The goat was cut into cubes and made into an awesome stew (texture was great and no bad flavours detected but it was a spicey stew...) I have no hesitation to eat it even if it has a bit of freezer burn (just cut it off).....fish, on the other hand, gets chucked if it gets any major freezer burn

[Whonnock Boy]

If it's wrapped in brown paper, it's not a problem.


Was there much of a difference in taste compared to the same animal that was frozen only a few weeks or a month? I have some ground moose in my freezer that is 18 months old, and am wondering if its still OK to eat.

[Xenomorph]

Depending on how much meat you pack and how fast it's going to be consumed? My vote goes for the vacuum seal. More pricey and time consuming and but meat - upon defrosting- it's like taken off the animal the same day.

Second would be butcher's paper/tape. Used it, still so sometimes but I prefer the above.

Saran Wrap and ziplock are for stuff you want to eat within a couple months. I wouldn't recommend it, have done it out of necessity sometimes but you're not going to like the taste past the two month. Smoked fish especially gets funky fast that way.

[reach]

Just an FYI. Costco has the 2500' roll of plastic wrap on sale this week for 12 bucks.

[Fish Nutz]

Anybody use those small one pound "Ground Venison" bags you can buy at cabelas and other supply stores? Seems pretty slick to jam some burger in a bag, twist it and crimp it.

[tinhorse]

Plastic baggy, squeeze out the air, twist bag then paper wrap. Quick, cheap and steaks 2 years later taste great!

[tinhorse]

Fish on the other hand.....vacuum seal all the way.

[ElectricDyck]

Anybody use those small one pound "Ground Venison" bags you can buy at cabelas and other supply stores? Seems pretty slick to jam some burger in a bag, twist it and crimp it.

Yep used those for ground ..they are great!

[walks with deer]

Good discussion boys so I see in summary double saran wrap the paper..

My family eats almost as fast as I can pull a trigger but I have heard stories of waste.

But with a growing family I would not fear waste if one year was heavier than another air is you enemy..

[Rob Chipman]

Vacuum sealer for moose, deer and salmon. Freezer management and my appetite gets it gone before there's ever any freezer burn.

Hamburger is saran wrap and paper, but that's because we stuff it into a pan for a nice rectangle shape.

I can't believe anything stays on my freezer longer than a year.

Anyway, love my vacuum sealer.

[goatdancer]

Saran wrap, then vacuum bag. I have found meat hiding in my freezer that was over 10 years old. Looked and tasted like the day it went in.
I don't know what some of you are doing because I have almost no bag failures.

[morphiend]

What's the difference between butcher paper and freezer paper or are they the same thing?

[two-feet]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLrwvK9BVMF2dTrFqA6Adl7Nghb00t8g8W&v=JB4J1MQC80s

this is a great podcast that covers a whole pile of aspects in regards to wild game cutting, storing and proccessing. For newbs a pretty great crash course.

For the oldtimers that have not got into podcasts, get on it! Its the best media source since the printed word.

[SR80]

plastic wrap and freezer paper for me, wayyyy cheaper than using vacuum sealer bags.

[FirePower]

Commercial grade stretch wrap and vacuum packing keeps our meat fresh for up to 2 years

[Whonnock Boy]

Same thing.


What's the difference between butcher paper and freezer paper or are they the same thing?

[Rich_D]

Double wrap. We use the store baggies you put your fruit and veggies in, and then meat wrapping paper.

I have had trouble with vaccuum sealers. Even double sealing sometimes doesn't work. But partially freezing the meat before vaccuum sealing definitely ups the success rate.

We also use Veggie bags from the produce section and brown paper.

[islandarcher]

veggie bags or cheap freezer bags, (not zip loc) and freezer paper. Pulled a lost roast out once that was pushing 4 years old, no issue. Sliced it for jerky mind you, but from the looks of it I would just as soon have tossed in a roasting pan.

[hart]

I is surprising how butcher paper protects the meat. Several years ago I had a deer cut and wrapped at a butcher who used Styrofoam trays like they use in a stores butcher shop. The meat was put on the trays and then double wrapped with a clear wrap that was heat sealed on the bottom. Between the two layers of wrap he put a 1"x 2" piece of butcher paper with the type of cut it stamped on it. Well I found this tray of meat in my freezer that must have been in there for at least a couple of years. Looking at the meat, it was completely freezer burnt. I mean it was almost white in color. I pulled the wrapper off the meat, and to my surprise the spot where the butcher paper label was situated, the meat was in perfect condition. A completely freezer burnt piece of meat with a 1"x 2" piece of nice red meat in the middle.

[nof60]

I go to a restaurant supply wholesaler and they sell these great clear plastic bags fairly cheap. Suck air out with a coleman inflator pump with nozzle on suction end. Fold top and twist tie. Then freezer paper. For ground I buy the 1 or 2 lb bags that cabelas sells. Fold them and hog ring. Sausage I vacuam pack. Same for fish or put fish in water in bag and freeze.