Breakfast sausage won't freeze

[kentucky fisherman]

Made six pounds of venison breakfast sausage using Excalibur spices bought here and adding bacon trimmings for the fat. Some I've made in the past was way too lean, so I think I bumped the fat up to 30% in this batch, but I'm sure it wasn't higher. For what it's worth, the bacon trmmings came from the freezer and were hard as a rock. I kept a pound or two of the sausage in the fridge after making it. The rest I patted out, put between waxed paper, then inside a Ziploc bag and into the freezer. This was 4-6 weeks ago. I just went to the freezer to retrieve some of the sausage and was shocked to find it wasn't frozen, at least not like the other meat in the freezer. I went ahead and fried up a pound of it and it was fine in taste and appearance ... and I didn't die.

I moved the remaining sausage to a different part of the freezer and made 100% sure the freezer sealed tight. That was 3-4 days ago. Today I checked and that sausage still isn't frozen hard. I searched here and found a few threads dealing with frozen sausage, but nothing that really matches my question. Can someone tell me what I've run into here? Thanks in advance.

 

[TNJAKE]

Have you checked the temp with a thermometer inside the freezer?

 

[Chasdev]

My store bought JimmyDean and Owens sometimes behaves the same way, it has to be in the coldest spot in my coldest freezer to get firmed up like a rock.
Fat percentage methinks.

 

[PolishDeli]

How much salt is in them?
More salt = lower freezing point

 

[kentucky fisherman]

Have you checked the temp with a thermometer inside the freezer?

I did wonder about that, Jake, but there's a lot of venison and a few other things in there and it's all hard as a rock. I'll stick a Thermopen in there and see what it says.

 

[kentucky fisherman]

How much salt is in them?
More salt = lower freezing point

You could be onto something there, PD, but I used Excalibur spices from the site here and the patties I fried certainly didn't taste overly salty.

 

[TNJAKE]

I did wonder about that, Jake, but there's a lot of venison and a few other things in there and it's all hard as a rock. I'll stick a Thermopen in there and see what it says.

Could be the temp is hovering just below 32 which would keep already frozen stuff frozen but might not be cold enough to freeze new stuff solid. I'd definitely check it.

 

[TuckersBarbeque]

Is your fridge outside and is it cold where you are? Unless it's a fridge designed for the outdoors (has a temp probe on the outside to ensure temp reg), when it's cold out the freezer doesn't work much.
Combine that with the salt content, it could be tough to freeze it.

 

[WI Smoker77]

Agree with Jake, check the freezer temp first and then go from there. I believe the freezer should be in the -2degrees or lower. (??) Maybe less than that. Just had a fridge/freezer repair and I believe is what I was told. Nothing thawed in ours but wouldn't freeze anything firmly

 

[Winterrider]

Is your fridge outside and is it cold where you are? Unless it's a fridge designed for the outdoors (has a temp probe on the outside to ensure temp reg), when it's cold out the freezer doesn't work much.
Combine that with the salt content, it could be tough to freeze it.

This poses good question. If it is in a freezer/fridge combo, if it was cold out the freezer will not freeze unless you have what they call a garage kit installed. I had this happen in a replacement fridge in garage. Put the kit in and no issues. If not the case, disregard this comment.

 

[kentucky fisherman]

This poses good question. If it is in a freezer/fridge combo, if it was cold out the freezer will not freeze unless you have what they call a garage kit installed. I had this happen in a replacement fridge in garage. Put the kit in and no issues. If not the case, disregard this comment.

Live and learn. Never heard of such, but the freezer I'm talking about is indeed atop a refrigerator in an unheated garage. And we just went through our coldest temps of the winter, below freezing for 8-9 days with 3-4 mornings around 10 or less. So, I guess the cold garage temp tells the sensors the freezer doesn't need to kick on, so it doesn't, is that it?

 

[jmusser]

Live and learn. Never heard of such, but the freezer I'm talking about is indeed atop a refrigerator in an unheated garage. And we just went through our coldest temps of the winter, below freezing for 8-9 days with 3-4 mornings around 10 or less. So, I guess the cold garage temp tells the sensors the freezer doesn't need to kick on, so it doesn't, is that it?

Just went through same issue. My freezer was keeping it WARMER than the garage.

 

[TuckersBarbeque]

Live and learn. Never heard of such, but the freezer I'm talking about is indeed atop a refrigerator in an unheated garage. And we just went through our coldest temps of the winter, below freezing for 8-9 days with 3-4 mornings around 10 or less. So, I guess the cold garage temp tells the sensors the freezer doesn't need to kick on, so it doesn't, is that it?

I'm willing to bet that's been your issue. Dollars to donuts.

 

[Winterrider]

Live and learn. Never heard of such, but the freezer I'm talking about is indeed atop a refrigerator in an unheated garage. And we just went through our coldest temps of the winter, below freezing for 8-9 days with 3-4 mornings around 10 or less. So, I guess the cold garage temp tells the sensors the freezer doesn't need to kick on, so it doesn't, is that it?

Yes the sensor for the freezer is inside the refrigerator up by where the light is. The kit is basically an insulation sheet that is placed up there. My particular is a Frigidaire. Got the insulation kit from Amazon. Lowes, Home Depot,.etc .probably have them. Very easy to install. My brother has same issues, his is Whirlpool which he cannot get kit for his particular unit. Anything we had in there remained frozen except some ice cream got very soft. That is what triggered it for me. It was new unit, only 2 months old. Good luck !

 

[kentucky fisherman]

For those of you as ignorant of this issue as I was, here's a humorous, informative YouTube video explaining why newer refrigerator freezer combos can be a problem in an unheated garage that drops below around 20 degrees. Yes, there are workarounds.

 

[Fueling Around]

Winterrider nailed it.

Yes the sensor for the freezer is inside the refrigerator up by where the light is. The kit is basically an insulation sheet that is placed up there. My particular is a Frigidaire. Got the insulation kit from Amazon. Lowes, Home Depot,.etc .probably have them. Very easy to install. My brother has same issues, his is Whirlpool which he cannot get kit for his particular unit. Anything we had in there remained frozen except some ice cream got very soft. That is what triggered it for me. It was new unit, only 2 months old. Good luck !

I've got a Whirlpool. The trick is to get the fridge down to about 28° and the freezer will stay cold enough to freeze items. Haven't checked the temp, but it freezes quickly.
Fortunate that I prefer really cold beer?

 

[Steve H]

I've heard of the freezer in a unheated area debacle before. I've had a freezer in my garage for 30 years with never a issue. I have heard of issues with a fridge/freezer in a unheated area. And they should have the kit mentioned.

 

[Cajun Smokes]

This poses good question. If it is in a freezer/fridge combo, if it was cold out the freezer will not freeze unless you have what they call a garage kit installed. I had this happen in a replacement fridge in garage. Put the kit in and no issues. If not the case, disregard this comment.

Very interesting thread, never knew such a thing. Got me looking into my garage fridge now.