Freezing Smoked Meats for Winter

[Nitty]

I get very busy over winter with work (average about 60+ hours per week all winter) so I don't have a lot of time for the smoker and it tends to be cold in PA making the smoker work harder and also I like to do larger chunks of meat that leave a lot of leftovers. So the rest of this summer/fall I plan to do some smokes and freeze my leftovers to get out over winter when I don't seem to get much if anything done on the smoker. Just curious if you guys do this regularly as well? Are there any meats this doesn't work well with?

 

[gmc2003]

Easy, Vacuum sealer. I do it all the time.

Chris

 

[48°North]

I do this on a monthly basis. The wife will pick up meats as they hit sales and when I have a slower weekend I'll fire up the smokers and do a variety of meats. We'll have a fresh smoked meal that night with leftovers the next day. Everything else gets vacuum sealed and frozen for us to use for easy dinners and lunches.
The wife absolutely loves it when we have unexpected guests as it makes for stress free hosting.

 

[pineywoods]

Many of us smoke more than needed all the time to have easy meals out of the freezer when needed. As was said a Vacuum Sealer is needed to do the best job. If you vacuum seal the bags the foods will stay great in the freezer for a very long time.
Something else we and many others use our sealer for is when we catch a good sale on meat we stock up and usually those sales are on "family packs" so we break them up into smaller portions and vacuum seal and then freeze believe it or not we have found stuff that was not cooked that has been in the freezer for 2-3 years and still tastes just fine after cooking. Heck pretty much everything gets vacuum sealed before going in the freezer

 

[rdknb]

We always smoke more then we need and freeze. Also a Piney said, buy sale meats and freeze for later.

 

[rbnice1]

I have found if you wait and dont slice or shred it till after you fridge it for a day it really locks in the fat/juices. Then vac seal it in 12oz - 16oz portions. Then if you wanna be real slick buy a cheap sous vide then you can take it right out of the freezer and into the sous vide for dinner a couple hours later with no fuss.

Just did it last night with some left over pulled pork. :P

 

[millerbuilds]

I have found if you wait and dont slice or shred it till after you fridge it for a day it really locks in the fat/juices. Then vac seal it in 12oz - 16oz portions. Then if you wanna be real slick buy a cheap sous vide then you can take it right out of the freezer and into the sous vide for dinner a couple hours later with no fuss.

Just did it last night with some left over pulled pork. :P

Agreed, I only slice as I serve (exception with pulled meats) and toss in the fridge overnight then vacuum pack.

- Jason