How long will frozen meat keep?

[nebraskaheat]

Hello, probably a dumb question but, I want to be sure..


I have a favorite butcher but he's like 3 hour drive from here. He gets me great meat for a fraction of the price of supermarkets.


Anyways, he told me I could save even more if I bought in larger quantities.. Now I have a second fridge in my basement and figure I could pack away 90 pounds of Pork shoulders and Briskets in there..


While I'll put a good size dent in that this summer, not sure I'll get to it all..

If I buy it now and freeze it, will it still be good this time next year when it warms up enough to smoke again?

Will the taste be affected?

 

[bmudd14474]

are you vacuum packing it or just in the butcher paper?

 

[nebraskaheat]

Honestly hadn't even thought about it.. I would proably clear wrap the bigger pieces in their butching paper and double ziplock smaller cuts.. Is vacum packing a must?

 

[mythmaster]

I think that the general rule of thumb is around 6 months

 

[mballi3011]

Before you go out an buy a freezer I would buy a food saver vaccum system or something like it. Now you can put them in that and freeze for a really long period maybe a year or so. I don't really know how long but I have alot in there right now and we eat on it all the time. So I guess it doesn't stay very long.

 

[lu1847]

Beef is usually fine for up to a year(if wrapped well) and pork we dont usually use after 6 months 8 max.

 

[smoke 2 geaux]

I think vacuum packing doubles the freezer life of meat. If you are going to lay out the cash for good meat and drive 3 hours to get it, it's totally worth investing in a food saver. I recently ate some 2 year old sausage that was hiding in the corner of my freezer and it honestly tasted the same as when i froze it.

 

[dirt guy]

Asking this bunch that question is kind of like asking a kid "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" They've never kept raw meat in the freezer that long.

Twelve months in butcher paper for me. It doesn't matter whether beef or pork. I've never had an appreciable degrade in quality. (Bear in mind I don't have a very sensitive set of taste buds.) If there's any left at the next butchering, it becomes dog food.

 

[smokey paul]

Hay, when we would go to Amherst, to the butcher there, he would Vacuum Pack the meat for us using a commercial unit and it was better than the vacuum seal system for home use.
So if they do it, let them and ask how long?? They should have a good idea as many people buy large qty of pork and beef and need to know.

 

[Bearcarver]

I agree with "Smoke 2 Geaux".

In fact, if the meat police ever came to my house, they'd drag me away for keeping things too long in the freezer. As long as it doesn't get freezer burned, I'll eat it. It's not unheard of my eating 2 year old beef, pork, deer, & fish------Vacuum packed of course.

Uh-Oh, there's a knock at the door-----Hope it's not the "Meat Police" !!!


Bearcarver

 

[travcoman45]

Butcher wrap is 6 months, vac bag a year cordin ta the literature I got. Will it still be good after a year? More en likely, it's just that it may loose a bit a quality is all. I never have nothin last that long.

Cryovac meats they say will keep 6 month's in the freezer, but more en likely longer.

 

[5lakes]

I checked Foodsaver's web site. It shows that beef, pork, lamb, and poultry can be frozen for 2-3 years. Ground meat, like hamburger, up to one year.

http://www.foodsaver.com/Manuals/MAN...GUIDE_3_44.PDF