How to ship some Salmon Jerky to Alaska

[cmayna]

I recently got a text from a fishing guide up in Alaska who really missed eating my Salmon Jerky, after we had been up there on a fishing trip about 5 years ago. I want to surprise him by shipping some more up to him. I will be making more maybe this next week and once I vacuum seal it in small pouches, my plan was to freeze the packets and when frozen, package it up in a small freezable shipping carton and ship it fedex over a 1-2 day period.

Is Fedex highly suggested? If not, who? Any other words of caution?

Thanks everyone
Craig

 

[TNJAKE]

Everything I've ever received/sent frozen has been via fed ex. It's hit and miss. Some packages arrive unscathed. Some are destroyed. DO NOT use a styrofoam cooler inside of a box unless it's the extra heavy ones made for shipping. If the Styrofoam breaks during transit all of the cold is lost through the cardboard. This has happened to me twice with both styles of cooler. They make a padded box liner that has some padding and great insulation. They work pretty well. If the box is crushed they hold integrity instead of breaking. Use way more ice packs than you think you'll need. Even if you do 2day shipping it could be closer to 4. Word of caution. There are reasons most meat companies don't ship to Alaska or Hawaii. One is Cost. The other is racing the clock and then being liable for a warm box of meat when it arrives

The insert is made by ClimaCell

 

[tx smoker]

The plan sounds solid. I ship a lot of meat to folks and do exactly what you're doing. In most cases though I don't have to pay the up-charge for 2 day shipping. Rarely if ever does regular shipping take more than 3 days and the meat will hold fine for that long. Additionally, I always ship on Monday just in case there is a day delay because a day can mean the package is sitting on some shipping company's loading dock over the weekend. My shipping company of choice is FedEx. Never ever again will I use USPS. I shipped Christmas packages in November of 2020 that still have not been delivered. I used UPS to ship 2 grills I built for forum members and both got destroyed so they are not at the top of my list any more. Being that you're headed to Alaska though, the 2-day shipping might be the best route to go.

Robert

 

[TNJAKE]

Also keep in mind the only places for fed ex to fly into in Alaska is Fairbanks and Anchorage most likely. After that you'll be reliant solely on ground transport.

 

[chopsaw]

You also should be aware of drop off time in relation to when it gets picked up / goes out , or sets in the store and goes out the next day .

 

[cmayna]

Thanks everyone. Good info on the climacell insert versus Styrofoam junk. Lots to study before I take the big step. Just went to Fedex's site and they are quoting around $150 for an overnight shipment for a 10# box. I really don't think it will be 10# but one never knows until it's all packed up.

My wife's previous employer gets a fantastic freight deal with Fedex, so she is asking a couple employees in the shipping department, for a big favor.

Since I still need to make the Jerky, we have lots of time to study our options.

 

[TNJAKE]

With ice packs you might get close to 10lb. They will also allow dry ice as long as you declare it as a dangerous material. It's the best and lightest coolant option...... downside is the lower 48 allow for ground shipping with dry ice. Using it with ground shipping is prohibited in Alaska and Hawaii lol. I'm not sure if that means you have to pick it up from airport or a FedEx hub though