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Just looking for some opinions on how long game meat can be frozen (assume it was properly wrapped) and still eaten. I have some that is OLD, like 3.5 years old, but I thawed some out and it smells and looks OK to me. A bit brown, but not freezer burned and does not smell rancid or bad in any way. I'm going to taste-test it later, but was hoping to hear from others as far as opinions. I was going through the game freezer and found a block of moose underneath a bunch of other stuff, and would hate to reduce it to shark chum, but if there's a safety issue, I of course will pass. BTW, I did look at the USDA site, and there it states that in theory, anyway, frozen meat @ 0 degrees will last indefinitely, though taste and appearance may very well suffer, and badly. Any thoughts appreciated. ______________________ Hunting: I'd kill to participate. | ||
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I ran across an elk roast that was 3 yrs old once and it tasted fine. It had been trippled wrapped. The question though is...you eat game for the great flavor and if the flavor is gone which it could be...why bother Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Well I thought it would go without saying that if it tasted like arse then it'd become chum... I was wondering--or looking-- more I guess for a post like yours, saying that 3 year old game meat had been eaten by an AR member and it was OK. Either way, I suppose I'll find the answer out later. Hopefully not the hard way.  Thanks for the response, Mike. ______________________ Hunting: I'd kill to participate. | |||
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I vacuum seal all my meat and it will keep 3 years. every year I take any odds and ends and make jerky or sausage so nothing really lasts long in my freezer. | |||
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I have had 2.5-3 year old antelope and deer and lived to tell about it. | |||
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I can taste the difference between 2 month old meat and meat that has been freezer over the winter. old meat, I usually grind, uncle abe, shooter it into dehydrator; tastes fine with all that spice. The local Indians shoot a moose every month mostly. They share all the meat throughout the village and within a month when they out, somebody shoots another. Good system for those guys. Just imagine if all us Whites hunted all year long; wouldn't be a moose, deer, or elk left. | |||
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Mine lasts at least 3 years, some longer. I've never had any go bad except when the electrician unplugged my freezer. I vacuum seal all of it and I have a chest freezer that I keep at -1 F. Man, that sucker is cold! It's in my cellar and I got some rigid insulation and taped panels of it to all sides and the top of the freezer. It made a very big difference. Oxon | |||
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No problem.We had some three year old backstraps on the grill recently. | |||
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I wrap mine tightly in plastic wrap after removing all of the fat. Then wrap well in plastic coated brown butchers paper. I've had moose tenderloin that was over 4 yrs old and it was FINE. If it's only wrapped in paper it goes off a lot faster though. the chef | |||
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The storage life doubles for every 10 F difference in temperature ! At 0 F the meat lasts 12 months according to my book.After that quality starts to drop. Leanest meat last longest.Ground meat has a shorter life so I cube scrap like stew meat and grind when used . Organ meats last much shorter time , eat them first. If meat is thawed cook then refreeze. If you want to smoke - smoke first , then freeze ,never smoke frozen meat. | |||
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This infomation came from a hospital dietician many years ago. . . . I'm still here. Frozen meat may lose flavor over time. Meat, regardless how rancid/spoiled/rotted, can be cooked to be safe to eat - it may taste and smell like what it is, but it will not harm you. When she told me this, I was way more than skeptical. Nevertheless, I'm still here. Hope this helps. It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it. Sam Levinson | |||
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Thanks to all for the responses. The meat was properly wrapped in both plastic and butcher paper. I'm at work, but at present Mrs. Kamo Gari is cooking some up. I'll try it and report back tonight. ______________________ Hunting: I'd kill to participate. | |||
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Thumbs down on flavor, I'm afraid.  Don't think the sharks will mind, though... ______________________ Hunting: I'd kill to participate. | |||
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When I lived in Alaska and we butchered all of our own meat and fish we used a Food Savers vacuum packer. I never found meat to be too old once we started using the vacuum packer. The first couple of years there we used the double wrap method with plastic wrap covered with butcher paper and found after a year or so the meat had lost a lot of taste and goodness. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Yeah, it's pretty impressive what the vacuum pack will do to meat flavor. I read also that you don't gain much by running your freezer below about 2 or 3 degrees F, but I run mine at -1 just for the hell of it and food stays real nice very long time. Oxon | |||
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We rarely see any of our meat last more than two years, but on occasion a package manages to hide in the corner longer than that. I have cooked three-year old roasts on occasion without any noticeable difference between that and "newer" meat. | |||
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Mark is correct. The vacuum machine is definately the way to go. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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My dinner tonight was burger from a pronghorn antelope that I shot in 2007. Tasted great! NRA Endowment Life Member | |||
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The vacuum sealer IS the way to go. Sat. nite, I ate yr old tuna that I vacuumed sealed w/ fresh tuna that I caught last week. Could not tell the difference. No complaints from my guests either. | |||
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That's very impressive with tuna! Oxon | |||
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I am making chili this morning with 2-year-old ground antelope. TomP Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when wrong to be put right. Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906) | |||
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