Help with meat going bad in freezer.

[bullbugle]

I’ve got a crappy old freezer that definitely has a bad lid seal if it isn’t put on right due to the lid being damaged. I double wrap with plastic wrap and then double wrap with aluminum foil and I don’t have freezer burn even after 3 years. Something to consider.

 

[Don Fischer]

To wrap meat I put the meat in a zip lock bag then suck out the air and wrap. No problems so far.

 

[Farmerj]

Freeze a small glass of water and a coin separately in a different freezer

Put the coin on top of the frozen water and put it in the freezer in question.

Check it in 3-5 days.

If it’s melted into the water at all, anything in the freezer is suspect for quality.

 

[GoGriz]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0813744FY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not vouching for quality or longevity. It seems to be working fine for last five or six months

Just picked this up - thanks for the info. I have been meaning to do this for a while, and I figured I better get it over with and ordered before I come home to a defrosted/ broken freezer with hundreds of pounds of wasted meat one day (happened to my brother last year - super sad thing)

 

[OverlordBear]

I've been processing my own deer for almost 20 years with no issues but in the last two years I've been having meat come out like this. The brown areas are not fit for consumption the red meat is still good.

The meat is wrapped in saran wrap and double layers of freezer paper. I've had meat keep like this for 2-3 years. The meat in the picture was frozen in 12/2021 already going bad. I've also tried aluminum foil instead of plastic wrap,same issues.

The deer in this picture was killed at last light. She was quartered and on ice within an hour. Lots of ice with the plug pulled. Kept cold for 3 days then wrapped as stated above. No thawing or refreezing.

My question is: Could this be caused by the freezer itself ? The stuff that's vac sealed in the freezer is good but all the paper wrapped stuff is going bad. This meat was in the freezer portion of a standard upright fridge with freezer on top.

I d throw that meat into a marinade or stew and get to cooking that ain’t bad looking to me. I have definitely ate worse. I vacuum seal my meat and I don’t have any frost free freezers.

 

[BRI]

Interesting about the upright frost free freezer. I've never had any issues until after I started using one but never considered that to be the problem. I've always placed my cut up meat in bread bags, squeeze all the air out, then wrap in paper. That has always kept for 2-3 years. Then last year I used a vacuum sealer. Every package I take out has freezer burn and discolored meat needing trimmed off since using the upright freezer.

I have two chest freezers and the upright so moved it all to the chest and will only use the upright for short term frozen stuff. Think maybe I'll get an alarm as well to monitor. Can't hurt.

 

[Boarmaster]

If your vacpak stuff is still good I would vacpack everything.

 

[Bob-WY]

Frost free really means continually partial defrost. Not the best for long term storage

 

[longrunner]

Check the temp, colder is better for long term storage. Vac-pack meat Weill help with oxidation.

 

[Don Fischer]

How old is your fridge/freezer? If it’s 15+ years old it may be worth replacing. If it’s newer you could buy an aftermarket temperature alarm to see if your freezer is maintaining a correct temperature. Even a cycling frost-free freezer shouldn’t ruin a packaged steak after just 3 months.

As an aside, I package my meat similar to you, except I use a single layer of paper. I find it’s easier to squeeze all the air out.

I don't hunt far enough from home to worry about it but I do butcher my own at home. Before wrapping in paper I put the meat in plastic freezer bags and squeeze the air out when folding the bag.

 

[blueridge]

I am going to have to get one of those wireless temp sensors for my new stand up freezer.
I know a lot of people prefer chest freezers, but I found that keeping it organized and everything visible and accessible was almost impossible, with new stuff getting added on top and old stuff dying of old age on the bottom. I go downstairs just to open the door sometimes, it makes me so happy.
Warning, freezer porn below:



With an AK moose hunt in September, I need to seriously start working on getting this thinned out. Good problem to have.