Don't let your meat loaf....how long is too long in the freezer?

[Smawgunner]

I read the FDA guidelines on ground beef in the freezer and they said 4 months max. Any thoughts on this? What's your tolerance?

 

[Wildlife]

I've had meat last for years in my deep freezer. I just seal them, date them and in the deep freezer they go. Never, ever had a problem. I get a half cow and three deer every year, not counting the number fish I catch TOO. It's just my wife and I nowadays.

• fish fillets
• beef burgers/steaks/roasts
• venison burgers/steaks/roasts/sausage
• garden veggies
• stews

 

[giles]

I read the FDA guidelines on ground beef in the freezer and they said 4 months max. Any thoughts on this? What's your tolerance?

Did they say how long if you turn the freezer on?

 

[Smawgunner]

Well, it is a government agency....good point

 

[Jackalope]

Long as it isn't freezer burnt its good imo. There's wooly mammoths thawing in permafrost in Alaska and Siberia that are just now rotting. Frozen is freaking frozen. If they can show me a bacteria that can grow at sub zero temps then I'll change my mind.

 

[Chass]

I keep local and wild game meat for up to a year in vac sealed bags and as long as they stay sealed and frozen they're perfectly fine.

 

["J"]

I’ve had ground venison that was a year and a half old.... Like Joe said, froze be froze....

 

[Blan37]

We recently finished our last pack of ground beef from a cow we had processed two years ago. Same with a venison tenderloin from a few seasons back. Like Joe said, if it's not freezer burned you should be good to go.

 

[Sgt Fury]

I’ve found that as long as it is vacuumed sealed in plastic bags, it’ll last a long time. The longest I’ve kept frozen venison is about a year and a half....but I suspect it could last longer. I try to use up all of the frozen deer meat before the next season begins. As a matter of fact, I’ve got about 10 packs of burger and 5 packs of steaks that I have to use before October.

 

["J"]

We have venison 4 nights a week, and usually have about 20lbs left when I get another one. The remainder go to a buddy who doesn’t hunt anymore

 

[Jamie]

how well anything keeps in the freezer is a function of how it is packaged. I've been vacuum sealing everything for nearly 20 years, so I've rather forgotten about how long stuff that isn't vac-sealed will keep. Before I had a sealer, we would tightly wrap steaks in plastic wrap then in freezer paper and never had any trouble keeping stuff for a year. if it isn't freezer burned, I'll try to eat it. I've eaten venison loins that were two years old, burger three years old and fish three years old that were as good as the day I vacuum packaged them. I can't imagine life without a good vacuum sealer. indispensable.

 

["J"]

I’ll assume the FDA is referring to store bought ground in their original packaging....

 

[giles]

There it is...

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/porta...paration/ground-beef-and-food-safety/CT_Index

 

[xbowguy]

We vaccum pack everything as well. Recently found some inner tenderloins that were 4 years old. They were fine when thawed.

 

[Buckmaster]

We vaccum pack everything as well. Recently found some inner tenderloins that were 4 years old. They were fine when thawed.

Me TOO. I just found some 2014 deer meat in my freezer (vacuum packed). I ate it.

 

[Jamie]

I read the FDA guidelines on ground beef in the freezer and they said 4 months max. Any thoughts on this? What's your tolerance?

more to the point; liberally apply common sense, and when in doubt, throw it out.

 

[xbowguy]

A butcher told us this: Sight and Smell is your clue on vacuum packed meat. Freezer burnt it will change colors. He went as far to say you could cut off the discoloration and still eat it if it smelled OK. But to be safe......Just go by the sight and smell.