Good time to clean out freezers and take stock

[Jnasa]

Seeing Big Fins "Geezers Clean Your Freezers" event reminded me I normally empty out and defrost at least one of my freezers this time of year.

I have one upright that I try to put items in semi organized. Then a larger chest freezer for bulk items or overflow. I was able to fit it all in the chest freezer and defrosted the upright.

I was surprised by a few finds. I thought I was out of moose from 3 years ago. I found a pack of shank meat and 3 packages of round steak. I thought I had finished eating my mule deer from 2 years ago awhile back. Nope I found a pack of shank meat, back strap, and some stew meat.

I am normally pretty good on using up the older stuff first. I was certain the moose had been gone. I'll certainly be using these older items up.

I like this annual activity for many reasons. It helps me use up older items, organize the freezer, clean and defrost. It also shows me what cuts I have left and influences how I should cut my next harvest.

 

[WildWill]

I also have a stand-up I keep regularly stocked and a large chest the excess goes in. It's that chest freezer that always yields a surprise or two every year.


Just did inventory last night on game meat.

1 set of shanks
1 turkey thigh and leg
2 packs of stew meat
Around 25lb of grind
Around 30lb of summer sausage


Didn't inventory fish but there's a bunch of that as well. At this rate will be just about out (except summer sausage) by the time I get to hunt big game again.



Another benefit of the annual clean out/inventory is it gives me a rough idea on how much meat I'd like to harvest for the year. I keep having kids and they keep growing so every year it just goes up. It currently takes about 8 deer/antelope or 4 deer/antelope and 1 elk. Don't know what the math with a moose would be but I'd like to figure it out one day.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I bought some nylon mesh laundry bags with a zipper. They are very sturdy and hold a lot. I put the different cuts of meat in separate bags, steaks, roasts, ground, and backstrap/tenderloin. I just grab the bag that contains the cut of meat I want and remove what I need. Easy to keep track of how much of each cut I have by the amount of packages in the bags. They fit great in the chest freezer, but not sure how they would work in an upright.
I sort it and bag it when I pick it up from the game processor when I go hunting and put the bags in the ice chest with dry ice. When I get home 48 hours later, I just have to remove the bags from the ice chests and put them in the freezer.
I have a couple packs of ground, a pack or two of backstrap, and a couple roasts left. I leave for Chama in 9 weeks and hope to refill the freezer.