plastic game meat bags versus freezer paper

[Elkoholic]

Grant, I use the tubes, no issues at all. I think it's all just what's your preference, me I don't like doing the process of Saran wrapping & paper wrapping. And I think we may have talked about this elk hunting last month.... get the sealing tape dispenser thingy if you go this route, it works great!

 

[MThuntr]

Grant, I use the tubes, no issues at all. I think it's all just what's your preference, me I don't like doing the process of Saran wrapping & paper wrapping. And I think we may have talked about this elk hunting last month.... get the sealing tape dispenser thingy if you go this route, it works great!

Thanks Dave, I do remember that conversation. That was the reason why I'm investigating the option especially the part about the special tape dispenser. I'm all for efficiency so I'm going to get some bag and the tape thingy...also while spending some cash I'm getting a hog ring pliers for summer sausage.

 

[TheTone]

I use the bags for ground stuff only. After the grind, I run the meat through a sausage stuffer and into the bags. I find that this gets more air out, then I'll twist and hog-staple the bag shut. You can flatten the bag slightly before it goes into the freezer and they stack very well.

The rest of the cuts I'll wrap (plastic-wrap, then freezer paper).

I’m doing mine the same way. Grind it and then fill the bags with my sausage stuffer. Seems way slower to fill the bags with a horn on my grinder. I haven’t had issues with it keeping but rarely have any make it a year. Almost all the elk burger I ate as a kid was packed in the bags and I never remember us having issues.

 

[Boarmaster]

We vacpak steaks and roasts and use the bags for ground. The one thing I learned with the bags is not to be to rough with them when moving them around after they are frozen. They can develop small tears in the plastic. My meats are all eaten within a year and I have never had any freezer burn. I do occasionally use cabelas bags for small runs of sausage. I fill the bags , vac and then flatten them the out so they stack nice in a box in the freezer.

 

[devon deer]

I do both, film/paper or vac pack.
I saw something on Youtube for people who don't have a vac packer, you pop your meat into a zip loc bag, place a straw into the bag, pull across the zip to meet the straw and suck out the air, quickly pull out the straw as you close the zip, there you have a vacuum bag!
I thought it was a good idea.
Cheers
Richard

 

[JEL]

We do quite a bit of burger each year. Use a 15 lb stuffer and bags, then a tape machine to seal. Works well for us. I found a package from 2015 in the freezer the other day. It was fine. Plastic wrap and freezer paper for the rest of the cuts.

 

[2rocky]

Freezer design is a big part. Chest freezers that are NOT Frost Free will keep frozen meat frozen with less temperature fluctuations and less freezer burn in my experience. My butcher double wraps my steaks and roasts. Lately i just wrap roasts and cut steaks myself if I want them (Less surface area to dry out too). He recently started adding the ground meat tubes. HIS tubes are better quality than others I've encountered. So cost is not the only factor in tube selection.

re: vacuum sealing...I like being able to defrost a package of steaks in warm water.

 

[WyoDoug]

For freezing plastic is no issue. I use plastic seal-a-meal bags myself to process my meat. I do recommend that your meat be cooled down before you seal it because plastic does retain heat and might spoil if you have it stacked much on the shelves I also recommend you lay fresh meat on a single layer basis when you first put it in the freezer until it's completely froze, then stack it all you want. If you stack fresh meat that is not frozen, the middle portion will not freeze fast enough to avoid spoilage. Freezing and storing meat in plastic ziplock or seal-a-meal bags is fine. Ziplock freezer bags though, they recommend you use it up within about 3 months. Seal-a-meal they recommend consumption within a year, but I keep meat and veggies a couple years and it's still good and somewhat fresh tasting.

If you make hamburger and sausage, I recommend you add a little bit of sodium nitrate (#2 pink curing salt) to help preserve it longer. It only takes about 1/2 tsp per 5 pounds of meat and it breaks down into sodium nitrite which is #1 curing salt. If you do this, allow a few weeks to cure. You DO NOT need to do this method if you are consuming meat within a year. This only extends the lifespan a bit before you throw it out.

 

[tjones]

No way am I adding nitrates to my wild burger. One of the main reason I grind wild burger is not have any of the stuff in my meat.