Freezing meat without 'freezer burn'

[AJMD429]

44MagHunter wants to use 'freezer paper' instead of baggies for the two does he got.

I never used it before. Do you just wrap the meat in it, or what...???

...and does it really prevent freezer-burn better than Zip-Lock freezer bags...???

[EdinCT]

I have double wrapped my meat in plastic wrap and then freezer paper for years and its good for 2 years +. Just freezer paper if I remember correctly is good for one year with a good wrapping job. I never had much luck with ziplocks stopping freezer burn.
I also like vacuum bags but they are getting pricey! We buy the plastic wrap and freezer paper at a supply house in large rolls pretty cheap.
Until my kids were grown we wrapped a lamb, two hogs and 3-5 deer a year. Not has fun has hunting but made a dollar go a long way !

[BrentD]

Sometimes I do the plastic and paper wrap. Sometimes I do the freezer ziplocks. Doesnt' make much difference to me. But finding a freezer that is NOT "frost free" makes a world of difference in my experience. I run three dedicated meat freezers so I've done a bit of this.

[jdad]

Freezer burn happens when you don't get all the air out when sealing.

[M. M. Wright]

I just use the freezer paper and masking tape. Have used it for many years and it's okay. The slick side goes next to the meat.

[vancelw]

I have double wrapped my meat in plastic wrap and then freezer paper for years and its good for 2 years +. Just freezer paper if I remember correctly is good for one year with a good wrapping job. I never had much luck with ziplocks stopping freezer burn.
I also like vacuum bags but they are getting pricey! We buy the plastic wrap and freezer paper at a supply house in large rolls pretty cheap.
Until my kids were grown we wrapped a lamb, two hogs and 3-5 deer a year. Not has fun has hunting but made a dollar go a long way !

This is what works best for me. Freezer burn happens when air can circulate to the meat. The Saran wrap seals it and the freezer paper protects it. And I always put fish and fowl in zip-lock bags full of water. The water keeps the air away. We've used deer, pronghorn, and elk meat almost exclusively since 1990 and I've tried several different ways. Deep chest freezers also seem to freezer-burn the meat less than uprights. I think it has to do with the air circulation every time you open the door.

[2571]

Freezer wrap has a plastic backing as a vapor seal. Freezer wrap is not the same as the old butcher paper.

[CowboyTutt]

If I have meat that I consider to be very valuable I use my vacuum packer. If less so, I wrap it in plastic wrap and try to eliminate any air bubbles and put it in a zip lock bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. I would not be surprised to see that the paper helps. Probably better ways than what I do when not vacuum packing. -Tutt

[Udy]

Plastic should not be nessacery if properly wrapped in freezer paper. One thing I learned a long time ago is to be sure the meat package is no were near any ice build up or metal tubes or racks in the freezer I line the metal shelves with cardboard and cover the refrigeration tubes with cardboard, that will keep the packages protected from freezer burn.

[El Chivo]

And I always put fish and fowl in zip-lock bags full of water. The water keeps the air away.

I did this with pork, from a suggestion on this site. It worked; none lost to freezer burn, and kept nearly a year. I used quart sized freezer bags and filled them with meat and water, and squeezed out the air bubbles.

Earlier I did wrap deer meat in plastic alone, and it kept for most of the year, but some of it was getting stinky and I lost some towards the end. I would go with the water method.

[Dave]

I just use the freezer paper and masking tape. Have used it for many years and it's okay. The slick side goes next to the meat.

Me too. We have never had any freezer burn.

[Tycer]

I just use the freezer paper and masking tape. Have used it for many years and it's okay. The slick side goes next to the meat.

Me too. We have never had any freezer burn.

Yep. I've pulled roasts that got 'lost' as old as four years and the meat was fine. Great even.

[shooter]

When we get a beef from the butcher, it is wrapped in plastic and then wrapped in freezer paper. It keeps very well this way. When I am processing game on my own I usually vacuum seal it.

[Mac in Mo]

I also use the freezer paper and tape. No burn. Get all the air out and you're good to go. I was given a vacuum sealer and had some of the seals fail. Probably some error on my part, but I hated losing deer meat. Went back to tried and true. I do this for everything but ground meat. Last year, I put some of my ground directly from the grinder, using the tube, into sandwich bags. I then put the sandwich bags of meat into gallon freezer bags. It worked. Made sure to get all air out before sealing. I may try the plastic bags made specifically for ground meat next year, but I'll still put them into the gallon bags.

Kevin

[Grizz]

freezer burn is not the main problem with meat quality. the main and BIG issue is the freeze rate.

to get the best frozen meat it needs to be reduced in its core to -10F within a couple of hours of starting the process. any slower and the cells rupture making a mushy texture. long term freezer storage is best below -18f. a salmon frozen this way and thawed out slowly is indistinguishable from a fresh caught fish.

I know this because I froze salmon at sea and delivered product that ran to -20F core temps. I built the sharp freezer and the holding freezer. The deck freezer's bottom plate went to -70F in 20 minutes from startup, and would freeze 80 cohos to the -10 mark in a couple of hours on the second load and about three hours from a warm start. The suction gas coming OUT of the sharp freezer AND fish hold ran -50F.

You are not going to get that kind of performance from a sears freezer, but there are commercial boxes that freeze much faster than the one on top of your refrigerator.

Grizz

[Mescalero]

Knowledge is a good thing, thanks.

[vancelw]

freezer burn is not the main problem with meat quality. the main and BIG issue is the freeze rate.

to get the best frozen meat it needs to be reduced in its core to -10F within a couple of hours of starting the process. any slower and the cells rupture making a mushy texture........ second load and about three hours from a warm start. The suction gas coming OUT of the sharp freezer AND fish hold ran -50F.

You are not going to get that kind of performance from a sears freezer, but there are commercial boxes that freeze much faster than the one on top of your refrigerator.

Grizz

I always lay out the new meat in a single layer in the freezer until it gets frozen, then stack it where I want it. The next freezer I get will not be an upright. It seems things don't store as long as a chest freezer.

Freezer paper is coated but Saran wrap is cheap. By double wrapping I can keep meat 2 to 5 years with no freezer taste. (I don't do it intentionally...sometimes things get lost in the freezer ) I try to use it up within a year but can't always. If I just use freezer paper alone a year seems to be stretching it. You have to understand...if it has ONE molecule of stink or taste on it my wife won't eat it (or cook it ) So I ether have to be meticulous or cook for myself.

[7.62 Precision]

Ziplocks don't work, and vacuum packing works poorly.

Freezer paper is the way to go. As other suggested, I have started using plastic wrap under the freezer paper on fish, but have not with meat. Not sure how much better it works, because I use the fish quickly enough that I can't tell the difference. People I trust have told me the results are better. I have seen meat frozen in freezer paper for several years that was still fine.

[vancelw]

....... People I trust have told me the results are better.....

THAT says it all

[Griff]

I use wax-paper, the lightweight stuff, then freezer paper and masking tape. Kept good for years. Don't forget to label it.

[vancelw]

Don't forget to label it.

I label it all "beef" so the wife will eat it
Seriously though, I do always put a date on it so I know to rotate it out. Right now I'm trying to use EVERYTHING in the freezer and start over. It would be a crying shame to waste some of the mule deer I had turned into German sausage a few years ago by letting it drift to the back of the freezer.

[CowboyTutt]

This is a really cool thread. I can see how the vacuum packer would sometimes not work so well with large, round cuts of meat. I also have found I have to use a lot more excess bag size and length of the tail that goes into the machine. When I try to be stingy with how much bag material I use, I don't get as could a seal. The plastic wrap/freezer paper/tape sounds like it would work great. I'm going to give that a try. Thanks Guys, -Tutt