How long is Deer good for in my freezer?

[Erg]

I got my first buck at the end of December 2013 and butchered it. Made most of it into jerky but I shrink wrapped the back straps and put them in zip lock bags. I pulled them out of the freezer to have a look last night. There is no visible freezer burn on the meat. Would you still eat it?

 

[Darwin2010]

If frozen the whole time should still be good id thaw it and if it smells fine id go for it. I ate one from a deer harvested around thanksgiving 2013 just a few days ago, but i vacuum pack all my meat.

 

[BigTuna]

If it's vacuum sealed then you're good for years. If not the only thing that will impact it is freezer burn. anyway, yummmm

 

[Barley_Bob]

You're fighting freezer burn, but as long as that hasn't occurred, you're fine. If there is some light freezer burn, I've cut/shaved those bits off and not had a problem. Just the other day I ate a roast from 2012 that I had tightly wrapped in butcher paper - it was delicious.

 

[Life]

Little bit old, but going to agree. I had two filets from November 2013 about a month ago wrapped in butcher paper. Make sure it's not freezer burnt and give it a smell. If it doesn't smell rancid you're good to go.

 

[uatuba]

Zero days.

/deer...gross


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Fordzilla]

My brothers vacuum sealed, frozen moose meat lasted 3 years. That's how long it took us to eat it. Those things are huge.

 

[Yooper]

My brothers vacuum sealed, frozen moose meat lasted 3 years. That's how long it took us to eat it. Those things are huge.

Venison will easily last that long in a vacuum sealed freezer pack as well. I should know- we tend to get 3-4 deer per year and sometimes don't finish them all before the next hunting season.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Venison will easily last that long in a vacuum sealed freezer pack as well. I should know- we tend to get 3-4 deer per year and sometimes don't finish them all before the next hunting season.

I think the vacuum seal packets are a huge ripoff. Butcher paper is cheaper, it doesn't take any more time to prep the meat to go in the freezer, and I've found that small holes in the seal of a vacuum pack (or slight tears in the plastic) allow enough air back in to freezer burn the whole lot. If wrapped well, the meat lasts just as long. Food for thought.

 

[Erg]

Cool thanks guys, I'm going to try it this weekend. If I don't reply to the thred on monday.... you were wrong. lol

 

[kstone803]

Yea it should be fine. We eat mainly venison in my house and it lasts a year easy. Hell I've found straps that got shoved to the back that were 2 years old and they were fine.