Bottom of Freezer

[Short Track]

I'm going through my freezer, package by package. I'm eating meat that is literally 5 years old. Perfectly fine. My freezer is -10 degrees. No smell, no nothing. If I find freezer burnt ends, I cut them off and eat the remainder. I can't imagine why people think 1 year is the deadline. The trick is that it's wrapped properly. Double wrapped or vacuumed wrapped I find is best.

I also have meat in zip lock bags. Anything in a zip lock bag does get freezer burnt rather quickly. That becomes dog food, but otherwise, I'm eating it.

 

[Jbehredt]

I’ve gone 3 years with no ill effects. It’s just me and the wife so eating our way out of a good fall can take time.

 

[butcherboy]

The oldest meat I have is from 2017. No problems at all. Wrapped tight in plastic then wrapped in freezer paper.

 

[Boarmaster]

Im scared to dig that far down. I might find Grampa.

 

[Short Track]

The oldest meat I have is from 2017. No problems at all. Wrapped tight in plastic then wrapped in freezer paper.

I'm sure it's fine. There is a processor in CO that does that. Seran wrap, then butcher paper. Double wrapped, never had a freezer burn problem, unless the package is ripped.

 

[nettereo16]

I ate a venison sirloin last week that was labeled 2018. I'm pretty good about rotating my freezer but somehow that got missed. It was totally fine in the vacuum sealed bag. A couple small freezer burn spots I trimmed and gave to the dog but didn't notice anything off with it.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I don't even put dates on stuff in my freezer, no doubt i hve eaten stuff that old..still alive and kicking.

 

[Burch]

I havent eaten any that old but had some cast iron seared back strap last night from Oct of 2021 that was fantastic.

 

[butcherboy]

I'm sure it's fine. There is a processor in CO that does that. Seran wrap, then butcher paper. Double wrapped, never had a freezer burn problem, unless the package is ripped.

Yes sir, it’s totally fine. I’ve been wrapping all our customers animals this way since 1991.

 

[Legend]

The curse of a chest freezer! Get an upright and you can sort shelves by year. You'll never go back.

But to your point I have eaten some old game meat with no issue.

 

[Boarmaster]

The curse of a chest freezer! Get an upright and you can sort shelves by year. You'll never go back.

But to your point I have eaten some old game meat with no issue.

Thats my plan when my current chest freezer craps out. I been using chest freezers for 40 years. Just about worn out on them. I have tried all kinds of organizers and methods. Some worked better than others.

 

[bowfishn]

It will lose flavor over time but will not harm you if it has remained frozen. Freezer burn need to be cut off it will taste like freezer smells.

 

[pacoalcracker]

So much food gets wasted when thrown away based on the "best if used by" dates.....bogus BS. Lots of food items can last a whole lot longer and be just fine. I personally won't eat frozen meat older than 2 years, but I worked in the food industry for 14 years so I'm biased. While is does not apply to us directly, FDA does have a time limit on how long a commercial food supplier can keep meat/fish frozen, and it's not very long.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I've done up to 7 years when cleaning out, crazy how something can get missed for so long but it was perfectly fine.

I do think an absolutely shameful amount of food in general, but wild game as well, goes to waste in this country because people just don't trust themselves over some label or ridiculous guideline.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

We ate the last portion of my moose from 2016 the other day that I unearthed. It was vacuum sealed tight yet and was just fine. People freak out a bit too much. My freezers are typically around -13 to -14 F.

 

[wowzers]

My wife fed me a nine year old bear steak when we first started dating. I didn’t have seconds but it was fine. Saran Wrap and freezer paper last much longer than vacuum sealing in my experience.