How long can elk stay in a freezer?

[paxamus]

Ok so here’s my situation- I shot a cow elk and took great care with the meat. It was on ice from New Mexico all the way to Alabama and I drained the water and added ice at every fill up plus another whole day. There was ZERO blood by the time it made it to the processor. Unfortunately for me someone brought an elk in that was shot at a high fence area locally and I think that I got some of that guys meat. I say this because when I opened one of the vacuum sealed backstraps out- IT SMELLED LIKE BLOOD!!

Now my meat has been sitting in my freezer untouched because of the disappointment I’ve had.

How long have yall kept elk meat in a freezer and it still been good?


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[AZ_Hunter]

I have eaten elk that is wrapped in butcher paper and in my chest freezer that is three years old or more… it’s frozen and not freezer burned… it’s been fine.

 

[Wrench]

I tried some that was 8 years old. The slight freeze burn was trimmed and there was nothing noticeable.

 

[paxamus]

Thanks guys! No what I just hope the other ones aren’t the blood filled ones!!


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[fishslap]

I eat 3 year old vac sealed elk and deer cuts that I’ve overlooked and they’re just as good as fresh if there is no freezer burn from air in the bags.

FYI, I never let my meat soak in ice water or try to get the myoglobin (not blood) out of the meat. No offense, but I think that’s a Midwest/southern practice that stems from not knowing how to properly prepare and cook venison. I say that because I’m originally from Missouri but I live in Colorado now and when I figured out how to cook it properly, my life eating venison changed. No need to ever soak meat. I expect to have red myoglobin in my meat and vac seal bag when thawing, and I expect to smell venison/game meat.

Try this for me: for a piece of that backstrap that will fit in a quart freezer bag, add one tablespoon soy sauce, one tablespoon red wine vinegar, two tablespoons olive oil, two teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning. Get most of the air out, seal, massage around for even contact, place on counter and flip around a few times while you heat the grill up to high. Grill to medium rare (medium is fine also). Let rest on a cutting board under foil for 5-10 min. Tell me if you think that myoglobin is a problem after you do this. The quick marinade doesn’t hide the good flavor of the meat either.

 

[paxamus]

I eat 3 year old vac sealed elk and deer cuts that I’ve overlooked and they’re just as good as fresh if there is no freezer burn from air in the bags.

FYI, I never let my meat soak in ice water or try to get the myoglobin (not blood) out of the meat. No offense, but I think that’s a Midwest/southern practice that stems from not knowing how to properly prepare and cook venison. I say that because I’m originally from Missouri but I live in Colorado now and when I figured out how to cook it properly, my life eating venison changed. No need to ever soak meat. I expect to have red myoglobin in my meat and vac seal bag when thawing, and I expect to smell venison/game meat.

Try this for me: for a piece of that backstrap that will fit in a quart freezer bag, add one tablespoon soy sauce, one tablespoon red wine vinegar, two tablespoons olive oil, two teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning. Get most of the air out, seal, massage around for even contact, place on counter and flip around a few times while you heat the grill up to high. Grill to medium rare (medium is fine also). Let rest on a cutting board under foil for 5-10 min. Tell me if you think that myoglobin is a problem after you do this. The quick marinade doesn’t hide the good flavor of the meat either.

I’ll give it a shot!


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[paxamus]

I eat 3 year old vac sealed elk and deer cuts that I’ve overlooked and they’re just as good as fresh if there is no freezer burn from air in the bags.

FYI, I never let my meat soak in ice water or try to get the myoglobin (not blood) out of the meat. No offense, but I think that’s a Midwest/southern practice that stems from not knowing how to properly prepare and cook venison. I say that because I’m originally from Missouri but I live in Colorado now and when I figured out how to cook it properly, my life eating venison changed. No need to ever soak meat. I expect to have red myoglobin in my meat and vac seal bag when thawing, and I expect to smell venison/game meat.

Try this for me: for a piece of that backstrap that will fit in a quart freezer bag, add one tablespoon soy sauce, one tablespoon red wine vinegar, two tablespoons olive oil, two teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning. Get most of the air out, seal, massage around for even contact, place on counter and flip around a few times while you heat the grill up to high. Grill to medium rare (medium is fine also). Let rest on a cutting board under foil for 5-10 min. Tell me if you think that myoglobin is a problem after you do this. The quick marinade doesn’t hide the good flavor of the meat either.

But it definitely was blood- the other meat didn’t smell at all like that


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[ScreamingPotato]

Not Elk, but I found a venison backstrap underneath some junk in my freezer that was 8 years old. It was wrapped tightly in butcher paper. I thawed it out and planned to simmer it up for the dogs but when I unwrapped it looked and smelled fine. I ended up grilling it over the grill and it was perfectly fine. We try to ration our wild game to be eaten within a year so I can go kill more, but I wouldn't blink at 2-3 year timeframe if it's wrapped properly. Smell test won't let you down, and if there's freezer burn you can simply trim a little off and get to good meat. Freezer burn won't hurt you, it's just gonna have an off taste and texture.

 

[fishslap]

But it definitely was blood- the other meat didn’t smell at all like that


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There is little to no blood in the meat. It’s the myoglobin that should be there. That’s how you want it to be and you don’t want to rinse or soak it out. The others may not have had it because that’s what you did. I consider the smell of this liquid to be the normal smell of elk/venison unless it has an overly sour smell which means it was kept too warm for too long prior to packaging or it was thawed improperly. I use a sink of cold water.

What Is the Red Juice in Steak?

Have you ever wondered why some cuts of meat you buy seem to have blood sloshing around in the package while others don't? Well, the liquid you see in those packages isn't blood at all. It is actually a combination of water and a protein called myoglobin. Myoglobin is a protein found in red meat...

beardedbutchers.com

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Also worth mentioning is some animals just smell and taste differently than others. My son's bull from a few years ago had a tough life, been shot and healed previously and had a rough death when my son took him. That elk some cuts were beautiful and some were tough and chewy, and some tasted super gamey. Contrast that with the cow my wife shot last year, old cow but fat and one shot quick kill. That whole thing was absolutely fantastic.

 

[MTPipeliner]

Like others I’ve eaten meat from the deep freeze that’s numerous years old. I wrap mine in plastic wrap then butcher paper so I usually don’t have any freezer burn even after a couple years.

Sometimes I do notice that meat from the freezer smells a little different than fresh cut meat, and it always has a little bit of liquid come out of it when it thaws.

 

[Wrench]

Smell and taste are not always the same too. I've ate some smelly meat that was great and poor meat that smelled fine.


Fwiw, I use a ziploc freezer bag and LOTS of poly backed freezer paper and have never had an issue AS LONG AS it is kept in a traditional freezer and not a frost free.

Frost free is the devil to meat quality.

 

[paxamus]

I was just afraid to even thaw more of it to see what it was like. The first few cuts I thawed were great but that piece of backstrap smelled like a processors floor and tasted like it too. It messed me up so bad I haven’t thawed anything since


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[ScreamingPotato]

Well there ain't no sense in storing it longer taking up space. Best to go ahead and try to get through it, if you can't stomach it then give it away or add to the dog's rations.

 

[paxamus]

True. Think I was just heartbroken and left it. Sounds like it’s time to eat some!


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