Processing meat after frozen

[loganwayne]

I do this for burger or any thing that requires grinding. I'll cut up my deer into around 2" cubes and pack into 10lb packs and freeze. I'll get 4-5 packs before I setup and grind it all at once. I dont fully thaw the meat just get it enough to break up and feed through the grinder. I'll save a couple packs and make some summer sausage with it in late summer when I know I've got enough burger to get through till hunting season.

 

[Catchfish]

I do this with all my grind meat. When doing a moose I find it much easier to wait until November so I can gather my suet, and seasonings. It’s also much colder to throw tubs of meat outside. This year is was 5 degrees I believe so nice to use cold meat and grinder parts.

 

[jbwright]

How long do y'all freeze it (generally) before you slightly thaw it / grind it? Haven't considered this method but I may now. It makes sense on whitetail does when the meat per deer may only be about 25-35 lbs. Saving it up and doing it all at once seems way more efficient than the way I've been doing it.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I've been doing this for 40+ years. All my burger and sausages begin with frozen meat. Doesn't matter to me how long it's been in the freezer when it's vacuum sealed tight and freezer temps are -10 or below.

 

[jbwright]

check, thx

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

Some people are nervous about re-freezing, but I've never had issues with it. Quarters freeze while hung up in the field, thaw to process, freeze again, thaw for grinding, freeze again, then eat. No problemo.

 

[Catchfish]

Yeah my meat is normally frozen for a month or 2 but I’ve also waited over a year to grind my meat. The meat is vac sealed, just like the other meat I consume.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Some people are nervous about re-freezing, but I've never had issues with it. Quarters freeze while hung up in the field, thaw to process, freeze again, thaw for grinding, freeze again, then eat. No problemo.

Yep, same here. Grew up hunting in Northern Wisconsin. Deer were almost always frozen solid when brought home.

 

[loganwayne]

How long do y'all freeze it (generally) before you slightly thaw it / grind it? Haven't considered this method but I may now. It makes sense on whitetail does when the meat per deer may only be about 25-35 lbs. Saving it up and doing it all at once seems way more efficient than the way I've been doing it.

Summer sausage I made in September had been frozen was almost a year. Stuff I just did was 1.5 months and 2 weeks.

 

[cowboy]

Been freezing meat for months before processing for 20 years. We start bow hunting in Sept and quit waterfowl hunting in late Jan.. I now have sons as well as grandsons that hunt. We simple do not have enough time during the season to get it all processed, and we handle all our game from kill site to dinner table.
We use the boneless method on all big game so when we get home we pull all the meat out of the game sacks, make sure it is clean of debris or bloodshot and put in double plastic bags with as much air squeezed out as humanly possible. We mark each bag with species and whose kill it was.
When holidays are over we thaw out, trim, and make into final desired configuration.

This method has become more important to us the last couple of years. Just got a CWD positive test result back on a mule deer buck that showed no physical signs, was fat, rutting and every which way looked 100% healthy.

Also was with a hunting partner this year that shot a swan that had no fat, breast bone sticking out, very thin breast meat and all meat was so off color that it was close to putrid. We’re not biologists but our best guess was Avian bird flu. That didn’t go in anyone’s freezer.

 

[Boarmaster]

I do mine the same way. Depending on what I have going on when I get back from a hunt I might freeze boned out meat without cutting it into grind size chunks. But if I have time I trim and cut it up.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I grind mine partially frozen, it grinds better especial when I have added beef or pork fat. I also put all
grinder parts in freezer. these steps make the grinding much better because the fat doesn't stick to everything. When I am stuffing sausage casing, I will put ground meat in freezer in smaller batches to keep them partial frozen until I'm ready for stuff casings. It's really nice to read what others are doing, so I can incorporate those ideas with what I am doing.

 

[bigeyedfish]

We cube all our grind meat and freeze it in 1-2 lb packs. We just use Saran wrap and butcher paper. We grind immediately before cooking. We started doing it this way because we only own a little KitchenAid meat grinder, and I'm not patient enough to grind more than 5 lbs. It works good, so I haven't ponied up to buy a bigger grinder yet.

 

[loganwayne]

We cube all our grind meat and freeze it in 1-2 lb packs. We just use Saran wrap and butcher paper. We grind immediately before cooking. We started doing it this way because we only own a little KitchenAid meat grinder, and I'm not patient enough to grind more than 5 lbs. It works good, so I haven't ponied up to buy a bigger grinder yet.

having a bigger grinder and a helping hand helps. we do 60 lbs of ground in about 2.5 hrs including vacuum sealing it.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

having a bigger grinder and a helping hand helps. we do 60 lbs of ground in about 2.5 hrs including vacuum sealing it.

Helping hands is a must in my world.

 

[loganwayne]

Helping hands is a must in my world.

yep wife kept meat in the grinder during first grind and second grind she was weighing and bagging the meat i think that alone probably saved me an hour.

 

[jbwright]

Man reading how all y'all do this process is a massive resource. Until last year (I'm 39), I always took my deer to a local processor. Not sure if it's b/c I'm getting older, but walked into one last season and there were deer everywhere. Gut shot. Head shot etc. I was like what in the F am I doing. Time to figure out how to process my own meat. Since then I've done 4 whitetail and I can say the flavor is substantially better than the processor (I've been doing the cooler wet age method for about 5 days before processing (would do longer but got yungin's running around and just gotta get to it when I can).

 

[jbwright]

Yeah my meat is normally frozen for a month or 2 but I’ve also waited over a year to grind my meat. The meat is vac sealed, just like the other meat I consume.

Which vac seal do you recommend? Not sure if I want to go that route (more of a function of the ignorance of the cost than anything).

 

[jbwright]

I do this for burger or any thing that requires grinding. I'll cut up my deer into around 2" cubes and pack into 10lb packs and freeze. I'll get 4-5 packs before I setup and grind it all at once. I dont fully thaw the meat just get it enough to break up and feed through the grinder. I'll save a couple packs and make some summer sausage with it in late summer when I know I've got enough burger to get through till hunting season.

So trying to stay on track with your method here. You kill it, clean it, I assume put it in the cooler/transport home, then debone (if not done in field), let age for some period of time in cooler/fridge, then cut into chunks, put in freezer bags - then when you are ready to grind you slightly thaw it (to where it's still about 90% frozen), throw in some fat (maybe?), then grind / re freeze in packaging/vac seal. And that's it?
Just trying to read yours and everyone else's method here. Not sure why I've been wanting to grind 20 lbs of venison at a time (esp when I have some in the freezer ready to eat from earlier in the season or last season). If that's y'all's process I just saved a ton of time I could be hunting!!

 

[loganwayne]

So trying to stay on track with your method here. You kill it, clean it, I assume put it in the cooler/transport home, then debone (if not done in field), let age for some period of time in cooler/fridge, then cut into chunks, put in freezer bags - then when you are ready to grind you slightly thaw it (to where it's still about 90% frozen), throw in some fat (maybe?), then grind / re freeze in packaging/vac seal. And that's it?
Just trying to read yours and everyone else's method here. Not sure why I've been wanting to grind 20 lbs of venison at a time (esp when I have some in the freezer ready to eat from earlier in the season or last season). If that's y'all's process I just saved a ton of time I could be hunting!!

Depending on where I'm hunting I will quarter it out leaving bone in and I have a fridge in my shop I will put it in to age. Once I let it age I cut all my roasts and do all my trimming. Usually take 1-1.5 hrs to get everything cleaned up really good (guy that showed me how to cut up a deer told me if I wouldn't eat it raw trim it off). Vacuum seal all the whole muscle roast and then whatever I'm gonna grind I cube and then Vacuum seal and freeze. Try to get it evenly flat so it all thaws at same rate. Thaw it enough to cut with a deboning knife. I always get fresh fat. Sometimes frozen fat gets weird if it's been in the freezer to long