Tips for Freezing Game Meat

Once the meat is cleaned and butchered, it is time to store it. Freezing game meat protects it from spoiling and allows the hunter to use throughout the coming months. Use this as a guide to ensure your game meat lasts while in the freezer.

There are two acceptable methods to use when wrappingwhole-muscle red meatfor the freezer,vacuum-sealed bagsand double-wrapping with plastic wrap and waxed freezer paper. Both will keep meat for well over a year if you do it right.

Vacuum Seal
For the vacuum-sealed bags, follow the directions provided by the manufacturer of whatever vacuum sealer you have access to. Once the bags are sealed and frozen, handle them gently. Banging and rubbing the bags together can cause holes to from in the plastic, which will destroy the seal and, eventually, the contents of the bag. If you have space, it’s a good idea to lay down layers of newsprint between layers of vacuum-sealed bags in your freezer in order to protect the integrity of the bags.

Double-Wrap
For double-wrapping, wrap the cut tightly in a plastic wrap. Be careful to squeeze out any air bubbles. Use plenty of wrap, as a couple of layers is better than one. Next cut an ample sized piece of waxed paper and wrap this tightly around the plastic-wrapped meat. Tuck the ends, like wrapping a Christmas present, and tape it off with a 2” strip of masking tape or freezer tape.

Packaging Ground Meat for the Freezer
The double-wrapping method works well for freezing ground meat, but the best way bet is to use tube-shaped polyethylene ground meat bags that can be purchased from most wild game processing supply houses. These are easy to fill, they stack nicely in the freezer, and they protect ground meat for extended periods of freezer storage.

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