bear meat

[smurfy]

ok bear guys, I have to ask cause I been kinda holding back. on average how long have you guys kept bear meat in the freezer?? the reason I put all bear meat into hot dogs, pepper sticks, and summer sausage are 2 fold. first it was the only way the kids would really eat it but more so is back in the day when you could harvest a bear with a deer license my dad shot a bear. a time went on and I think ma and pa where kinda saving it and as it got older the more it would smell or reek when ya cooked it to the point it got thrown out.

so, how long is a safe bet to keep bear meat around??? I know its like pork but this still brings memories back.

 

[reinhard1]

Smurfy you may be surprised to hear that sausage [what you have made] has less of a shelf life than fresh meat.  Mainly because of the salt content.  For example bacon is recommended to be frozen for one month.  Doesn't mean it will get bad at that point, but the longer the bacon stays in the freezer the quality goes down and the quicker it will go bad.  Same with ham, lunchmeat, sausage, and cooked products.

Ok, beef roasts for example can be frozen up to a year if properly wrapped and especially vac packed. Pork chops up to 6 months.  Chicken whole, one year while parts are less [9 months].  Ground products are only 3 to 4 months.  Same with ground bear.  Use the beef roast example for your bear roasts.  Use the vac pack bags if you have them, or I would suggest it would be nice to have one.  Your house is probably the same as mine and the sausage you make don't last long anyway.  Having been a meat cutter for over 35 years I have heard many stories about how long folks think they can keep meat in the freezer.  They guidlines I have mentioned are a good way to handle meats and processed foods.  Always label your meats and especially put the date you put the meat in the freezer.  Lot of times we get things lost in the shuffle if you have a good sized freezer like I have.  good luck.

[smurfy]

thanks reinhard. pretty sure because it was coming to the last of the bear and the fact that it was the first one ever they were saving it. it actually ruined my desire for bear meat in the sense like boar loves to eat it. that being said that's why I put it in the things I do............cause it doesn't last long. I always defrost my freezers at least twice a year and rotate my meat.

the butcher shop we usually get our beef from, plantenbergs in Richmond, double wraps there meat and never had issues with freezer burn or tasting bad!!!!!

 

[Boar]

I tell ya smurf, Best meat on the planet, the meat I get I package well, like double freezere wrap well, inside ziplock bags before wrap. at the same time I generlly never even get close to spring before my bear is gone, Its my fave!! Just for the sake of trying it again, we'll hook up this winter and i should have some roast to warm up for ya. You'll think twice about putting it into sausage, I'll put deer into sausage well before I put bear.

[smurfy]

I think I found a solution to all these meat questions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  reinhart can adopt me for like 6 months, I move in and he teaches me all the tricks to the trade!!!!!!!!!!!

[Boar]

he aint got room for your big HAM HEAD! and ya cant teach an ham head new tricks. ham head. yur gonna get us kick off again