grinding then freezing till smoking.??

[Boar]

Ive pland to do some brauts soon, but wanna cut down on the work a bit. Id like to grind my meat then refreeze it till untill im ready to do the big work. kinda going off an old wive's tale, of you cant refreeze meat to many times. or soemthing like that. My meat for grinding is froze right now, id like to thaw to grind, then freeze till im ready, then thaw for the big day. then when the brauts are done of course they will be froze again and thawed to eat. is this a issue with anything with the meat, maybe flavor. or dosent it really matter. could I get it all thawd AND MIXED, then freez it til stuffing?  or what are ar you guys thinking, 

[leechlake]

The only difference we do is we grind it when we butcher and since you just froze the solid meat I can't imagine that would matter at all.  We butcher, grind, freeze, defrost and add pork and seasoning and let it sit for a day before we stuff or freeze as bulk sausage.  Actually I usually stuff the same day as I season the meat but won't freeze for a day after if it's in casings.  I'd go for it as you have planned.  

[ThunderLund78]

You read my mind Boar!  Was going to post just about the same question.  I shot my deer last Friday, butchered it (whole muscle) on Saturday and put it into 4 different garbage bags and in the freezer he went.  Took it all out yesterday to thaw (slow thaw in the cool garage) and today I ground it all up, weighed it into 5 lb. portions, vac-sealed it and put it back into the freezer for sausage making a different day; when it will be thawed again, and then re-froze.

I was having the same concern as you- as I was also being nagged by the voice in my head - repeating the old saw about continually freezing, thawing and re-freezing meat.

All I know is that it smelled very fresh when I was grinding and had a very crisp burgundy-crimson tint to it.  I vac-sealed it all once it was ground, So I'm hoping it's as good as the day it died.  I think the more surface area you have, the more bacteria you have.  Grinding exponentially increases the surface area of the meat, so I think as long as you get it back in the freezer as soon as possible after grinding, we'll be in good shape!

[delcecchi]

There are two issues.  First is the loss in quality from multiple freeze thaw cycles.   The second is the accumulated bacteria growth from the time during the multiple thaw cycles. While the meat is thawing,the outside is already thawed and capable of growing bacteria.  

If the thawing is in a cool, say 40 degree, environment bacteria don't grow very fast.  On the  other hand, it takes a good amount of time to finish thawing.  How many days does that meat spend getting thawed? 

[Boar]

Del, I shot, gut then skinned, qaurterd, froze. now i want to thaw grind, mix and freez. then stuff and eat or freeze. so 2 total days. i was tinking the same thing on bacterial growth, pretty sure what me and Thunderlund have in mind wont hurt anything. as long it isnt a long time span between thaw and refreeze.

the only time i start to worry is when the meat starts to discolor, when you have red meat then an area thats turns brown.obvious tissue break down from bacteria.

[delcecchi]

I think the brown is oxidation of the hemoglobin.  It is why Walmart has those sealed pressurized packages of meat.   They put carbon monoxide in there to keep the meat red.  I think the meat counters have some sort of solution they spray on to keep the meat red also.  That bright red is not natural after exposure to air. 

I think the most important thing is that all of the meat is cold, below 40, all the time. 

If it were me, I would try to eliminate one of the freeze thaw deals.  You might consider not freezing after grinding but go ahead and go all the way to stuff.  You gonna cook or smoke it after stuffing? 

[Boar]

yup cook and or smoke oafter stuffing.  good info thanks!!

[delcecchi]

Just an opinion.  But every freeze thaw reduces quality and increases chance of spoilage is my thought. 

[Boar]

thats the opinion im after. and I very tend to agree. think I wait to just thaw grind mix and stuf at the same time. Thanks much!!

[ThunderLund78]

thats the opinion im after. and I very tend to agree. think I wait to just thaw grind mix and stuf at the same time. Thanks much!!

That was my plan but apparently UPS Ground takes longer than 3 days from Iowa to Minnesota.  Seasonings didn't show and the meat was half-thawed so I ground it up.  At least I froze in 5-lb and 1-lb portions so I will only be thawing what I need going forward.

[Boar]

yul be fine, regarless, im sure it will still taste like sausage.

[reinhard1]

After I cut up the deer including the trim I freeze it.  Then the trim is thawed, ground, mixed, cooked or smoked and put into the freezer.  I know things happen at times but it's best to try to plan a time to make your sausage and skip additional freeze cycles.  I have thawed mixed, stuffed and was ready to smoke my sausage one time and was called into work for three straight days so I had to freeze the links once more before smoking.  They were all refrigerated well and kept cool at the time and everything worked out fine but it's not something that I would do again if I could help it.  Del's post's were spot on about bacteria growth and quality of the meat.  good luck.

[smurfy]

There are two issues.  First is the loss in quality from multiple freeze thaw cycles.   The second is the accumulated bacteria growth from the time during the multiple thaw cycles. While the meat is thawing,the outside is already thawed and capable of growing bacteria.  

If the thawing is in a cool, say 40 degree, environment bacteria don't grow very fast.  On the  other hand, it takes a good amount of time to finish thawing.  How many days does that meat spend getting thawed? 

I never worried much about bacteria? with that said I do my best to care for my meat the best I can. there is bacteria A OVER THE PLACE!

[pikestabber]

As with anything, less freezing and re-freezing will produce optimal taste, but I do it exactly as you are describing, Boar, and have for many years. I'm still vertical!

I am big on cleanliness, doing things safely, etc., but the reality is that it is a multi-step situation for home processors to create sausage, etc. I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as you keep sanitation at the forefront and use the appropriate amount of cure when smoking meats. The real bacteria culprit is low cooking temps and no cure over a period of time for certain meats (aka, dehydrating/smoking jerky or smoking polish/summer sausage without adding cure to it).

Edited November 23, 2015 by pikestabber

[ThunderLund78]

Like boar said - it will taste like sausage.  Perhaps if it were just straight ground venison used as a substitute for ground beef in a recipe, you might notice a blandness.  But once you get some sodium and other enhancers in there (like i plan to do) I don't think I'll be able to tell the difference.  Just gotta take care and keep the meat cool when working with it.