Freezer paper or vacuum seal meat?

[BigAntlerGetter]

Jus looking at ur guys opinions, do you prefer to vacuum seal ur meat or wrap it in freezer paper. Benefits of longetivity? Jus wondering for 3 bucks were cuttin up And might spend the money on a vacuum sealer,

 

[Sam Millard]

I would invest in a vac sealer. We use ours for everything now. These deer sticks are last years buck. I'm down to the last few packages and they taste just like they did last November!

 

[Whisky]

I still use both, but prefer the vac sealer. When I wrap with freezer paper I've also started wrapping a couple times in saran wrap first, then freezer paper. Seems to do a better job at protecting meat. I will use the vac sealer for processed meat like sausage, sticks, etc as well as the good chops and steaks. I will use the paper for trimmings or stuff I've already ground up and plan on processing into something else in the not so distant future. Them freezer bags get spendy.

 

[Stid2677]

I use a chamber sealer, bags are cheap and the meat last much longer than paper wrapping.

 

[SDHNTR]

Unless you buy a really good commercial style vac sealer, I think freezer paper is the way to go. I like to wrap tightly in plastic wrap first.

 

[Becca]

We have eaten steaks, roasts and burger double wrapped in freezer paper 3+ years old and never had any trouble. The cured sausage like summer sausage, hotdogs, and hunter sticks seem to freezer burn more quickly so those do better when vacuum sealed, at least IME. So in our household we utilize both methods.

While I love my food saver, it seems a little like overkill for the bulk of our steaks/roasts/burger. We process deer, sheep, and mountain goat at home, but typically take moose and caribou, as well as anything we want made into cured sausages into our local game shop for processing. Cutting up steaks and roasts at home, wrapping in freezer paper is simple and you can have more than one person wrapping at once. A chamber sealer would allow us to vacuum seal more than one package at a time, but again I haven't had any issues with the freezer paper to justify the cost of a chamber sealer. The sausage products we get from the games shop (which are the items most prone to freezer burn) are vacuum sealed before we pick them up, and store quite well for several years.

 

[Renoit24]

I agree with Whiskey. I usually go to the local butcher shop and buy the plastic butcher bags to place the meat in and then wrap in butcher paper. Nice thing about butcher bags is you can marinate your meat ahead of time while it's frozen. I save vacuum seal bags for steaks only.

 

[HellsCanyon]

I prefer the vacuum sealer method. When going on a weekend trip you can throw the bag in a cooler with ice and not have to worry about it getting wet when the ice melts in the bottom of the cooler! I also use the vacuum sealer for my DIY dehydrated meals... The bags are not cheap but sure a lot cheaper than going to a game processor! If you do use butcher paper, make sure you wrap in seran wrap first like mentioned above, makes a world of difference in freezer life.

Mike

 

[bbrown]

My last 2 elk I have been using zip-lock freezer bags first then wrapped in freezer paper. Another little trick a buddy showed me is almost seal the zip-lock and carefully dip it in a sink fill of water to help push out any air pockets then seal and wrap. Just ate a package of steaks from last years bull (packaged on 10/16) last night and it was great with no signs of freezer burn.
I do agree with Becca on the sausages needing to be vac sealed for longer storage although most of that gets eaten up pretty quickly so its usually not a problem.

 

[ScottP]

Haven't owned a vac sealer so no experience there (except the bags seemed $$?, at least for the volume of raw meat we do here). As mentioned above, the vac sealer would be the best if you're making a bunch of sausage.

We do 2 wraps in plastic wrap, and then one in plastic coated freezer paper. Never had a freezer burned item using this method, and its dirt cheap if you get your supplies at costco. I'm still on the same roll of plastic ~20 deer, 4 elk, and other odd game animals into it.

 

[pacific-23]

Saran wrap and freezer paper for meat works pretty well but is a PITA, if you are doing fish a vac sealer is the only way to go. Spend a grand on a chamber vac and bags are only 7 cents per. Have burned up several foodsavers and would never go back. Only thing I wrap now is large items (bone in venison hindquarter etc).

 

[E-2]

When you say plastic wrap, are we talking like saran wrap? I have always just used the plastic coated freezer paper.

I agree with packing processed jerky, sticks bologna, and the like , as well as sausage in vacuum bags. We butcher hogs every year and the sausage and
scrapple seem to lose seasoning/ taste when just packed in freezer paper..

 

[sk1]

i use freezer paper but rather than saran wrap i do tin foil. not sure if it's a good idea or not but i grew up doing it. i feel like it does add extra protection and is way easier than saran wrap, then do your freezer paper

 

[SDHNTR]

I just use saran wrap. It's easy to pull tight and that squeezes all the air out. Plus it holds itself tight while I wrap it up in freezer paper.

 

[sk1]

also for freezer paper users, those ziplock air tight freezer bags with the hand pump work pretty darn well for the few cuts of meat you want vacuum sealed, and relatively inexpensive.

 

[ScottP]

When you say plastic wrap, are we talking like saran wrap? I have always just used the plastic coated freezer paper.

I agree with packing processed jerky, sticks bologna, and the like , as well as sausage in vacuum bags. We butcher hogs every year and the sausage and
scrapple seem to lose seasoning/ taste when just packed in freezer paper..

yes, just saran wrap. Two wraps where you get it tight and force out any air. Same for the freezer paper. I've wrapped bulk sausage this way and it always comes out of the freezer good as the day I made it.

 

[Highcountry_Hellrazor]

Grew up using freezer paper, and this year my fiancé switched my family to vacuum sealer. It is awesome! The meat takes up less room in the freezer, and the meat lasts longer without freezer burn. Plus it doesn't make a mess when it thaws.

 

[E-2]

I will have to try the plastic wrap. Thanks!

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Freezer paper actually works really well from my experiences but I own a vacuum sealer and prefer that if I have the time.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I commercial vacuum seal everything. As long as you get all the air out and don't rupture the bag, your meat will stay good for a very, very long time. I go back east and whitetail hunt every year and we process everything our selves, but don't have access to a good commercial vacuum sealer. So subsequently, we wrap everything in plastic wrap and then freezer paper, then freeze it and bring it back home. The stuff that we vacuum seal at home lasts much longer in the freezer than the whitetail we get back east.