Freezing game

Beretta man

Lads I'm looking to freeze a few bits of game ie pheasant duck and pigeon
Can anyone tell me the right way to get the best out of the meet

cookimonster

Obviously skin or pluck it first (although some commercial operations can freeze in fur and feathers.), ensure the carcass is well cleaned out ie anus, necks and stomach / chest cavity. Age or hang the meat before freezing to improve the quality.

Dry the meat well and ensure it has cooled well before freezeing.

Cling film is good but is still porous and can result in freezer burn. Do not use tinfoil as it slows the freezing process. Aldi and Lidl both do inexpensive vacuum packers that are adequate for home freezing.

Keep your packages thin in other words freeze bird breasts, chops etc in one layer so to insure quick freezing. Freeze whole birds, small game and small joints in individual packages. Think portion sizes and amounts to insure efficient and practical packaging, this will help prevent waste and facilitate meal preparation.

Mark the package with contents and dates, it's amazing how quickly you forget what's what.

Freeze in small batches, don't over load your unit and its ideal to freeze items in single layers. When the first batch is fully frozen add another fresh layer. This may take a few days but ensures a better and safer product.

Meats with large portions of fat (duck, boar, venison) can present a problem as domestic freezer are not designed for freezing but are in fact for storing frozen food and thick fat or fatty meats can in fact not freeze fully allowing the fat to slowly become rancid. So either remove the fat or reduce storage time.

Freezing slows decay but doesn't stop it so use only sound meat and defrost in a cold environment (fridge) use within 3 days of thawing, if not cook on the third day and you will extend its shelf life, chilled, by 3 days. Mince should be used same day as it fully defrosted.

The National Rifle Association published an article based on US health authority information stating that frozen meat thawed in the fridge is safe to refreeze once it has remained chilled throughout the thawing. I leave you to do your own research on that one.

Sparks

Aldi and Lidl both do inexpensive vacuum packers that are adequate for home freezing.

They're okay...ish. Honestly, they're a bit underpowered and won't last the course even in a home kitchen. There are better ones out there for not a huge amount of extra money. I use an eiffel pro myself (bought during the black friday sales for half price, I wouldn't pay full price for those) but there are several around about the 60 euro price range that are practically all the same as far as reliability and effectiveness goes.

The thing is, if you get a decent one, you'll use it a lot more often, and since vacuum-packed meat and food lasts three to five times longer in the fridge before going to waste, you wind up saving money over the long run. Stuff you hunt yourself or stuff you buy in tesco, it all goes out of the original packaging ( ) and into a vacuum bag and then into the fridge if you're eating it in the next day or three, and into the freezer otherwise.

And if you ever take up sous vide cooking (which you can try without needing a fancy 200 euro immersion circulator, a pot and a thermometer works for simple stuff and you can easily build an immersion circulator for about twenty quid if you have a slow cooker), then you have the vacuum packing part all sorted.

Portion meat; vacuum-pack in bag; freeze in freezer; take it out on the day you want to eat it, drop it into the water bath, walk away, come back in two hours, take the perfectly cooked meat out of the bag and drop it in a hot pan for <60 seconds per side (or in the deep fat frier for <30 seconds) : job done. It sounds all fancy, but it's the most ridiculously easy way to cook meat I've ever come across.