Freezing veinson in water?

[deadon]

I freeze fish and chicken in water and always have. Smokepole posted recently that he freezes his venison in water. what other animals are Ok to freeze in water. I use a vacuum sealer but at almost 50 cents a bag, water is cheaper. What do you guys think of freezing all meat in water?

[sawmillgunner]

I do the same thing, deer, fish whatever. Keeps it from freezer burn. Vacuum bags are just to costly in my opinion.

[tar12]

There is no problem with it at all if you have the freezer space.i have frozen everything in this manner.rabbits,squirels,fish,deer,pork,beef,ect..

[olsmokey]

I freeze all my deer roasts in a mixture of prime rib seasoning and a beef buillon cube desolved in water. Let it marinate a couple days in the frig. before freezing. When I'm ready to cook just dump it in a slow cooker for 6 hrs. and garnish with carrots, celery and onions. If you have any leftovers it makes a great Philly cheese steak the next day.

[hunter]

What is the best container to freeze the dear roast in water?
Will a freezer bag work or does it need to be a plastic container?

[rossman40]

My grandfather always used gallon milk cartons so they stacked real nice for his fish. I haven't seen milk in gallon carton probly in 20 years. I was in a resturaunt a couple of years ago and they were pitching some gallon size cartons and they got freeze dried mash potatos in them IIRC.

Supposedly the gallon milk jugs will be changing. A newer, boxier jug is right around the corner, it saves on handling. May be more freezer friendly.

[smokepole50]

About the best thing is a 1/2 gallon milk or juice carton. Just open up the top completely and wash well and let dry, then come deer season you are ready to go. My dad also used quart cartons for the loin.

I use freezer bags because I am lazy........... and we still buy milk by the gallon with the boys being 15 and 19.

[rossman40]

I've been vacum-packing the last 5 years but I'm thinking of continuing the vac-pak for the deerburger but go to canning for the chunk meat. Storage time is much better canned. Besides the backstraps and deerburger the rest of the meat is mostly used for stew or fajitas.

[Deleted]

Olsmokey,
OOOOOh .....that recipe for freezing sounds delicious.
With a fresh kill ,I usually will leave hams,backstrap,etc. in a cooler full of iced water for a few days, I drain bloody water every morning and re-ice until no more bloody water.
The meat comes out white and is a lot less gamie tasting.
Now I will add your tip to my regiment and even step it up a notch," injection". Thanks for sharing.
Greenhorn

[shootsitall]

Freezing any nonseafood protien will only add more water(or marinade or brine) to the meat. While
It can help to add some flavor to the meat I will also remove a majority of the natural flavors and vitamns.
It you are trying to remove some of the "gamey" flavor from your venison, this may be the way to keep your meat.
I enjoy the natural and suttle diffrences in the flavors of my game and I don't like paying for vac bags, so when I freeze venison I leave it in as large of pieces as I can, then I tightly wrap in plastic wrap. I make sure to Remove ALL the air(the moisture in the air is what causes freezer burning).
Then turn the meat 90 degrees and put at least 2 more layers of wrap on them. I put one final wrap on the same as the fisrt. Then label date and freeze. Be sure to squeeze all the air out of the wrap on each layer before sealing .I have been doing this for over a decade and don't have a problem. But I can get 2000 foot rolls of plastic wrap from the restraunt I work at for about $20. So this is pretty cheap for me.

The only protien I will freeze in liquid(usually a brine or salt based marinade) is seafood or meat that will be cooked in soups or stews. But only enough liquid to just cover the meat. After thawing the liquid will be saved and used. Usually I will bring liquid to a boil,skim the "froth" off, then use in gravy, as a brasing liquid, or turn into a sauce.

But if it works for you and you enjoy the meal then do it.
Cooking is about what YOU like. There is NO wrong or right way to do any recipe, if it
dosent comeout like you wanted it then you have learned something and can do it
better next time.

Hope this helps someone or at least encourages someone to be a little more bold and creative
in their kitchen. Enjoy.

As one of the chefs at school said"every great dish was an experiment in somebodys kitchen at one time".

[muznut]

Dang just when I thought it was a great Idea shootsitall wrote his post, but Im still going to try it. but my question is will the zip bags burst from the water freezing and how will it work with a oily meat like bear? ;D

[olsmokey]

Never had a bag burst from freezing. You don't have to fill the bag completely, just enough to cover the meat and squeeze out air and zip. Have had some 3yrs old and still tasted great. As far as bear goes your on your own. No bear here in Ia. We did cook some Racoon and beaver for a wildlife feed one time and it's pretty greasy. We boiled it outdoors in a big pot and let it boil over to remove the grease. Drained it, Picked out the bones, added a little BBQ sauce and everybody loved it. Didn't tell anyone what is was till it was gone. Canned venison is my favorite way to store for long periods. No freezer space and easy to prepare for about anything you want to cook up. I think I'll try greenhorn's idea of injection next time. Anyway you choose to use, it will be great. Enjoy

[smokepole50]

This is kind of late for this thread but I will add it anyway. We always process our own deer meat. This allows us to separate out the different muscles as whole muscles. As whole muscles I don't believe you have that much loss of any flavor or nutrients. The muscle has a sinew covering over most of its surface to seal in most of the flavor. Just freeze it whole, then thaw it, remove sinew and slice or cube it for what ever you plan to use it for.

Oxygen is what causes freezer burn.

[bubbinator]

While I do freeze my fish in water(Zip Lock or containers-fins puncture bags), I get my best venison results by washing it then wrapping it in Saran Wrap the freezer paper. Same idea as vacuum, but cheaper, less space than water pack and 100% good for me 40 yrs. Additions of seasonings optional.