Frozen Venison

[fasteddie]

Thanks for the responses . I plan to put about 2 1/2# of venison burger in some chili and make it in a 5 quart crock pot . The plain venison burger is 2 years old . 

[Pygmy]

As long as it has stayed frozen, it will never be unsafe to eat....However, after a year or so in the freezer,  the flavor may begin to degrade, depending on how it is packaged...This is acellerated if the meat is mixed with pork, because pork fat degrades faster than other fats..

In other words, if it has been in the freezer a long time, it might taste like s**t, but it won't  poison you if you eat it....

[Fletch]

I can't recall having any last more than a little over a year. Some of you guys need to make jerky or donate some deer lol.

[dbHunterNY]

I trim venison like crazy. Even the ground is super lean. Not by choice but I'll grab a pack every once in a great while that was 2 or 3 years old. Figure it out after its thawed and we need to make dinner. So try it out and its just fine. It does degrade just a tad. Similar to if you ever had venison that's never been frozen versus only frozen for months. Any bulk sausage or anything with fat gas to be ate within a yr if not sooner the better. It starts to go down hill for taste.

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[Marion]

As long as it has stayed frozen, it will never be unsafe to eat....However, after a year or so in the freezer,  the flavor may begin to degrade, depending on how it is packaged...This is acellerated if the meat is mixed with pork, because pork fat degrades faster than other fats..
In other words, if it has been in the freezer a long time, it might taste like s**t, but it won't  poison you if you eat it....

That's why can always grind it up and make tacos! Oh how I love venison tacos

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[crappyice]

You've got a kid that doesn't eat real food?

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My daughter is turning 16 and t tipping the scales at 78pounds - eats pasta, pretzels. Popcorn, peanut butter and pizza and pancakes and bacon (pig) ....foods that start with P only.
Twins boys (14 years old)make up for her...6’1” size 12 shoe, 150. Their coaches have them on a 2,000-3,000 calorie a day food plan for crew football and baseball.


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[wolc123]

Lots of good advice here so far.  Vacuum sealing helps a lot and so does skipping the added pork.  I can't believe all the people who taint their venison with pork.   I have often let vacuum-sealed venison go for three years in the freezer, with no off-taste developing.   We use lots of grind, and I always package that from the first deer each year in zip-lock bags.    That is consumed in less than 6-months, so vacuum-sealing that first one would be a big waste of time and money.    All of the meat from the rest of the deer each season gets vacuum-sealed.   The fresh "zip-locked" stuff always gets eaten before the "left-over" vacuum-sealed stuff, which is why three years is not uncommon.  At this point, our family of four goes thru about 200 pounds of venison a year.   It is always nice to go into a season with some vacuum-sealed stuff left in the freezer.  That really helps out on the years when the hunting ain't so good.  Years ago, there may have been a written NY state law, that venison had to be consumed within a certain time.  I am glad they did away with that one.         

Since button bucks usually only come-along for me, every other year, that is often the meat that stays the longest in the freezer.  It is of so much higher quality (taste and texture) than older deer, that I like to save it for "special occasions".   I still have a few packs left from the last one that I killed in 2018.   The nuts, tenderloins , and livers from those never make it into the freezer.   You got to eat the very best stuff fresh.