# How do you store your frozen meat?



## FurMom1089 (Apr 22, 2012)

I'm thinking I want to get out of the plastic bags and food saver stuff and move to plastic tupperware, does anyone else do this? does it make it easier? I don't know if I want to do it in daily amounts, or weekly, the daily is roughly one pound... are there containers that make it easier? do you buy containers just biggenough to fit that amount, or does it matter if theres some air space?


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## diamond8 (Apr 29, 2012)

god im still getting to grips with this as well i have meat EVERYWHERE freezers out side, inside and a dog fridge aswell i bag pretty much everything in freezer bags and section it off but my beef heart comes vacumed so its flat aswell which helps. but label every thing after a while it all kinda looks the same in the freezer. i cant weigh it up and say bag it for the week cos it depends on what the dogs have done that day exercising. feeding time here has becoming an hour long event in the evenings, jesus you wouldent see the likes of it in the zoo


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

I was doing tubberware for everything but found it took up too much space. So here is what I do. I warp up my meat into plastic warps. I'll place what I'm feeding for the next 2 weeks into the tubberware. The rest goes into freezer bags that take up far less space but still warped up to keep my meat from freezing together. And since the meat doesn't even fully defrost and it is warped up in plastic I just reuse the bags and the plastic warp after spraying them with vinegar and letting them dry.


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## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

how much do you feed a day? if you have multiple dogs it may be easier to freeze in tupperwares that last a day or two. i don't have enough space or just haven't figured out how to do that efficiently yet so still use freezer bags but it seems like such a waste


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

I am still figuring this out as well, but what I've started doing lately, and I think I will continue to do, is portion things out individually, or one day's worth, depending on what it is. I got two packages of turkey necks the other day, and put each one in a freezer bag, and then put all of the individually wrapped ones into a big tupperware together. That, way, it's a container full of turkey necks, but I can just pull one out at a time, since Dobby only eats one maybe every week and a half or so.

What I've found is that when I do too large of containers, I can't get stuff apart without defrosting, and if something changes (need to fast for a day, or Dobby decides to be a snot and not eat something, which happens often-ish), things go gross. And, gross to the point where I don't really want to feed them to my dog even. I threw away four chicken wings yesterday because they'd been defrosted in the fridge for nearly a week and they smelled horrible. I did feed one to each dog, but the dogs are little, and I didn't want to keep them another day to feed more today.

So, I'm wokring on daily portions, and defrosting a couple at a time. I think it largely depends on how many dogs you're feeding and how much meat. Give it time, try a few different things until you figure out what works for you. Good luck!


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## Neeko (Aug 11, 2010)

I break boneless down into 10-20 oz portions, then place in a ziplock. The label would read something like this, "5/21/12, beef heart, 16-18 oz x3"
Or, "5/21/12, pork butt, 11 oz x2."


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## CaptainJack (Feb 13, 2012)

I have two seven cubic foot freezers in my shed, plus the freezer under my fridge. When we started this adventure I bought lots of 4L rectangular plastic containers from the dollar store, thinking they'd be the best way to go. I like them better than ziplocs, but they take up a lot more room. So pack as much meat in them as you can. Jack eats 2 lbs a day, and we're rotating 4 types of meat. If I thaw 4 containers it's too much for the week and something gets smelly. So I'm thawing each type of meat to the point that I can separate it, then mixing it all up so I end up with 2 containers for the week. In the future I will pack 2 kinds of meat in each container. I would recommed testing the shape of container you're considering to maximize freezer storage. The best part of containers is that I just throw them in the dishwasher.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I double bag all of my meat in plastic grocery store bags. In tupperware containers you are losing a significant amount of valuable freezer space. With something malleable, like bags, meat can be squished and folded into places that tupperware containers wouldn't fit. I keep a couple of tupperware containers in the fridge to hold meat so it can thaw if I need to be able to separate pieces or thaw something that needs to be cut or even if I end up with something that can't fit in the freezer.


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## FurMom1089 (Apr 22, 2012)

hmm, a lot of good ideas here, I'm thinking about leaning the way of wrapping in cling wrap and packing containers full, but I'm going to try to go for perfectly square/rectangle pieces so they fit closely  but then I could just pick out what im going to feed a day in advance and I don't run into the issue of meat starting to smell :/ they have been eating it with no issues. Anyone got pics of their freezer so I can get some organizing ideas? right now im borrowing the use of an upright, but I bought a 6-9 cuft chest... I bought it and delivered it to my dads without really looking at it I admit lol but it was 50 bucks and clean as a whistle i couldnt refuse


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

I prefer using giant ziploc baggies, and I portion each 4 ounce meal individually in saran wrap. I did the plastic container thing in the beginning, but I think from freezing and thawing, the plastic got weak, because one little tumble in the freezer and it would crack or completely break. So now I just use bags and I rewash them and let them airdry so Im not wasting plastic.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i do that, too, jesse.....i portion out two to three pieces of whatever or maybe two to three meals, since i feed more than one protein at a time. they are bagged and then placed into grocery bags. 


each protein is marked. that way, i go shopping in my freezers, pick up whatever proteins i need...and then bring them into the house where they go into bins in the fridge. i then portion out meals depending on what i feel like feeding that day.


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## Dog Walker (Dec 23, 2010)

I usually portion out a daily meal into sandwich bags and put those in freezer bags. I take 2 hours every few months and make up meals with different proteins and contents. I thaw a few baggies at a time in a plastic rubbermaid bowl in the fridge. I only reuse the freezer bags but may start reusing the sandwich bags as well, seeing as we go through a lot within the year! I like the bags because they are easier to fit into our deep freezer. I keep most of my organs though in plastic containers, I reuse the ones my livers come in.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

I have one huge ginormous upright freezer and it's about 20% tupper ware, 50% bagged meat and 30% paper wrapped meat. 

I have 2 big tupperware that I defrost in the garage freezer and use to hold meat during the week.

It works. Eventually I'd like to have mostly Tupperware but for now this is what I do.


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## blue_dog (Mar 28, 2012)

I was thinking of using zip locks bags, and am for most of the meat that I have now, but it seems like such a waste. I have been storing margarine containers and similar containers to keep meat in because they are reusable and freeze well. I know for our human food Tupperware containers break when in the freezer if they fall, or bump too hard. I am hoping to use a combination of both to conserve space, but not to waste too much. My plan is to have everything organized in a meal by meal basis so that if I'm not there, or if I'm at school then my family can just pull out a container marked with the right date and dump it out for him. That's the plan but who knows how it will really go.


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## Rvent (Apr 15, 2012)

I thaw a weeks worth of meats, I keep it in seperate gallon storage bags and cut it up & weigh it out at every meal... it seems to keep just fine in the draw of my fridge, seems though the dogs like it more if it is a little stinky.....


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## BeagleCountry (Jan 20, 2012)

Air at the top of a container will not matter. The worst that will happen is some freezer burn if the food remains in the freezer for a long period of time. Dogs can eat freezer burned food with no problem.

I use a combination of Rubbermaid containers, vintage Tupperware, Zip-lock bags and freebie margarine, sour cream, yogurt and chicken liver containers I have asked friends to save. Anything that comes on a foam tray is removed, processed and goes into 5 or 7 cup Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid containers. Beef heart, pork roast, pork loin, beef chuck roast, venison, liver, kidney and the spleen from hell is in 5 or 7 cup Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid Containers. I use rectangular Rubbermaid Servin' Saver containers for pork spare ribs. The extra spare rib meat goes into smaller Servin' Saver containers. Chicken legs go into vintage Tupperware green lettuce keepers. Thighs are in large round sheer vintage Tupperware containers.

Containers are labeled. I used sheets of Avery address labels and ran them through a laser printer. The sheets have the names of the meats I use repeated on several rows. A label is placed on the side of each container. Then, covered with clear shipping tape. The labels and tape hold up for 4 - 6 hand washings. When water gets under the tape I remove it, replace the label and the tape. 

Zip-lock bags are used primarily for chicken wings that are fed to the cat. They are labeled with a Sharpie. Just the contents and amount. No date. These can be stuffed anywhere in the freezer. I have also been using Zip-lock bags for partial turkey necks and pigs feet. I'm getting some leaks from the bags so have been thawing them with the foam grocery store trays underneath. I may change the partial turkey necks and pigs feet to containers.

Pork fat that is added to lean cuts of meat is stored in yogurt containers. Each week I partially thaw the pork fat and organs. Then, place an approx. weekly amount in the smaller labeled freebie containers. 

All meat, organs and bones are thawed in the refrigerator. The beags get the same protein for a couple of days depending on rather it is in a 5 or 7 cup container. I feed bone every couple of days. The bone-in meat is partially thawed in the refrigerator. The needed pieces removed. The container is then returned to the freezer to be thawed again in a couple of days. On the rare occasion that I forget and leave the bone-in meat in the refrigerator, and it gets stinky (chicken gets nasty the quickest) I just rinse it with running water. You can feel the slime rinse off.

I have tried to use what I have, get freebies from friends, wash and reuse as much as possible. Storage containers do use more freezer space than bags but I find them to be the most efficient and least wasteful. 

Scroll to the bottom of the link below to see Danemama's processing of bulk meat and freezer storage. Very impressive! I saw a pic of a freezer completely full of several hundred pounds of meat that was in white 1 qt. (?) deli containers. Organized, labeled, and awesome.
Dedicated to proper carnivore nutrition - Prey Model Raw Feeding for Dogs & Cats


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

Here is what I do:

At first, I portioned everything out for my three dogs. I put them in Ziplock baggies and labeled them. I had a GIANT stockpile of Ziplock! It is all but gone now 

This method took too long for me. I don't want to stand there for hours portioning. Just not my personal preference. Also, using one bag per dog everyday seemed wasteful ( I am not the type to reuse baggies) although I know a lot of people do that, more kudos to them. 

Now I just put the meat the way it came into the freezer. If I got it at the grocery store, I just put the package in there. If I buy a 50 lbs. box (like beef heart, chicken backs, etc.) I DO use ziplock baggies and stuff the meat into those. Otherwise, the meat is one giant cube that I can not access. 

So every day or every other day I pull out a day's worth of food and put it in the crisper shelves in my fridge. When it is time to feed, I pull the meat and portion it. Usually with portioning, feeding, and clean up, it is about half an hour. 

With organ, I usually buy in large quantities. I break it down and store in tupperware. I alternate the one I am using at the moment between fridge and freezer so it does not spoil (since organ consumption is a much slower rate than muscle). 

I do plan to start saving large tubs to store meat in (like the gallon tubs of ice cream containers). We don't go through ice cream very fast though 

I hope you find the way that works best for you. It is kind of trial and error and depends on how much time, space, energy you have as well as resources and how many pets you are feeding.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

if you're buying quantity , the best thing to do for the stuff that will be used last, is vacuum pack it. it really can almost last forever, not get compromised at all.
stuff that also needs to stay for a long time, should be wrapped in saran wrap and then in paper, marked with what it is, and dated.
that's the only advice i have and i get it from my husband, the butcher.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Whatever I buy goes in the freezer in whatever package it came in. I thaw meat in the fridge and if it is more than can be eaten in a few days I portion it out into smaller pieces and refreeze. I typically thaw 1-3 different proteins and feed through those until they are gone. I am only feeding bone about 2x per week so I thaw that as I need it. Organ I thaw and cut into smaller pieces and freeze that in plastic containers. I feed organs frozen so I just sit them out about an hour before I feed so I can pry the peices loose. I don't portion my meals ahead of time I just cut and weigh each night for dinner. Actually I do portion and package breakfast when I do dinner. Once I can go to 1 meal per day I won't need to do that anymore and I may start getting several days worth ready.

It is very interesting to read how organized most of you are!


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## tuckersmom20 (Dec 12, 2010)

I have a mixture of containers, freezer bags and loose meat in my freezer.

The containers store up to 1.5 to 2 lbs of ground meat. I use ground because Sam is older and missing some teeth so ground gives him a break. He gets some whole pieces too, but sometimes ground is easier on him.

I have bags for things like turkey necks, chicken necks.. Organs.. Chicken wings .... You see what I mean.

And... My loose meat is all my bricked ground chicken and bricked offal, along with my gazillion Chicken backs. The backs are just too many to put into bags.. I find it a waste.
Although finding the backs are a challenge.

My freezers right now are a disaster. I hate it, I hate an unorganized freezer.

Im moving in 30 days.. (bought a house!) and the seller is actually leaving his 30 cu ft freezer for me!
Other than Essential appliances, that was the only thing I asked for.
Seller is moving to bc and can't take unecessary things like freezers :-D


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I use steralite "shoeboxs" from walmart. They are in the storage section. They are just the right size to stack in the fridge and freezer.


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## pogo (Aug 28, 2011)

I have two chest freezers one for the dogs one shared with our food.

In theirs i have 3 sheep heads bagged up at the bottom, and then a bit of plastic over to make a bit of a shelf. I have then stacked ALL of their bones in that freezer, none in bags just packed in right up to the top. In there, there is chicken carcasses, beef/pork/lamb bones, sheep legs, trotter, ribs etc etc

In the shared freezer i have 15kg lump of tripe at the bottom, then offal, meat scraps/chunks etc with our food on top. Et voila!


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## Hadley (Jan 6, 2011)

pogo said:


> I have two chest freezers one for the dogs one shared with our food.
> 
> In theirs i have 3 sheep heads bagged up at the bottom, and then a bit of plastic over to make a bit of a shelf. I have then stacked ALL of their bones in that freezer, none in bags just packed in right up to the top. In there, there is chicken carcasses, beef/pork/lamb bones, sheep legs, trotter, ribs etc etc
> 
> In the shared freezer i have 15kg lump of tripe at the bottom, then offal, meat scraps/chunks etc with our food on top. Et voila!


ohhhh jealous! wish I had 15kg of tripe!!!! Or rather, my dogs wish I had... lol.


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