Frozen Moose Meat

by Marty Wesley
(Oshawa Ontario)

How long can you keep moose meat frozen before it is too late to cook?

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Similar Questions, from our archives:
We have had some moose meat in our deep freeze for some time now, and we are wondering if it is safe to eat?
Will moose meat that has been frozen for a long time taste OK?
What can we do with our moose meat that has been in our freezer for over a year? Should we through it away? That seems like such a waste!

Freezing Moose Meat
by: Mark - Site Owner

Marty
I cannot comment on the quality of your meat, without knowing certain things, like: How long have you had it in your freezer? Is it double wrapped in freezer paper? Was it first wrapped in plastic before the freezer paper outer layer? Is it vacuum packed?

All of these things will affect the quality life expectancy of moose meat, venison or any red meat for that matter. The longer you store meat in the freezer the more the flavor deteriorates.

When meat is frozen for a long period of time it will begin to freezer burn, when you unwrap you will be able to identify this. Freezer burn is easily identified by its brown almost cooked appearance. If this appears just on the edges of your meat you can just trim it off and still utilize the meat. If it has spread to larger areas, it likely would be wise to discard it. Another test of freshness is to smell the moose meat, your nose will tell you if it will taste good.

We try to eat all our moose meat within a maximum length of time of two years. At the end of two years it really has started to freezer burn (unless vacuum packed) and the meat will start to taste off, in other words will start to take on a flavor that is not pleasant.

Our common practice is to eat our moose meat for the year it was harvested; the following year after we get another moose we do one of two things with the balance. We give it away, or we thaw it out and take it to our local butcher and have him grind it and make moose salami or garlic sausage (kielbasa).

The absolute best practice is to wrap your moose meat in freezer paper and store it for a maximum of one year to maintain its freshness.

I hope this answers your question.

Frozen Moose Meat

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Frozen Moose Meat

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