Ancient freezer finds-I'm sure they are out there

lousubcap

Recent threads got me thinking-neighbor and I share a deep chest freezer.  Anything that gets ingested comes out rock solid.  So, during an infrequent freezer dive I came across an 18 lb turkey (yup-just happened along) that had been hibernating for 3 1/2 + years (my story and his-"I thought it was yours").  No worries-fired up the BGE and it was mighty tasty.  (No pics as it didn't happen...) .   So, I'm not sure of the outer limits but no fear if under 4 years frozen for me.  YMMV-

Eggcelsior

Lou, if everything you ingest comes out rock solid, you need more water and fiber in your diet.

I'd consider adding a stool softener nightly as well.

Just some friendly advice, after talking you literally. 

Durangler

Eggcelsior said:

Lou, if everything you ingest comes out rock solid, you need more water and fiber in your diet.

I'd consider adding a stool softener nightly as well.

Just some friendly advice, after talking you literally. 

  
 

lousubcap

@Eggcelsior - Somehow when I wrote the above it was meant as a compliment to the friggin freezer...and personally I will not go much further up that road but I do have pictures of those boroscope events  

caliking

@lousubcap - that road is meant to go down... not up:)

I kid. I pulled something out of the freezer at the 3 year mark - an Indian meatball curry that my mom had made - some years ago. It had travelled from Chicago to Iowa when we moved. Tasted great , so my conclusion was that Indian food cant get freezer-burned.

Jstroke

My best was a 9.5 years find. I use to be a broker for foodservice and had a 10 lb log of bulk sausage. I used it for a fatty and lots of sides

Darby_Crenshaw

Food cannot become unsafe to eat in a freezer. The USDA advises that food properly kept frozen will be safe "indefinitely" (their word).  Essentially forever. 

Now QUALITY may degrade (freezer burn, ice crystals, etc.), but that is not a safety issue

if the package (think cryovac) is tight and unbroken, there's no reason to throw the food out. Ten years in a freezer is not 'bad', unless you packaged it so poorly that it's freezer burnt. Even then, still safe to eat. 

Richard Fl

Must be freezer diving week.  Pulled 2 1/2 lbs triple tail fish that had been food savered with a mar '06 date.  Baked it in oven 'cause it was raining real bad here, lemon juice, thin sliced tomato, mayo mixed w/parmesan and topped with panko.  Baked 375 25 min.  pulled at 165TF.  Great many years after caught. 

lousubcap

@Richard Fl - that may be a record for the dive. Just goes to show you-obviously no extended power outages during that run.  

DMW

Thanks for posting this. It reminded me I needed to go freezer diving for this.




5 days should defrost it. 

Richard Fl

nm

YukonRon

Going to the freezer now.

Richard Fl

lousubcap said:

@Richard Fl - that may be a record for the dive. Just goes to show you-obviously no extended power outages during that run.  

In '94/'95 hurricane Erin blew my neighborhood transformer and had no power for 6 days.  cleaned out all the freezers and fed the neighbors.  Had a gas stove, but not yet my second kamado/BGE.  Now I have 4 BGEs, a 5500 watt generator, 4 frig/freezers and plenty of charcoal.  Just missed a hurricane this weekend, but it has been raining on and off since last night and my  large has 2 slabs ribs for dinner going.  Stay safe wherever you are.  You get snow/ice, I just get hurricanes.

lousubcap

@Richard FL- in my 17 years here we actually did get the backside of hurricane Ike in 2008.  And since I live at the end of the local power universe we were without power for 8+ days.  And after a few 2 day outages earlier I did have a generator ( 6KW) at the ready.  If you are gonna lose power up here, best in the warm months.  Went thru a 2+ day outage in Feb and that was a chilling eggsperience.  

Legume

Cleaned mine out when my freezer died a couple of months ago, but I do have a few redfish and speckled trout filets lurking somewhere in my fridge freezers that have a couple of years on them.

Zmokin

I got rid of my deep freeze years ago because I got tired of always eating old food from it.  Even with just the fridge/freezer I occasionally find ziplocs I dated up to 2 years old, but for the most part, most is consumed within 6 months.  I know old freezer food is safe to eat, but fresher is better.

And while I know much of what I buy at the grocery market meat wise is quite often "previously frozen", I no longer have the storage capacity to find large hunks of meat from bygone eras in my freezer.  What I do store in my freezer is mostly re-packaged by me.  I buy about 5 lbs of beef to grind into hamburger and then make 1/2 lb balls to freeze.  1/2 lb seems to work fine for my family of 3 for a meal minimizing how much leftovers I end up with after making dinner.  I buy family packs of thighs and/or drumsticks, and then re-package into 4 per quart size ziploc.  I no longer will stumble upon a whole ham/turkey/boston butt/slab o' tritip/rack of ribs etc in my freezer.