Fresh vs. Frozen Pork...

jeffinsgf

We have some hippie neighbor kids that are raising pigs and chickens "free range" and organic. No hormones, no questionable feeding practices, no confinement, no transportation costs. The only thing holding me back from buying half a pig is the idea of long term freezer storage. Will a slab of ribs, or more importantly some beautiful thick cut pork chops, taste the same after being flash frozen and stored for a couple months as they will when they come out of the butcher's case and onto the grill?

AZRP

Years ago I raised a couple pigs, there is no comparison to store bought pork. The flavor is so much better that I think you could freeze it for 10 years and still be better than store bought pork. -RP

gdenby

I get frozen organic beef and pork from two local farms. Even frozen, the pork is exceptional, and the beef far better than anything I've had. I also visit an Amish butcher, and have had both fresh and frozen cuts of pork. The fresh is marginally better, but the frozen, at least up to a few months, is much better than average. FWIW, both the organic and the Amish raised ribs were smaller and far less fatty then commercial. I've had good meals from them, but I've found they need a lower temp cook, and are generally done an hour faster than commercial.

Boilermaker Ben

Many people freeze pork anyway for safety reasons, particularly if they're going to make cured (as opposed to cooked) sausages or cook rare. Kills the trichonosis. Wikipedia says 20 days at 5 degrees F or 3 days at -4 degF.

Freezing pork is common practice. The colder the freezer (butcher's freezers are more powerful than what we've got at home) the better. Less damage to the meat, less freezer burn, etc.

Unknown

yes. as long as they are wrapped or sealed properly.

keep in mind that the meat will probably be far more flavorful than commercial pork, and that far outweighs the minor consideration of long term storage flavor loss. you can minimize flavor loss in frozen food, but you can't make commercial pork taste better.

a bonus is that trichinosis is killed after about a month at 5 degree or lower temps. you'll likely be at 0 degrees, so there's that benefit. it's probably trich free anyway, but keep in mind, of the very few trich cases every year, they almost all come from "homegrown" pork or wild game

Boilermaker Ben

gdenby wrote:

FWIW, both the organic and the Amish raised ribs were smaller and far less fatty then commercial. I've had good meals from them, but I've found they need a lower temp cook, and are generally done an hour faster than commercial.

The diet and genetics of the pig will have more impact on the fattiness than organic vs. factory raised. Over the decades, we've bred the fat out of our pigs to get a "healthier" more mass-market appealing pig, rather than for flavor. The high end restaurants buy from farmers that breed older breeds of pig (kind of like heirloom tomatoes). I've read that the best pigs are raised on land heavy with oak trees, as acorns (pig candy) provide great fat and flavor to the meat. Farmers without oak trees will often feed acorns during the last few weeks before slaughter.

Semolina Pilchard

I have read all the responses and there is nothing I can add, but I have a question. Are they really hippies??? If they are I would have thought they would be vegetarians. Well maybe they did not get the memo. :silly:

jeffinsgf

Thanks to all. Think I'll buy a shoulder from the kids to check it out, and then start shopping for a small freezer. Should help with the garden harvest, too. The freezers on our two refrigerators were absolutely stuffed by the end of summer, and I'm planning on about double the garden this year.

Slick

If you are going to buy a freezer, just a suggestion to buy a bigger one (at least 15 cu.ft.) as opposed to a smaller one, and make sure that it is not a frost free model, because that sucks all the moisture out over time. A vacuum sealer would also be a good addition if you plan to store meat more than a month or so. That way, when you run across a bargain, you can stock up!

I second the locally grown pork flavor vs. commercially raised.

Slick

gdenby

The "natural" hogs live in an oak forest. I want to get more of their product (the bacon was outstanding) but they've recently raised the price thru the roof. Makes me think twice and thrice before making an order.

jeffinsgf

Depending on your age and background you may have a different interpretation of hippie than I do. Having grown up when the term was coined, I use it today as a term of endearment, rather than critique. They're young, the man has hair almost to his shoulders, the wife wears peasant dresses, the two adorable little girls run around through the chicken yard barefoot, with curly golden hair that rarely sees a comb, they are feeding themselves and providing their living from about 40 acres of scrub Ozarks, the produce is sold on the honor system, with a mayonnaise jar on the counter for the money and they are about the happiest young couple I've ever met. I admire them a great deal. Wish I had the guts to follow in their footsteps.

jeffinsgf

Thanks for that, Slick. I was looking quickly on the web at 8 or 9 cu. ft. models, because it is only the two of us. Might take your advise and think a little bigger. I also need to measure the space I have in mind. Bought the vacuum sealer a couple months ago. Thanks also for the warning about frost free models. I'll avoid those.

Semolina Pilchard

Believe me when I say my post was in jest. These guys seem to have no problem with people eating tasty animals, so they are my kind of people. On a serious note, when I run into someone I consider a hippie they are usually vegetarians. I have no problem with what they eat or don't eat, but invariably, they cop a condescending attitude towards me and all the "evil people" who eat meat. Even worse than that, many of these "vegetarians" actually eat a little meat on the sly.

Semolina Pilchard

Another problem with frost free models, the walls warm up to melt the ice, so don't have any meat touching the walls.

jeffinsgf

I know the type you mean and share your opinion. These kids are the real deal. Here's a link to their web site. http://www.millsapfarms.com/

AZRP

Jeff if you really want to do a taste comparison, go for some chops instead of the shoulder. -RP

jeffinsgf

Great idea! The chops are the cut I would be most concerned about anyway.

Grandpas Grub

Pretty neat site, my hat is off to them. I wish we were close to them.

GG

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

As a now “Old Hippie” with long hair and a gray beard…Me wishes I could have / would have gone that route myself, oh so many years ago. I actually tried, but circumstance (don’t get me started) dictated otherwise! And I gave up…Somewhat! I still have a pretty simple lifestyle, but it’s nowhere near what I though I was going into in 1970!
OTOH, getting back to the original question. The recommended time in the freezer, excerpted from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook (Hearst Books / Sterling Publishing).for pork is 6 to 12 months.
One thing that makes a world of difference is how it is packaged for the freezer. Freezer paper is good (two layers) for at least 6 months in the freezer. Even better is a croyvak method (all the air removed and sealed in plastic) then I wrap in freezer paper.
I’ve had a pork / venison sausage in the freezer for up to two years and it still tasted good! Even though it “maxed” at two months within the GH recommendations!
My thought: Buy the “hippie” pig, cut, croyvak, double wrap, keep at zero (-10 even better) in a cheast type (not a frost free thing)freezer and you will have “heaven on earth” every time you cook some pork.

jeffinsgf

Thanks, Spuds.

Are any of us where we thought we'd be in 1970?

If the pork comes from the processor in normal freezer paper, would you take it out and vacuum it, or vacuum over the freezer paper, or leave it alone and eat it in 3 or 4 months?

Unknown

Vacuum seal without the paper. Meat CAN NOT go bad (unsafe) in the freezer if kept properly frozen (sub zero). It can lose quality (but not safety), but if vacuum sealed, that is not likely.

You also won't dry it out (freezer burn) if vacuum sealed.

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

What Vern said...
If you vac-seal meat from the butcher, remove any and all other packaging first.
And, yes, four to six months in freezer paper should not be a problem.