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Chest freezer died. Steaks for the neighborhood!

minniemoh
minniemoh Posts: 2,145
in EggHead Forum
Right before the Independence Day holiday, my chest freezer decided to s#&t the bed. It was only 7 months old and it had meat juice running out the bottom of it on my garage floor. F&*%!

Luckily our babysitter found the issue before all was lost. We still lost well over $400 worth of meat. I had about half of a hog and 25 lbs of fresh cut NY strips in there when it died. When I opened the lid, there was about 40 lbs of ground pork sausage, some pork steaks, and a few packages of 1 1/4" cut chops that were not salvageable as they were over 50 degrees internal. Much to my surprise, I got to the center of the freezer and things were much better.  I was happy to find that the NY strips and five packages of pork chops were still in the safe range (under 40 degrees) as I checked each piece with my instant read thermometer. 

So, what do you do? Call all the neighbors! I cooked up 18 NY strips and 16 thick-cut chops and we had a party. I was too busy cooking to take pics but here's a few that my BIL took. I T-Rex'd the NY strips and reverse seared the chops to try to make it come out at the right time. 

In the end, we used most of the meat. We could have used more help as we still threw away at least 8 of the chops because people just simply couldn't eat any more. It really turned out to be a great time.


imageimageimageimage
L x2, M, S, Mini and a Blackstone 36. She says I have enough now....
eggAddict from MN!
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Comments

  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,836
    Hate your loss, but nice job!
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
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  • hapster
    hapster Posts: 7,503
    Wow!!! Sorry for that trouble, I'd be going for a warranty claim or homeowners claim...

    Are you sure one of your hungry neighbors didn't break the damn thing? I mean how lucky (ironic) it failed right before a big holiday weekend.

    LOL... That was damn nice of you to cook for the hood.
    MSV Chill Spot
    Chester County, PA

    http://egginwithedward.blogspot.com/

    http://edwardhardingphotography.zenfolio.com/
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 19,780
    That's egging under pressure :) strong work!

    Good thinking to use the mini as a warmer.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    Drats, I live in the wrong neighborhood. :))
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    edited July 2014
    @minniemoh‌ What failed on the freezer?
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • minniemoh
    minniemoh Posts: 2,145
    Thanks guys. 

    @hapster - our deductible was too high to get anything out of home owners. Part of the warranty was a $100 food claim so I got a few bucks back. Funny thing about the neighbors was that as they were leaving I told them to stay out of my damn garage and don't unplug my stuff! HA! We're lucky to have such nice people in our neighborhood - I was happy to have them.

    @caliking - had veggies on the small, one large for the sear with spider and cast iron, one large for low-n-slow pork chops to get to the reverse sear, and the M was for the back end of the T-Rex on the steaks. Steaks turned out great. Pork chops got away from me and ended up overcooked. 

    @NPHuskerFL - it ended up being a bad connection on the compressor. It was still under warranty so the delivered a new one 10 days later.

    Zmokin - come on by the hood! We'll make you a steak.
    L x2, M, S, Mini and a Blackstone 36. She says I have enough now....
    eggAddict from MN!
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    edited July 2014
    @minniemoh‌ I guess me being a tech I would've tried repairing with the door shut to save the whole lot.

    Just food for thought (sorry no pun intended) look online and get yourself a danger temp alarm. Well worth the $$ imho. Granted if your not home it does you no good. Many of the WIC & WIF (walk-in coolers & freezers) have controls that once out of temp after hrs will go into alarm and are triggered to send an email or notification to usually the GM/operator.

    Edit: found this one that is reasonable. Considering if my vertical freezer goes down I'm risking close to a grand or more of food. Just a thought. I may get this myself.
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    image
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • bettysnephew
    bettysnephew Posts: 1,191
    Rather than trash the excess, I would have called the local PD or FD and treated them to the extras.  Never know when you might need a hand from one of those folks.
    A poor widows son.
    See der Rabbits, Iowa
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  • minniemoh
    minniemoh Posts: 2,145
    bettysnephew said:
    Rather than trash the excess, I would have called the local PD or FD and treated them to the extras.  Never know when you might need a hand from one of those folks.
    I wish I had thought of that. Great idea.
    L x2, M, S, Mini and a Blackstone 36. She says I have enough now....
    eggAddict from MN!
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