Ah the meat tray. I’ve posted before about it. $20 for four trays of assorted dead animal flesh. A good way to get your animal protein for the next week or so, depending on how you cook and what your tastes are. As you also know, every other day or so I cruise the meat aisle at my grocer looking for the ‘remaindered’ meat….the stuff that is marked down 30% or 50% to sell immediately. Perfectly good stuff, but it needs to be used or frozen immediately. And then…on rare occasions…the two combine to create: the remaindered meat tray.
Normally $19.99….but knock off an additional 30% and now that deal looks pretty attractive. So…I’ll take ’em all. Why not? I’ve got a vacuum sealer and a freezer. So $14 each.
I literally have no room in the freezer now. Everything is repackaged, vacuum sealed, and ready to sleep until much later in 2021 (or beyond). Food security, baby.
I love doing that. Can’t beat getting boneless top sirloin, London broil, rump roast, etc. for $2.99/lb. Or a whole gigantic boneless pork loin roast for $.99/lb. I haven’t bought any meat for the past month because both of my freezers are full…….
I was able to get two antelope, one mule deer buck, and a bull elk this season, so my freezer is filled. I’m contemplating buying another freezer, but I’m off grid on solar power, so still not sure I want the additional drain on my batteries.
Pressure can the tougher cuts,good for a year+,no refrigerator needed
I was in the store last week to pick up a prescription, and cruised the meat cooler…
Bone on ribeye roast, marked down to $3.77/pound. I bought 5 roasts, and left a couple for the next guy. My wife actually hit her FB mom’s group with the info to share the wealth.
We’re having one for dinner on New Year’s day. If you like beef roast, forget the dried out lean grey roasts, the ribeye is juicy and delicious.
And the ones I don’t keep as roasts will be sliced into ribeye steaks.
All vac sealed and frozen, waiting to fill my belly.
n
(same store sometimes has prime beef marked down to half or below. Corporate keeps sending prime to the store but it doesn’t sell well in the neighborhood. Ox tails and tripe sell better. Eventually it gets marked down for quick sale. Their loss, my gain.)
Lucky you! The best that I have been able to pull off is chicken legs & attached thighs, bulk packaged for $4 each package. I got 8 in one package, then 5, then 9. The 5 package had chickens so large, I thought that they were turkey legs. If a shopper is watchful and careful, there are deals to be had!
I ordered a chest freezer awhile back. Very excited to be able to add some good protein to my food storage plans.
Maybe a good time to dehydrate some to jerky / biltong just in case refrigeration is not available. Vacuum pack for long term – damn tasty. A couple of freezer bags of that would be nice. Some small 1 meal portions would fit a pack nicely as a back-up meal.
Its the middle of winter here. If refrigeration is unavailable it won’t make a difference….I can just stick stuff outside where it is often colder than in my freezer.
Just a reminder…
Red meat is not always “healthy”…
Aged meat is much better, cooks better,
and is always more tender…not to
mention, tastier when seasoned correctly.
I prefer rubs.
Webber cook books has great guides to
stock “seasoning pantries” by.
I always hang my venison a minimum
of seven days before processing.
Ahh. yes; the vacuum sealer! My friend for so many reasons!
If there’s one thing the “plandemic” has taught me, it’s that staying ahead of the panic will certainly result in freezer burned meat if you don’t vacuum seal!
Folks, if you don’t have a Foodsaver, get one; preferably two. TWO? When you buy in bulk and repackage, you’re going to heat up the vacuum sealer to the point where it errors out because it’s too hot. The solution; use one Foodsaver to make the bags, and the other to seal them after being filled. If you only have one Foodsaver, keep a damp rag handy. When the unit overheats, open the top and wipe the heating element with the rag. This will cool it off faster.
If you’re shopping for a Foodsaver, get one that’s automatic; grabs the edge of the bag, evacuates it, and seals it automatically. The ones you have to press down on are a PITA to use!
Keep a bunch of non-iodized salt on hand. If the power goes out, you can salt the meat down to keep it edible.
Local store has whole pork shoulders(#10-#12@) in a two pack(cryopack ready for freezer) for $.59#, just too big for freezer
59c/lb? Man you gotta buy some.
If nothing else, make some crock pot carnitas (stewed pork chunks) and then package that in meal sized portions. I use a pre-made carnitas sauce packet from the grocery store.
Or take some time and make sausage…
Or just break it down into chunks before bagging and vac sealing and freezing.
Lowest I’ve seen it here was 99c/lb.
I break down spiral sliced hams into 1 1/3 pound ‘steaks’ and vac seal. That is a quick and easy meal with tasty leftovers. It stores a lot easier as flat steaks too. The part that wasn’t sliced, I either package whole for a mini ham, or slice and then package. All the little bits and pieces go in a tupperware in the fridge and get mixed into scrambled eggs, or frozen to be used that way later.
wrt vac sealers, keep your eyes open at yard/garage/estate sales. Two is one, one is none. I had to get out my backup last month when the heat resistant tape over the sealing element developed a missing spot. I was able to keep going because of the spare until I can get the kapton tape online.
A vac sealer and a chest freezer will save you a bunch of money in the long run, if you pay attention and take advantage of the capability they offer.
nick