Woodcock Pate

[Setter Man]

Does anyone use a vacuum packer to seal game in bags before freezing? I just liberated one from my mother-in-law and wonder how effective they really are.

[TARNATION !!!]

Jay: I don't have one but a farmer friend does up his own meats and sausages using a vacuum sealer. I had some of the sausage months after taking it home. After thawing, it was just like fresh so I think they are useful. I use zip loc bags and try to expel most air but have not used water. Six late season roosters become my winter's ration stash for consumption. (One every 4 or 5 weeks.) They do thaw quite nicely with no freezer burn. The last one is usually consumed in the summer.

Cheers,
Jack

[Tony Ambrose]

Originally Posted by Jay Gardner

Does anyone use a vacuum packer to seal game in bags before freezing? I just liberated one from my mother-in-law and wonder how effective they really are.

I bring a Foodsaver "Game Saver Deluxe" with me on every extended trip away from home. The trick is getting access to a freezer! I have access to one on my trips to Maine, but upstate NY is another story. They stay fine for a couple of days once sealed and put in a refrigerator....or just put them on ice in a cooler till you get home.

Grouse and woodcock breasts tend to get a little bit of freezer burn if kept a year in sealed bags. You can just slice the thin layer of freezer burned flesh away and the remainder if fine. Most of the time, they never last that long anyway.