How to best buy meat in bulk and freeze

[Pops]

Greetings! I hope all are doing well on this fine spring day!
I have a question about freezing meat. I like buying meat at Costco, which many of you do or Sams, and they sell in bulk but just my wife and I. Chicken is easy as they sell in packages.

However a lot of beef and some pork are sold in bulk.

How do you store and freeze your meat for best results?

Also I heard about a pork shortage this summer? I thought Covid was bad, but this could be a game changer!

 

[WonderMonkey]

Vacuum seal in my opinion.

 

[Mastertech59]

Greetings! I hope all are doing well on this fine spring day!
I have a question about freezing meat. I like buying meat at Costco, which many of you do or Sams, and they sell in bulk but just my wife and I. Chicken is easy as they sell in packages.

However a lot of beef and some pork are sold in bulk.

How do you store and freeze your meat for best results?

Also I heard about a pork shortage this summer? I thought Covid was bad, but this could be a game changer!

A local butcher is going to be the best for meats and advice on storage and cooking them. I vacuum seal all the meats I freeze with a date on the bag and stored in my non self defrosting chest freezer according to the dates.

 

[Pops]

What vacuum seal device or is any ok?

 

[Thor8594]

What vacuum seal device or is any ok?

FoodSaver is probably the best one, there are many out there.
Mueller, Weston, Anova, Seal-A-Meal, NutriChef, there are a bunch of them.

 

[WonderMonkey]

I would make sure that whichever is chosen has a good amount of ratings and there are no troubles with creating the vacuuming and sealing. There are some great high-dollar ones out there but any that @Pops mentioned are great. Width is a key so make sure you get one that is wide enough. Normally the 11" ones are good enough for me. When I buy the bags, I do a mix of the standard pre-made sizes and a roll so I can make whatever length I want.

 

[Pops]

A local butcher is going to be the best for meats and advice on storage and cooking them. I vacuum seal all the meats I freeze with a date on the bag and stored in my non self defrosting chest freezer according to the dates.

I dont know about where you live, but unfortunatley there are no local butchers unless you mean Publix or Kroger?

 

[Mastertech59]

I dont know about where you live, but unfortunatley there are no local butchers unless you mean Publix or Kroger?

Live in Connecticut and there are still a few local butcher's around here in my area, also have the bigger stores like Costco, the local butcher's may be a little more pricey but the meats are great and I'm supporting a local business.

 

[mooncusser2k]

This might also be helpful

 

[Greg Jones]

I dont know about where you live, but unfortunatley there are no local butchers unless you mean Publix or Kroger?

I can’t speak for Publix as I don’t have any locally, but the Kroger and similar stores like Meijer really don’t have full-service butchers anymore. Almost all of the meats they stock these days, even pre-covid, is already cut and packaged. Our local Costco is better, but from what I’ve seen they already get their meats already cut into the sub-primal cuts. It’s worth it to seek out a local butcher shop, and give them you business for the more special cuts of meant you want to grill.

 

[sdynak]

I guess spring might come to NJ sometime

Like others I vacuum seal when I buy in bulk from Costco but I also buy from local and Wild Fork for the items my local butcher or Costco don't carry. I don't have many options around me that are very good but I make due with the options.

I have backed off Costo Ribeyes as the last few I had did not have a Ribeye flavor and was more sirloin like. They have notices now they are previously frozen so they are thawing them out once already. I would rather just get them frozen if that is the case then. I think everyone are trying to save a penny these days and they have gone downhill a notch in my book. Still use them just not as much.

I use the FoodSaver FM5480 as it seals one end as you clamp & cut the bag so it is ready to go. Can't say it is the strongest but I like the speed. Plus it was from Costco so if any issues got the lifetime warranty. That was a few years ago and I know they don't sell it any longer but it is out there. The one at Amazon is way overpriced but you can see the details.

Edit - The FM5200 is the same just without the same starter pack.

https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-FM5480-Preservation-System-Silver/dp/B01L8MZ0A8

 

[jfrosty27]

A local butcher is going to be the best for meats and advice on storage and cooking them. I vacuum seal all the meats I freeze with a date on the bag and stored in my non self defrosting chest freezer according to the dates.

What he said.

 

[Uncle Bob]

One of the benefits of buying a larger chunk o' meat and cutting it down yourself is controlling the size, say thickness of your steak. I buy the Prime Rib roast and section it out into 1.75-2" pieces (2+ lb usually). Then into the vacuum box on the way to the freezer. In addition to the marking of the date and cut I also keep an inventory list on the freezer so I know where I am for inventory at a glance and make sure I look for the oldest first.

 

[Greg Jones]

In addition to the marking of the date and cut I also keep an inventory list on the freezer so I know where I am for inventory at a glance and make sure I look for the oldest first.

That’s such great advice. I’ve always marked the date and the cut, but I’ve only recently started keeping an inventory list and it has helped me in many ways. I keep mine in a spreadsheet which I can then reference while at the store when they have a good special on certain cuts. Great price on chuck? Look up the inventory-one chuck roast and two pounds of ground chuck in the freezer, I know what I can buy and comfortably put to use.