# How long will  venison keep frozen??



## shoneyboy

I have a question about venison…..How long will it keep frozen?? I have a buddy of mine that has about 40lbs of meat that he intended to make sausage with in and never did…..He knows that it was from 2011 hunting season…..Do you think that it is worth defrosting or should I just throw it away???? I do not have very much experience with venison and I really don’t even know what to look for to tell if it is bad….He said that it has been frozen since it was packaged, but I have my concerns about using it without asking someone that is more familiar with it….The little experience I have with venison was always fresh and never frozen, so I always knew that it was good to use……

Thoughts??? Opinions ???? Thanks ShoneyBoy


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## diggingdogfarm

I've used venison much older than that. :biggrin:

As long as it isn't freezer burnt or rancid, i wouldn't hesitate to use it.

~Martin


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## paulyd213

Should be fine, I had some over the weekend from 2010.


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## deuce

If venison is vaccumed sealed I would have no trouble at all eating it 2 years after being frozen. This is just speaking for myself of course, others may have different ideas. I just ate the last package of backstrap I had from 2009 in the freezer 2 days ago ( it must have gotten buried under the newer stuff ) along with a pack of backstrap from 2011 and could not tell the difference they both tasted great!


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## plj

2011 hunting season, no problem... assuming it was properly field dressed, butchered, and wrapped.

I'd gladly take the meat, but inspect if after defrosting. If it looks or smells suspect, trim and/or discard.


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## bmoore

Certainly don't throw it out! I have also eaten venison older than that


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## coffee_junkie

You should be good to go, after defrosting check the edges that might have been exposed, if white/gray/tan then just trim that off (freezerburn) In my house we wouldn't hesatate to eat meat that has been frozen for 2-3 years, but hopefully we eat it before that.

Do something good with it, maybe a fresh breakfast sausage, you can make that and re-freeze for another year or so.


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## southernsausage

Great advice from everyone. When it's thawed just smell it to make sure it's not rancid.


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## shoneyboy

Thanks everyone, I feel a lot more confident with using it now. I had him bring it to me this week and just stuck it in the freezer. I will be thawing it out this week or weekend to see if there’s anything bad going on, but I do feel better with the ideal of using it now….Thanks to everyone that posted about it ShoneyBoy


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## swamp puppy

It doesn't last very long at all.  You can send me any venison you may have that is older than 2 months and I will properly dispose of it.  ;)

Seriously though,  I have kept venison vacuum sealed and frozen for up to 3 years.  I've had butcher paper wrapped burger last over a year.  If it is freezer burned or in otherwise poor shape, eat it.


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## shoneyboy

Swamp Puppy, It's too late; I used most of it this weekend. There were some pieces around the edges that were gray and leathery so I chunked them, but the pieces that were in the middle were fine, no smell, no bad taste (I fried a couple pieces just to make sure)..……In the grinder they went….  I will post some pictures this week; I had a great Father’s day weekend of making snack sticks..... I played, all day Saturday, grinding and stuffing snack sticks…..Then Sunday I fired up the smoker to cook for my Step-dad, mom and my family……As the chicken came out the snack sticks went in yesterday….I had a great Father’s day weekend !!!!!


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## vikingboy6956

I see you've used already but I just saw this so I am going to reply anyway.

About 3 months ago, I found a couple pacakages of tenerloin that had somehow gotten buried in my dads freezer.  They were freezer paper wrapped, but wrapped very good and tight.  The date on them was 2005.   I thawed them and in the fryin' pan they went and they tasted great.  I may have trimmed a couple small spots, but I don't really remember now.  Either way, as long as it doesn't smell or look rotten, meat should be fine for many years in the freezer if it is wrapped properly.  The outside will always turn brown so don't be scared of that.


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## jerseyhunter

If it is freezer burned which some parts probably are. I take a sharp knife or potatoe peeler and while still partialy frozen slice off a thin layer. This also helps removing any freezer odor itmay have picked up.  Heck I found a package recently from 2 seasons before, and it was still good.  Enjoy.


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