Realistic Shelf Time in Freezer?

[Clark]

JOE Sousa recently had a post re beef ribs that had been in his freezer for a year and how bad they turned out. It made me think of the problem I have with my wife and her idea of shelf life in a freezer.

My wife and I have frequent discussions about how long something stays "edible" in the freezer. She just piles things in and then takes out what's on top, never getting the older food on the bottom. Her stuff consists of shrimp, veggies, pecans, rolls, and other non-meat products. I do not want to eat shrimp from 2021, pecans from 2020, etc.

I have a system where I keep a freezer inventory of meats (only) so I know what I have to work with. On my inventory sheet I write the cut, purchase date, and source. I never let any meat get over 6 months old. My wife thinks pork chops from 2021 would be fine, but not me.

Where can I find a chart of safe and accurate freezer times for various food products?

[Oak Smoke]

I’ve taken beef from the freezer thats been in there for two years and couldn’t tell that any flavor or texture changes had taken place. To qualify that I keep my meat freezers at -10 F and the beef is all vacuum sealed. When I buy a freezer I ask if it will reliably hold that temp over the long term. I do business with a privately owned appliance store that is used to my questions. Pork is another matter. It seems to get an off flavor we call tasting old after about a year. It is completely eatable but not desirable. I freeze my fish in lightly salted water, it keeps just fine for a year. Shrimp just isn’t going to last long at our house we love it too much.

[briano52]

Agree on the vacuum seal. Getting all the air out and a tight vacuum seal greatly extends the life of food in the freezer. I could not get by without my Weston vac sealer.

[Jerod Broussard]

Foodsafety.gov will give you a chart. Back home, fish, ducks, geese, dove, all froze in water. Easily lasting a year.

Raising beef and pigs that stuff would stay in the freezer sometimes over a year, but most times consumed before a year.

I've had beef 2 years with zero difference.

If you have a bunch of stuff going over 2 years you need a smaller freezer.

[Clark]

@JerodBroussard Thanks for the website tip! I'll check it out.

[Donw]

When things are on deep sale I buy in bulk. I have kept meats in deep freeze (-9F) for over three years without any noticeable change. However don’t just trust the original bags coming from the factory unless you have throughly inspected it as they have been handled numerous times after being first sealed.

[Mosca]

I tend to hoard things, including meat. If I see a deal, I usually buy it and vac seal/freeze it.

I keep my freezer cranked as low as it will go; mine holds around -7° at the top and -20° at the bottom, based on the 2 probe ThermoWorks freezer thermometer.

Last week I roasted a chicken that I bought from D’Artagnan 11/16/2020. They were BOGO, and I got 4 packs, each came with 2 chickens; I’d forgotten about the last one, and found it while doing the seasonal defrost a couple weeks ago. It was excellent. It looked and smelled fine, it cooked up wonderfully, and I used the leftover chicken as chicken salad. We got 5 meals out of it, including leftovers, and nobody got sick.

Notably: that is chicken. And not skinless/boneless. I’ve kept beef for that long as well, I probably still have a few steaks that are older. If it looks fine and smells fine, and the packaging is still a good vacuum, it is fine.

ETA: I actually have more of a problem with store bought packaged frozen vegetables drying out. My experience is that those aren’t good more than a month or so past the date on the bag. I’ve stopped hoarding those.

[captainlee]

If you don't have a vacuum sealer spend the extra and get a quality one, not the ones so heavily advertised on TV.

[Clark]

captainlee Thanks! We have a good one that we use and it does a good job.

[briano52]

I have gone through two Foodsaver brand sealers. They were OK. Each one lasted 6-7 years before dying. I now have a Weston. More expensive but does a much better job than did the Foodsavers. The Weston has more sucking power so I can use thicker bags are less likely to fail.

[DaveD]

Meats with a good vac seal and in deep freeze should keep well for several years. And def agree that if one buys something knowing it will be stored for a while, take it out of the original packaging and put your own vac seal on it. Just takes a few minutes and eliminates one thing to worry about...

[Attjack]

I think well-frozen stuff can indeed last for years. But I struggled with having a chest freezer so I replaced it with an upright and would never go back.

[Clark]

Attjack Ours is a large 3 shelve upright freezer, with basket on bottom for odds and ends. I could never see the sense in a chest freezer.

[Mosca]

Yeah, I agree. I bought a chest freezer because it was cheap and I could keep it outside.

[pasmom]

I need to start labeling my meat. I recently had an out-of-town visitor and forgot to check the sell-by date. I wasn't trying to poison him, I simply wasn't paying attention. In the future, I will make an extra effort to check the dates. HA

[Donw]

The only FDA expiration date required by federal regulations is those on baby formula. All other dates, “Sell By”, “Best By”, etc… are voluntary and determined solely by the manufacturer or retailer. With proper handling and storage the underlying product can still be safe weeks, months, or even years after those voluntary dates and the actual unsafe date is determined by the characteristics of the product. https://stilltasty.com/ is a good resource for determining best quality storage.

[Michael_in_TX]

I try to go through the stuff in my traditional freezer within a year. I think the auto-defrost cycle on that thing can degrade meat over time. So far, haven't noticed any issues with my chest freezer, but everything in there is vac-sealed.

[Prof Bunky]

We don't have big freezer space so that rarely happens.

Those pecans should still be okay. We freeze or refrigerate pecans and walnuts. The missus uses them a lot in baking.