younggun308

What are the pros and cons?

I lean toward preferring vacuum seal for deer meat, since it seems to visibly reduce freezer burn. But I've heard processors say that, depending on how you cut the meat, vacuum seal is vulnerable to puncturing and subsequently letting freezer burn happen prematurely.

Oldtimr

There is no comparison between the two. I have all my venison vacuum packed and and I have had meat that I forgot about after 3 years still as good as the stuff that was only in the freezer for months. Wrapped in paper it doesn't take long for the quality to go down and freezer burn to occur.

hubby11

When I do it myself, I use plastic cling wrap to get a tight seal on the meat, followed with butcher paper. Easily good well over a year, the max I need. And yes, depending on how the meat is processed, bones can definitely puncture the vacuum bags.

flags

As long as my sealer works I'll never use butcher paper and plastic wrap again. I take everything off the bones and only freeze the meat so I don't worry about puncturing a bag. But that's me. As always feel free to disagree or do as you wish with your meat.

jerseyhunter

It might be over kill but I wrap in Butcher Paper, partially freeze then vacuum seal. If the bag happens to get pierced for any reason the paper will still protect it.

Champlain Islander

I have processed my own deer for decades and started out using freezer paper but now that vacuum sealers are out I switched to them. I de-bone all deer meat so puncturing the bag isn't an issue. There is no contest to how long meat lasts. In rearranging my freezers for this years venison I discovered a package of 4 year old vacuum sealed Ontario 9 point buck. I figured what the heck and it was still good. I rarely had butcher paper deer last beyond a year and a half without freezer burn.
Pro's= easy to do and the meat lasts much longer.
Con's= expensive to purchase and the bags cost much more than freezer paper.
My opinion= You get what you pay for. Go with vacuum sealers.

Tip= My sealer is getting old and at times it won't auto seal. I found if I wet the upper and lower gasket it operates normally. It is important to not allow that gasket to compress in storage. I place spacers to keep the cover slightly open to keep all pressure off the gaskets.

younggun308

That's a good tip, CI. Thanks!

KSBuck1977

Not even close, sealer hands down. Used butcher paper for years before I finally broke down and bought a good sealer. Will never use paper again!

Bocajnala

I still use butcher paper... All our meat is typically used up by september, so long term storage isn't usually an issue.

A vacuum sealer is on my list and I'll pick one up eventually. I guess habits die hard and I've got a big roll of butcher paper to use up still.

How is the time comparison? I usually cut up around 6 deer a year... Does the vacuum packer take a long time to use?


-Jake

Champlain Islander

No it is quick. I buy the bags in an 8" wide continuous roll so I have to take an extra step to cut them to length and seal one end, stuff the bag and then auto seal the open end. It probably does take a bit more time than using freezer paper but the end result is far better. I do all my ocean fish and garden produce the same way.