Long-term meat storage? Venison, rabbit, pheasant

[Omega]

I hunt. This means I have access to a lot of meat
How can I store it long term? Do you have proper instructions how to process and store it long-term, i.e. 10+ years
I already started a thread about canning in plastic bags and concluded it was not right option
Thanks

[lowlander]

It can be safely stored in glass jars by pressure canning (not the same as pressure cooking, and not by the water bath/oven method). Alternatively, it can be dried as pemmican or jerky.
Key points are correct preparation (temperatures, correct jars, processing times etc) and correct storage conditions to ensure safety and longevity.
There are countless articles on the net about both canning and drying, both in written form and on Youtubes; with Youtube, it's always worthwhile reading others' comments as to their experiences on the subject.

[jansman]

The only way to store meat long term is freezing. However, “long term” in a freezer,the longest I ever knew was 8 years ( EU beef mountain back in the mid 80’s). How do I know this? I was a butcher for 41 years.

Up until my illness I was a hunting man. I am hoping that come Spring I can fish a little,but I digress. My plan was that IF and I mean IF , the system collapsed that badly,then meat would appear every couple of days from a hunting trip. As for storing it for ten years in “cans” - it’s an Americanism I cannot abide,and this is UK Preppers I’d be careful. Mind you,if you like risk-taking,then have a go - death comes to us all eventually.

[lowlander]

Agree about the freezing option, again as long as it is done properly ie well wrapped to prevent freezer burn and in a freezer with a reliable power source. When shtf what would be used to power a freezer? Also the chance of losing it in a prolonged powercut - disastrous if you had a lot of meat in there; even if you could cook it all when it defrosted (not easy in a shtf) then you are faced with the problem of using it up before it goes off or finding some other way to store it/barter it.

I completely agree about the "canning" word too, I know it's an Americanism and avoid it wherever possible - I'm a life-long bottler However there is no British equivalent to the term "pressure canning"* so I use that to differentiate from pressure cooking which is different. If done correctly, "pressure canned" meat and other items using a pressure canner will last for many years. Bottling meat by the water bath or oven method is recklessly dangerous, only a pressure canner should be used, I say again, not a pressure cooker.

*pressure canners are not produced in or easily available in the U.K., have to be imported; mine came from Holland many years ago; they occasionally turn up on e-bay though, but the bidding is fierce!

[GillyBee]

With the exception of the aforementioned freezing I am not aware of any methods that will keep meat longer than a year or maybe two. For up to two years the options are:

• Pressure canning - and storage in a suitable cool dark place like a cellar. Commercially canned meats have BBE of 3 to 4 years and may keep longer.

• Dried meats - Jerky etc. How long they keep depends on how dry you get them and how cool you can keep them.

• Cured meats - Traditional ones use a mix of salt, friendly bacteria/moulds and drying plus storage in a cool ventilated place. These do not have to just be pork but some fat will help with the process. I have been using this book to learn: Curing & Smoking: River Cottage Handbook No.13

These methods were all developed before freezing became common but were always used to last from one harvest/hunting season to the next rather than to create a longer term store. The main problem with any stored meat is that the fat content will eventually break down chemically & go rancid regardless of the bacterial safety This is independent of the storage method although heat and light will not help.

[diamond lil]

Wouldn't really think it was viable, better just to go out with the gun every week.

[Mad Scientist]

Must admit I think I’d salt it, smoke it or just eat it freshly caught and cooked or go without for a while. A friend of mine used to breed rabbits in a big shed. Ate the meat and sold the pelts back in the day. Not a bad idea.

[Omega]

With the exception of the aforementioned freezing I am not aware of any methods that will keep meat longer than a year or maybe two. For up to two years the options are:

I watched a video today from a family in Ukraine - they showed how they pack turkey into plastic bottles for an emergency: they take pork fat (salo, I think I saw Polish in either Lidl or Aldi), melt it (then is is called smalec I believe), fry turkey in it, then put all, along with smalec, into plastic bottles that they disinfected with alcohol. Sounds it should work - fat should reach temperatures higher than 100 degrees Celsius, remove all water and thus get rid of botulism, and then help with conserving meat long term. I saw smalec in Polish shops, so you can skip the first step as they did it to save the money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_HSTJy1Gas
They say it should last for 1 year, which is a lot in their circumstances, maybe 2 years

[jansman]

With the exception of the aforementioned freezing I am not aware of any methods that will keep meat longer than a year or maybe two. For up to two years the options are:

I watched a video today from a family in Ukraine - they showed how they pack turkey into plastic bottles for an emergency: they take pork fat (salo, I think I saw Polish in either Lidl or Aldi), melt it (then is is called smalec I believe), fry turkey in it, then put all, along with smalec, into plastic bottles that they disinfected with alcohol. Sounds it should work - fat should reach temperatures higher than 100 degrees Celsius, remove all water and thus get rid of botulism, and then help with conserving meat long term. I saw smalec in Polish shops, so you can skip the first step as they did it to save the money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_HSTJy1Gas
They say it should last for 1 year, which is a lot in their circumstances, maybe 2 years

Have a go. I guess you have a smart phone,so you can call an ambulance when you start spewing up.

[Omega]

Have a go. I guess you have a smart phone,so you can call an ambulance when you start spewing up.

I don't eat pork if I can avoid it. Well, maybe I will stick to meat MREs and canned meat as they last much longer