Make sure you ask him if that unit is stable. I work in a school where a very similar unit failed often. Didn’t keep the temps cold enough and food had to be tossed. The unit was temperamental enough to bring a worker out for a couple days out of the week to make sure things weren’t shutting down. The downside is that the school doesn’t have the space for new units, all of this is kept in a cafeteria that wasn’t meant to house all that equipment. If your friend knows a commercial fridge repair person, I’d ask for their number, just in case something were to fail. Its a nice unit though!
Ive been testing it and it's been running fine. It actually did what it was supposed to do the other day, freeze, so I ended up buying an aftermarket controller for it that guys use to convert freezers into kegerators just to be safe. The unit turns the power on and off depending on the temp range.
Not trying to be the bearer of bad news but if you’re looking for long term storage, 8-12 months or longer, those temps are not ideal
I’ve heard of aging venison and beef but do the same principles apply to those other meats? If so, I may give it a try
Yeah you get more tender meat by letting the muscles rest and the enzymes do their thing before freezing. 3-5 days of aging is what I do w my venison.
But with aging beef, 38-42 degrees is optimal for aging. What temps are you suggesting for other meats?
I've read 35-40. I didnt know 42* was optimal for beef. I'll look into that. Basically you want to be above freezing but below the temp where bacteria becomes an issue from everything ive read.
This is mostly new to me so if anyone's going to do this please do your research. Lots of good information out there.
There is a lot of variation in what is considered ideal but most readings I’ve come across is that 38-42 range and we’ve always aimed for that with our own beef when we age it for two weeks
Would doing this to turkey help? I’m planning on some for thanksgiving if that time doesn’t work then just for a good feast during the winter. edit: sorry I didn’t scroll down before hitting reply. Thought you might’ve come across this being yes or no ok. I’ll do some research but again you’ve piqued some interest.
I was aware more on hanging meat in a cold storage right after a hunt for about a day , then being cut for the freezer. But not this process, I can only hope I will find some method that works, thanks!
Been thinking lately of making my own sausage. I've started researching, and Chazsbetterhalf called the butcher at the store that we frequent. She says that they said if we went with whole pork butt (or shoulder, can't recall at the moment), it would be 10-15 lbs deboned and ground for approximately $1.20 per lb. (after deboning) Seems like a good deal to me since sausage usually runs in the $3+ range. We plan to vac seal and freeze it in 1lb packages and mix it with varying spices when we prepare it for cooking. I want to try a range of differing recipes. Any advice, tips, and/or recipes would be greatly appreciated.
