Refrozen deer sausage
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: Aces11
16-Feb-21
I took my deer meat in to be processed into sausage. I told them when I took it in to vac seal it. Well the lady call me today and said she forgot to vac seal it and froze it into one big chunk. There is 100lbs of sausage. She was wondering if I just wanted to pick it up that way. I asked her what I was supposed to do with 100lb block of deer sausage and she needs to deal with it. She said she would have to let it sit out for a couple days to thaw. Think I will notice a drop on quality of taste when it’s frozen, thawed and refrozen?
From: butcherboy
16-Feb-21
Nope, you won’t notice a thing. Pretty dumb for a processor to freeze it as a whole big chunk like that. I always package it for the customer unless they request to pick it up fresh to package themselves.
From: tobywon
16-Feb-21
That's just crazy, who would ever want 100 pounds of sausage frozen together. I was wondering the same thing about thawing and refreezing, I have some older venison that I was thinking about thawing, grinding and refreezing since I'm low on chopped meat. I know I can do it piece meal by thawing, grinding and eating, but was wondering if I can just grind all at once and refreeze.
From: samman
16-Feb-21
I took a bunch of old venison that I took to the processor to grind into burger as that is mostly what we use, chili, enchilada's, meatloaf, burgers. It's no different than the fresh ground burger we get initially. I don't see any problem. I have also thawed steaks, cooked a couple & refroze them again. Just don't freeze them for too long before using as they tend to freezer burn easier.
From: Cheesehead Mike
16-Feb-21
The biggest issue with a 100 pound chunk of meat is that it needs to be thawed slowly in a refrigerator and kept cool. If it is set out in room temperature, by the time the inside thaws the meat on the outside could begin to spoil. Unless they scrape the thawed meat off of the outside of the chunk and repackage it as it thaws.
I learned a lesson one time with a frozen boned out elk hind quarter that I set out to thaw so I could cut it up.
From: DonVathome
16-Feb-21
No taste difference from freezing twice.
From: butcherboy
16-Feb-21
Definitely needs to be thawed in a cooler. Or, like said above, slice frozen into 1 lb chunks then package. They could slice it frozen pretty quick on a bandsaw.
From: bentstick54
16-Feb-21
Cheesehead Mike x2. And if you can’t trust your processor to be smart enough not to freeze it in a 100# block, can you trust them to thaw it correctly. And they will probably do it spitefully on top of that.
From: Fields
17-Feb-21
^^^^^^ agree. I'd go pick it up and deal with it on your own... They'd also get an earful........ Stupid mistake..
From: midwest
17-Feb-21
Throw a sausage fest.
From: t-roy
17-Feb-21
Not too sure that I’d RSVP to THAT invite, Nick!
Not that there’s anything wrong with that....;-)
From: Hancock West
17-Feb-21
New blade with a saw jaw or bandsaw... instead of having tubes you'll have bricks..
From: Live2Hunt
17-Feb-21
The issues with freezing thawed meat (from what I have been told anyway) is that store bought meat has been froze and thawed so many times by the time the end user gets it there could be issues. Straight venison no problems. The pork and stuff in the sausage is where the problem could come into play. I was going to say have a party and use it up, not sure I would have said what Midwest said above. That kind of ruined my taste for sausage. Alot wrong with that.
From: Buckeye
17-Feb-21
Who the hell would freeze 100lbs of anything in one chunk?!! I wouldn't give them any more business
From: Fields
17-Feb-21
LOL.. maybe it would be easier keeping it in one whole hunk... Just chisel some off when you want it...
From: butcherboy
17-Feb-21
It’s false to say that store meat has been frozen and thawed many times. Once it’s frozen at the big packing plants and packaged, it stays frozen until meat cutters at the store pull it out and either put it on the shelf to sell or cut it then put it on the shelf. If it doesn’t sell as a steak or roast by a certain date then they can turn it into hb and sell it at a discounted rate. The pre packaged stuff like at Walmart is packaged using rollstock machines or vacuum sealers. They pull the oxygen out and then add nitrogen or CO2 to make it shelf stable. Most people have no idea the strict requirements for meat processing plants.
As for never doing business again with a small processor. Pretty harsh for a simple mistake. Best thing to do is have a calm conversation with the processor and see what they are willing to do to correct the mistake. Always easier to catch bees with honey instead of vinegar.
From: Jaquomo
17-Feb-21
I've thawed and refrozen various types of wild game multiple times with no effect on the flavor. I have a friend who is a meat inspector for the county. He knows meat. He told me the old wives tale about not refreezing thawed meat is just that - a myth. He also told me that burger, sausage, etc. can become tainted over time even when frozen, because the fat is what eventually gets slightly rancid.
From: LKH
18-Feb-21
I call BS on her. She put it in the freezer and then forgot it.
Ask here to take their bandsaw and cut it in 3x3x6 inch blocks. I'm assuming its breakfast sausage and not links.
From: Fuzzy
23-Feb-21
as has been said it won't hurt it as long as the thawing is done under refrigeration. as for why, well she goofed I guess. as long as she makes it right no harm done.
From: tobywon
23-Feb-21
I may be totally wrong, but I’m thinking the processor may have put it in the freezer temporarily to package before it froze and then got distracted and forgot. I can’t imagine anyone would freeze 100 lbs of sausage in a block on purpose. Like said above, a mistake.
From: lewis
23-Feb-21
Damn fuzzy where have you been? I missed some of your posts along with the info good luck Lewis
From: Fuzzy
24-Feb-21
lewis its good to be missed my friend. I've been making some changes, haven't had time to be online much. I'm back tho
From: WV Mountaineer
24-Feb-21
Glad to see you posting Cecil. You holler if you need help with those changes. I’ll be there in just a minute. And, I know a guy who was attacked by a fox that won’t be far behind. :^)
From: IdyllwildArcher
24-Feb-21
Not at all. You can freeze and rethaw ground meat a few times without worrying about its quality. I do it all the time and frequently grind meat and freeze it as a huge piece because I never know if I'm going to need more sausage or burger come summer.
From: Aces11
24-Feb-21
It was links they froze. She called the next day and said it was ready to pickup. So it must not have been as frozen as she said. They did mess up my order. I wanted 100lbs of sausage and 56 lbs of slim Jim’s. They made 106 lbs of slim Jim’s and 50lbs of sausage. So they had only froze 50 lbs of links vs 100 lbs. I will never go back there.
From: butcherboy
24-Feb-21
Sorry you had a bad experience. I’m guessing they misunderstood what you wanted, wrote the order down wrong, or an employee read the order wrong. It stinks but, mistakes happen. We are human, not programmed robots. I would hate for you to lose your job because you made a mistake. Like I said earlier, it would be best to have a civil conversation about what the processor will do to make it right. I can’t even count the mistakes I’ve made in over 30 years. The difference is that I admit my mistakes then work toward a solution that makes everyone happy. This leads to many, many repeat customers and I still do my best to not make mistakes but it still happens.
I quit processing wild game this season and ticked a lot of people off but I had to do what was best for my health and my company. We slaughter and process way more domestic and make a lot more money doing it. Mistakes still happen.
From: Fuzzy
12-May-21
Butcherboy I understand your decision very well. You have to take care of yourself first.
