# Sorting the Freezer



## Tina Rempel (Feb 13, 2008)

I've been trying to sort through my two freezers and have been finding hidden packages...... My ex didn't always rewrap store bought meat so I'm finding various packages that have some freezer burn. I'm also finding some Cornish Game Hens that are wrapped but I don't want to try for me, the last time I bought game hens was a couple years ago.... Would anybody use these hidden packages of various meats for their dogs? Or should I take to the old barn cats who eats most anything. It won't go to waste anyway around it, just a matter of who gets to eat it.


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## David Scholes (Jul 12, 2008)

I'd give it to the dog. They don't mind a little freezer burn. It's good to keep the cats a little hungry so they keep the rodents down.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Freezer burnt stuff is great for the dogs. I love the end of hunting season as I get all my hunter buddie's freezer burnt stuff free .. that works for me!


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## Tina Rempel (Feb 13, 2008)

How about the cornish game hens? I figure they are just young chicken so should be safe?

Thanks for the answers. Nice to know I can use much of this stuff.


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## Dan Long (Jan 10, 2008)

The hens wil lbe fine. Freezer burned meat is a good free source of food if you get your friends to save their burned stuff for you.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Tina it all depends on the "burn" and if it has been in there too long. If you can cut away some of the strongest burn, I don't know why it can't be used. I cut away deer and eat it...ain't dead yet!


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## Michelle Reusser (Mar 29, 2008)

Anything in my freezer that I wont eat goes to the dogs. My dogs love game hens, freezer burnt or not. I just found a package of hotdogs with a date of Aug 2006, lol. Dogs are gonna get those too.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Michelle Kehoe said:


> Anything in my freezer that I wont eat goes to the dogs. My dogs love game hens, freezer burnt or not. I just found a package of hotdogs with a date of Aug 2006, lol. Dogs are gonna get those too.



Yep...me too....anything goes as long as it has been froze all that time. 

I would feed some to the cats.....I have about 30 cats..2 friendly, the rest not. We have grain bins so they really help keep the rodents down. I do feed them during the winter and they still hunt. I found that if I don't feed them, they take out the pheasants more and that is NOT a good thing.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

What kind of a freezer is it? I've heard that the non-auto defrost freezers keep meat frozen safely longer (at least many months and possibly years) versus the auto defrost style freezers that go through thaw cycles to defrost themselves and keep meat frozen safely much less long (3-6 months tops). Probably also depends where in the freezer. Like if it was in the door part of your kitchen fridge that gets opened several times a day, that's probably less ideal versus at the bottom of a chest freezer kept at 0F and opened like once a week. I guess if in doubt, throw it through a meat grinder to get the bones and lightly cook it.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> I guess if in doubt, throw it through a meat grinder to get the bones and lightly cook it.


HUH? 
I would not cook anything that had bones in it even ever so lightly....

If dogs can eat 7 day old road kill (not that mine do), then I would not think that any type of frozen meat would be an issue.....


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

If you grind it fine, there shouldn't be an issue. I've actually got a good vet friend who does this with her obese/diabetic cat patients who do best on a home cooked or raw diet and this way, you don't need to supplement with additional calcium since the bones are already in it. Her website is quite helpful for dog feeders too:

http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

Game meat from friends' freezers is a huge part of my dogs' meals. Some of the meat, even the really old stuff, looks good enough for me to eat!

Freezer burn just means the meat has lost moisture. It is perfectly safe to eat and requires no cooking to make it "safer."


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Yeah, if it had been kept frozen solid at 0F, I more meant if you weren't sure or if it looked a bit "off," I would suspect grinding and lightly cooking would be an acceptable option. I like being slightly more on the cautious side.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Konnie Hein said:


> Freezer burn just means the meat has lost moisture. It is perfectly safe to eat and requires no cooking to make it "safer."


Yeah what the girl says! Dehydrated is all it is, like feeding NRG or Honest Kitchen without the price! 

The only concern if it has thawed and been refrozen I might have an issue feeding it to my dog.


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## Tina Rempel (Feb 13, 2008)

Thanks all. Happy dogs and cats.  The vacuum sealed stuff is for me. Unless the seal broke.

Answering a couple questions asked. Two upright freezers, not the top of refridgerators, though I have two of those filled also. Frost free, nothing thawed and refrozen that I know of. If it even smells at all "off" I throw stuff away. I just hated the thought of throwing away the "dehyrated" stuff if I didn't need to. I hate waste like that. Took bratwurst out for the barn cats tonight.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Speaking of this....I went out to the freezers tonight and did some digging.......

GEESH I got a lotta shit in there that I forgot about.....I really hope Doug forgets the 6 pounds of backstrap from hunting last year......CRAP.....

While he is in Vegas at the World of Concrete (yeah right LOL) the dogs will be cleaning up the evidence.....oooopss


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Anyone have a few 2 1/2" steaks with slight damage and red wine? I'll be over!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Michelle Reusser (Mar 29, 2008)

My mom brought over a bunch of various meat last nite. She got suspicious when I told her to put it ALL in the fridge to defrost (knowing I can't eat it all myself) I told her I was having a BBQ, she wasn't buying it. Seems she is not too keen on me feeding what she brings over to my dogs. LOL [-X But, but, buuuuuuut MOM!


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

I have fed "off" meat before. Somewhat smelly and rather green around the edges...:-& 
Dogs happily scarfed it down. I figure they'd eat days-old roadkill, so why not. They didn't have any problems, it digested fine, they pooped fine - I'm not gonna worry about it anymore.

Figures they'd eat nasty old meat, but turn up their noses at fresh killed rabbit.


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## Dan Long (Jan 10, 2008)

Anna Kasho said:


> I have fed "off" meat before. Somewhat smelly and rather green around the edges...:-&
> Dogs happily scarfed it down. I figure they'd eat days-old roadkill, so why not. They didn't have any problems, it digested fine, they pooped fine - I'm not gonna worry about it anymore.
> 
> Figures they'd eat nasty old meat, but turn up their noses at fresh killed rabbit.


It wasn't old meat, it was "prime aged"!


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## Michelle Reusser (Mar 29, 2008)

Yea, I have fed green/grey stinky chicken that had been thawed in the fridge too long. The nastier the better, so it seems. They looked no worse for wear.


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