cryovacing meat

See post 34951

Hi Al,
The butchers in the main street opposite Coles was very helpfull and cryovaced all our supplies last year in the small sizes we required, all we had to do was ask.

regards Sparkie C

Not much help for you but I purchased my own machine and have never looked back since. Have to do mine and aal the mates as well.
Great on the road as it can be serviced by a small AC inverter.

Redeye

How much longer does the meat last when packaged like this..?

al,

As per Sparkies reply I can highly recommend the butchers opposite Coles in the main street. They do heaps of cryovacing for travellers and their meat is excellent. A year ago I also found ther prices very competitive and even cheaper than Woollies at home.

Cryovacing your meat extends its life by as much as 4 weeks. Red meat lasts longer than white meat so always use up fish, chicken and pork first and in that order. Be aware that meat bones, especially sharp chop bones can sometimes pierce the cryovac packaging so it pays to inspect the packets regularly for holes compromising the packaging which then reduces the life of the meat. I've also had problems with marinated meats where the packets have blown up like a balloon over a few days. I put this down to the marinade fermenting and releasing gases. Basically I now mostly avoid taking away too much marinated meat and always use it within a few days.

In my experience most indiependent butchers will cryovac on request and depending on the size of your order, may or may not charge a small fee to do it for you. Forget the supermarkets - they won't do it. Another tip is to ask your butcher to debone any large cuts of meat such as a leg of lamb or beef roast - takes up less room in the fridge both before cooking and afterwards if you have leftovers. Another great thing about cryovacing is that the packages are well sealed so you don't ever have a mess in the fridge from blood seeping out of normal plastic wrapped meats - a common problem in my experience.

Hope this helps.

:o) Melissa