Best Freezer Temperature

Boneless red meat correctly vacuum packed, will keep for around 6 weeks at +4 degrees.

You're welcome, Tony. I am not sure what you mean about only being able to use Cryovac food for the first few days on the road: I've done several trips where I've left home with 10 to 12 days meals cryovaced and frozen at home, and just thawed as needed on the trip. Each time, I've ended up with still frozen, cryovaced food left over. And, of course, the safety factor is that, if the fridge chucks a whatsit, these meals will still hang on for several days at a pinch. We take both raw meat and precooked food (eg chicken casserole or curry or marinated lamb) and add rice or pasta or even Deb plus vegs. This saves space in the fridge.

Hi Chris,

I was refering to the cryovaced chicken on the road. As the kids are big chicken eaters and not overly keen on beef or lamb i thought if we cryovaced the chicken to take it would only be able to be used for the first couple of days before going off ( dont want to risk the little ones tummys on the road)
If you cryovaced chicken raw and then froze it, how long do you reckon you could safely eat it for before needing to chuck it away?
Does it make a diffence if its pre cooked to how long it will keep?

Does pork and fish last a while or is it similar to chicken?

Cheers Tony

Tony, just a note of caution for those with a 3 way gas/electric fridge, (ours is a Dometic 2453), when running on gas the thermostat seems to effect the fridge temperature more than the freezer temperature, which stays around -18º.

If I was to raise the thermostat setting over night, frozen food would stay frozen but other food in the fridge would get warmer.

Also, to concur with Tenpounder, having the freezer at -18º give you some breathing space in the event of a failure (or in our case running out of gas) before the food thaws. At -5º you would have much less time.

Tony. I can't instantly find any specifics, but I seem to remember people, and even spurts, saying that fish and chicken may not be as durable as lamb and beef. But it is all relative: if you have a mishap, and say the fridge is deprived of power for a few hours, then you would have to treat thawed raw chicken a bit carefully. But I would have no worries with raw frozen chicken at, say, minus 10 or thereabouts lasting for weeks or longer. Even cool raw chicken (say around zero or plus 3 or 4 degrees) would have to be fine for several days. We tend to use chicken tights fillets (no bones) because they are more compact than, say, chicken quarters. If you have a problem cook them up, if not, leave them raw and frozen.
To give you an idea, last month, we left Adelaide with 12 meat meals for 2 (one meal of raw steaks; the rest precooked casseroles, curries etc.) plus another 6 meals for 2 for some friends who we wre re-stocking at Mount Dare. That whole lot, plus four 1.5 litre ice blocks, were all frozen at home to about minus 14 degrees. The total cold mass was enough to ensure NOTHING thawed in the next two weeks, despite the fridge getting up to around minus 6 at the worst (ambient temp around 40 degrees once or twice, mostly in the thirties in the day time, and down to around 12 overnight.)
I had the thermostat on about setting 2 (OK, I confess its an Engel) over night, and flat out while travelling (about 4 hours only per day). Back in Adelaide 12 days later, we threw away the last three blocks of ice.
Only if the meat thaws will it make a real difference whether you freeze while raw, or cook first. But we play safe, and cook a lot first, just to create a 'secondary safety' margin.
Remember, if you buy a thermometer with a memory, you can review the maximum temp from time to time to make sure you haven't missed anything. Most of the cheap Dick Smith/Jaycar/ Engel models have this.

PS these last comments all relate to cryovaced meat, not just wrapped meat! Also, I meant chicken thighs not chicken tights!!

To coin the Subway add "EAT FRESH"

Hi there Von Helga.
Like I said earlier, zero F has become the yardstick for operating temps for commercial (and by default domestic) freezers. This equates to minus 18 C. But the storage time at temperatures below zero C is a sliding scale, and safe storage periods at, say, minus 10 degrees can be measured, and are published. Croyac vacuum packing adds further by removing much of the oxygen upon which bacteria flourish.
So, while I agree that the higher the storage temperature, the greater the risk of spoilage, I repeat that the safe storage time at say minus 10 degrees will be many weeks (but not perhaps 6 months as per the NSW Health data).
To Fatso: What's your point? Fresh food goes off; the colder it is, the slower. Most of us keep some of our food cold for that reason.

Fresh is FRESH. If it is rotten it is not FRESH, it is rotten.
Buy fresh & eat fresh.
Like I said ,if you are going to a town every few days you can stock up on fresh milk, fresh vegies & fresh meat. Meat will keep for several days in a fridge. If the fridge you have does not keep meat for at least 4 days you would be well advised to go & buy yourself a TRAILBLAZER. It definately will keep meat fresh longer than 4 days.
For those who don't know,Australian towns are not that remote any more.
You can get a cappuccino, gourmet pies, fresh vegies & a leg of lamb in Birdsville these days.
I did this year.

Depends which day you arrive in Birdsville, I have been there last year when the pub has only thai slop for dinner and the shop/servo 1 old pumpkin.

.... and the bakery had sold both the pies!