What to do...

[78Bronco]

So, archery season opens Sat and I'm all excited about going. Running realllly low on meat and gotta get some groceries in the freezer for the family. ...then along comes Irma! Pretty sure we will will go without power in my area for about a week once she hits (nice little 9-11 present for us). So, knowing that will happen and being unsure if the processor will have power and/or if my meat will spoil in his freezers, I'm left with a perplexing situation. Do I even go hunting this weekend knowing that my bounty could very well be ruined in the days following due to the storm? What say you ODT?

 

[Kahrnut]

Freeze gallon jugs of water(75% full), provided you have a freezer, and a large cooler, break up ice with a hammer, lay a bed of ice in bottom of cooler, place quartered meat on , layer ice/meat, raise end of cooler away from drain, place a pan under drain, to catch melting ice/draining blood. this will keep the meat just above freezing for an extended period. If the cooler is kept in a garage, where the temp. is lower than outside, it will help. If you don't have a large freezer, freeze as many jugs as you can, at once, and rotate back into the freezer occasionally, as they melt.

 

[karlvv30]

Worst case scenario you can make jerky on a grill or smoker. I dont let what ifs ruin my hunting plans.

 

[Torn]

If you have a pressure canner you could can it in quart jars. Add beef broth up to the headspace and it will last for a year or more if you store it in a cool, dark area. Hope the storm bypasses you as I have been through 4 hurricanes and know what a pain they can be for months afterwards.

 

[gh1950]

If you have a pressure canner you could can it in quart jars. Add beef broth up to the headspace and it will last for a year or more if you store it in a cool, dark area. Hope the storm bypasses you as I have been through 4 hurricanes and know what a pain they can be for months afterwards.

This, canned chili, spaghetti sauce, just canned meat for stew stock.

You can can over a turkey fryer(propane). Friend use to have a wood stove outside just for canning.

If you have a full freezer, it will go several days without thawing if you don't open the doors. Opening the doors to see what is going on ruins most stuff. Even if partially defrosted, the meat can safely be re-frozen. If Yeti can keep ice frozen for 5 days, your freezer can do the same for food frozen to 0 deg. (typical stand alone freezer temp.)

 

[sambo77]

The one time I'll suggest buying a yeti cooler.