Venison sausage remains one of the most critical sources of food for many homes around the globe. However, with the scarcity of deer, how to store the venison sausage is getting the world’s attention. Proper preparation and storage of this type of sausage is necessary to enhance its safety for future consumption.
To spare yourself from such worries, continue reading our article. You will benefit a lot from this so that you don’t regret wasting your venison sausage anymore. Remember, this sausage can make an exciting meal when prepared and stored properly.
For this reason, we have offered various suggestions to prolong the lifespan of venison sausages. If you are in a hurry, the commonly used methods for storing venison sausage are; refrigeration, freezing, thawing, refreezing, etc. Read the entire article for a complete guide;
How long can venison sausage stay in the fridge?
Answering this question might be difficult, unless you implement or consider some factors and conditions of the sausage. For freshly purchased venison sausage, they can stay up to two days.
On the other hand, smoked sausages are associated with extended lifespan in the shelves since you can store them for up to four months in the refrigerator; though the fridge should not exceed 40°F temperature.
After three months, you are likely to note that your sausage develops a creepy texture or changes color. Under such circumstances, it is always advisable to throw them out.
For proper venison sausage storage, you have to wrap them properly. Doing so is necessary to lock out air. Below are several techniques of storing venison sausage;
1. Aging
Aging remains the simplest technique of storing venison sausage. It’s famous for dissipating the taste of the game and allowing the enzymes to smash the tissues.
Aging is also important as it makes the meat firm, equipping it with excellent cutting quality. However, aging has to be done for up to 10 days less than 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
You should avoid aging at room temperature as much as possible. Your venison sausage will be ready for cuts after one day. Remember, improper storage accessories may spoil your venison sausage.
2. Freezing
Here is another technique for storing your venison sausage for future use. Freezing remains the most reliable method to store your venison sausage for future use.
Under this method, you are supposed to remove fat and clean the pieces, ready for use. This action will prevent the sausage from getting bad quicker than expected, leaving it with ‘gamey’ flavor.
The next action is to opt for a reliable packaging or freezer wrap. To achieve excellent results, you are urged to tightly wrap your meat using plastic wrap so as to get rid of air.
The packages should then be wrapped in something like freezer paper. The next action will be to seal and label each package. Packing the venison sausage properly tends to maintain the initial quality of the meat for an extended time possible.
Alternatively, you may use home vacuum sealers because they are also good to pack the venison sausage for freezing. Sealing shouldn’t stress you because you can refer from the user manual. A vacuum sealer is also recommended since it stores this type of sausages safely in the freezer. Your meat will protect the sausages from developing complications like freeze burn.
You can store venison sausage in the freezer for something like three months. Don’t worry about the leftovers; you can consume them in the coming days. However, you can store smoked sausage for an extended period compared to fresh ones. You have to avoid over freezing; though the venison sausage may taste better after an extended period.
3. Refreezing
Refreezing is totally different from freezing since this method involves using the sausage previously placed under room temperature for less than two hours. If kept under room temperature for more than two hours after thawing, then refreezing won’t be necessary.
Refreezing meat after thawing is allowed, but you are likely to lose the natural flavor and quality. The reason behind this statement is that the venison sausage will lose more moisture during the thawing process. Your sausage is likely to go bad when you smell something like crispy texture or odd smell.
There are critical things to do while thawing your meat in the fridge. You should therefore remember to give the sausage something like 12 hours to completely thaw. Alternatively, you can use a microwave to thaw the venison sausage, but don’t consume it instantly. Though using a microwave to thaw meat isn’t recommended.
4. Thawing
From the above section, you can realize that there’s no harm in thawing your meat, but it depends on the tools you choose to use. Due to this reason, we recommend storing your venison sausage in the frozen until you decide to cook. I say so because meat that was put into the freeze before thawing is likely to deteriorate quicker.
Therefore, you are urged to keep your meat at a temperature below 40 °F. Another consideration to take care of is to avoid thawing the meat at room temperature; possible in the refrigerator.
5. Refrigeration
Field-to-refrigerator is another exciting method that you can use to store your venison sausage. However, you have to be extra keen when handling the deer meat in the field. The common mistake you want to avoid is contaminating the carcass.
This is the most common mistake that hunters make while handling deer meat while at the field. Immediate refrigeration is required for the carcass for excellent quality. You should try as much as possible to refrigerate the carcass within 4 hours, usually after the hunting at 45°F temperature.
Tips to extend the lifespan of venison sausage
- We recommend inspecting the label on the venison sausage package for extra information. In a situation where the label describes “Needs refrigeration”, field-to refrigeration is necessary.
- For “refrigerate after opening” instruction, then you have to keep the links in the cold-room before utilizing them.
- For your safety, you have to freeze the sausage that only came from the fridge.
- In situations where you thawed the meat previously in the refrigerator, freezing such a sausage won’t put you at health risks.
- If you thawed the meat in the fridge and decided not to cook it the same day due to one reason or the other, refreezing it again is safe.
- While thawing, giving your meat enough time is highly recommended. I say so because the thawing process may go up to 12 hours for fine meat pieces and three days for coarse meat cuts.
FAQs:
- Can I consume two-year old frozen venison?
Yes, but you must have kept the venison sausage properly for all this period. This sausage tends to remain intact with its quality for something like 9 months under proper and great care in the freeze. You should consider subjecting your venison to 0°F temperature to prolong its lifespan.
- How can I keep venison sausage in large quantities?
Freezing or refrigeration remains the best option to store sausage in large quantities; only for perishable ones.
Final words
Allow me to end this discussion after driving you through various useful and educative contents. You are assured of something-for-a-bite future with properly prepared and stored venison sausage. Well, use the techniques in this report to prolong the lifespan of your sausages.