How do you freeze your pheasants?

Madison COunty

New member
Like the title says, how do you freeze your pheasants?

I normally put them in ziplock freezer bags but I think sometimes they get freezer burn. This year for deer I bought butcher paper from Cabelas with wax coating on one side.

Would I be better off to wrap it in freezer paper once or twice or just use ziplock freezer bags?

The reason I ask is we just got back from south Dakota and I need to freeze some birds tonight.
 
I bone out my pheasants then put them in freezer bags that I put enough water in to cover the fillets. I squeeze out all the air with the last half inch of the seal not sealed and then seal it when the air is gone. I rarely have any freezer burn. When I hunt out-of-town, I freeze the birds whole then thaw them at home and debone them there before going through my normal routine. I do the same with quail. However, when I clean my quail, I split them down the back to gut them as they tend to lay better in the skillet or baking dish that way.
 
Vacuum sealer is the greatest thing in the world!!!! Keeps all the fish and game in excellent shape. One tip that I have found works great: Add 2-3 sheets of paper towel to the inside of the bag on top of the fish or game to be sealed, the paper towel will capture the moisture as you vacuum the bag down. Also I pull the bag back slightly and put a second seal on the bag, this prevents any problems.
 
I use the big freezer zip locks for a breast and two thighs; course I usually thaw and cook within 6 months max.
 
I use ziploks but make sure the meat is very wet, squeeze all the air from the bag before sealing, and eat them sooner - within weeks - rather than later.
 
I have a question on the possession limit. Most states the possession limit is twice the daily limit. Is that just the number you can have away from home? Can you have more than that in your freezer?
 
I have a question on the possession limit. Most states the possession limit is twice the daily limit. Is that just the number you can have away from home? Can you have more than that in your freezer?

No, that is your storage quota in most states. If your wife has a license, that doubles it. If you have kids that hunt, they get the same number.
 
Use old gallon milk jugs

I hate freezer burn and I like them to last a long time in the freezer so I use old gallon milk and juice jugs to freeze my birds. Bring them home from the field, cut off the backs and put 2 breasts and 4 legs in each jug then put them in a freezer. Fill them partly with water, let that freeze a couple days, then cover them with water and freeze it full. they will keep 2 years or more like that--I know cause I have forgotten some in the bottom of the freezer for a couple years! Of course you will need a big freezer, like I have, if you kill a lot of birds, but luckily I always have a lot every year to freeze! I do the same thing for all my birds (grouse, ducks) unless I plan to eat them really quickly.
 
i do too

I bone out my pheasants then put them in freezer bags that I put enough water in to cover the fillets. I squeeze out all the air with the last half inch of the seal not sealed and then seal it when the air is gone. I rarely have any freezer burn. When I hunt out-of-town, I freeze the birds whole then thaw them at home and debone them there before going through my normal routine. I do the same with quail. However, when I clean my quail, I split them down the back to gut them as they tend to lay better in the skillet or baking dish that way.

I started cutting the backbone out too at a young age. Then when we have family fish and quail fry-offs. I would cut down the middle of the breast before cooking them. That way everyone takes a half of a breast and one leg. Then you're not stuck with a big pile of legs at the end of the party.
 
On pheasants I filet out the breast meat, usually I put enough breast filets in a bag for my family a meal, submerge in water pushing out all air, (have even gone as far as sucking out the excess air with a straw), and finish sealing the bag before freezing.

I separate the legs from the thighs and freeze the legs separately submerged in water.

The thighs I filet/peel the meat off and freeze it like I do with the breast filets, submerged in water.

Quail I sometimes filet the breast meat, sometimes leave it on the breast bone, pull the legs and thighs off as one unit, put in a bag and freeze submerged.

Rarely any freezer burn, if ever.

For deer, I wrap in saran type wrap, pushing all air out of package, then wrap in the plastic coated butcher paper, again pushing all air out. Taping well. I've had antelope roast that was 5 years old and buried in the freezer without a drop of freezer burn on it.
 
How long do you keep vacuumed sealed birds?

I have heavy duty Cabelas vacuum sealer with heavy gauge bags. How long would you store before considering too old without visible freezer burn?
 
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