Smoked pheasant

[Nasty-G]

I have some pheasants left & am going to try smoking them. Planning on using a brine before smoking. Wondering how long these would be good if vacuum sealed ? Any other tips will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[1pheas4]

I can only go from experience but it seems when they're vacuumed sealed they last for about 6 to 8 months then freezer burn takes hold. I would think they should last longer so I may be doing something wrong.

Don't worry too much. Smoked pheasant seems to disappear quick anyway

 

[Rooster Shooter]

Smoked Pheasants and vacuum sealing

Hey, I vacuum seal all my birds, and have been doing it for many years. I found a package buried deep in the bottom of the chest freezer that is labeled from two seasons ago, birds were in perfect condition, no freezer burn, here are a few of the tricks that I have learned through out the years.
1.) Place bird into vacuum bag and use approx. 3-4 paper towels folded and placed above the bird, between the bird and the vacuum sealer. When vacuuming the paper towel will catch the liquid that is pulled from around the bird and prevent it from making a bad heat seal.
2.) Always, always double seal the top, meaning seal your bag, back it up on the sealer strip 1/4" and seal again. This will solve any sealing issues that may have occured with only one seal, which, in turn will prevent freezer burn. Same tricks work great for fish filets too!

 

[AtTheMurph]

The freezers that automatically defrost are the cause of most freezer burn for well packaged meat. The cycling the freezers to to perform the defrost is the issue. I have a chest freezer that doesn't defrost and birds 2 yrs old are usually fine if the packaging holds up.