# How do you package rabbit for freezing?



## General Brown (Jan 10, 2008)

I normally freeze mine in freezer bags, but I have noticed some "frost" in the bags after being froze for several months. I am considering going to freezer paper. Any ideas or suggestions? I have ALOT of fryers coming due for freezer camp, and dont want to lose any meat. Thanks....


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## vikav (Mar 30, 2009)

General Brown said:


> I normally freeze mine in freezer bags, but I have noticed some "frost" in the bags after being froze for several months. I am considering going to freezer paper. Any ideas or suggestions? I have ALOT of fryers coming due for freezer camp, and dont want to lose any meat. Thanks....


Food Saver vacuum system, in their freezer bags.


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## Miss M (Sep 11, 2009)

We packed some bluefish we had caught in plastic wrap and then freezer paper. Two years later, we still had a good bit of bluefish left, and we gave it to a friend who wanted it. He couldn't believe it had been frozen for two years. It was still in great condition. And this was even an upright freezer.

So I think freezer paper would serve you well for the bunnies. I won't have personal experience on that until we have our first litter.


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

> Food Saver vacuum system, in their freezer bags


Yup, I buy the 11" wide rolls, you can cut them any length with the built in cutter. Works well and makes a very presentable package.


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

I pack in gallon ziplock freezer bags with a small amount of salt water, (probably about 2 cups) and use a sink full of water to drive the air out by slowly dunking the bag. Cheap and effective, if ice can help preserve wooly mammoths I feel it can preserve my home raised meat just as well.


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## Miss M (Sep 11, 2009)

Ryan NC said:


> I pack in gallon ziplock freezer bags with a small amount of salt water, (probably about 2 cups) and use a sink full of water to drive the air out by slowly dunking the bag. Cheap and effective, if ice can help preserve wooly mammoths I feel it can preserve my home raised meat just as well.


I freeze fish in fresh water, because it preserves the texture well, but I hadn't thought to do it with other meats (can't use salt water, because my mom can't have much salt). I have done the vacuum packing in the sink full of water, though. Very effective. If you anticipate very long term storage, perhaps wrap the meat-in-water-vacuum-packed-in-sink bags in freezer paper after they have frozen (so you're not trying to wrap something terribly squishy). Just a thought.


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## Bamboorabbit (Jan 22, 2009)

It is hard to beat the vacuum sealer method......I put the meat on trays and seal. I do the same for the rabbit as I do the grouper and snapper we catch.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Water continuously evaporates, even from ice. If there is any air in your containers in the freezer the water will slowly evaporate from the meat, and slowly refreeze in the air pockets. This tends to dry out the meat. Also, polyethelene is "breathable", that is water vapor will pass through it slowly and cause whatever is inside to dry out. We love "ziplock" bags, but they are not something somone wants to keep in the freezer for a long time. "saran" and freezer wrap are much better, but then one has the trouble of keeping the seams sealed well which causes the same problem. We have never tried the "vacum" stuff. We do squeeze all the air out of our Ziplocks, but that won't prevent the loss of moisture through the bag. If the vacuum bags are made of some other plastic than polyethelene, that is probably the way to go....... Though I have an aversion to buying "speciality" items that take electricity and propietary products to work.

Luckily, rabbit does not last long enough in our freezer to have to worry. If we have meat that we know we might keep for a long time, we wrap it in saran or freezer paper first and then put it in a bag.


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

I vac-seal with a Foodsaver using their bags and I still get leaks occasionally, even with double-sealing the ends.

I've recently tried putting marinade in the bag with the rabbit, not sure if that will help but I'm hoping it will. Does make for an easy and delicious dish later -- but once you add the marinade, that rabbit's fate is pretty well decided. Hard to suddenly decide you're in the mood for pot pie instead of teriyaki.


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## Miss M (Sep 11, 2009)

o&itw said:


> I have an aversion to buying "speciality" items that take electricity and propietary products to work.


I had never really put it into words, but that pretty much sums up my feelings. I keep thinking about buying a FoodSaver, I really, really want a vacuum sealer, but what stops me is:

...it's another appliance in my already very limited space, 
...it can't be used without electricity (not a real biggie, but still), 
...it requires proprietary refills,
...and it's pricey. I know, you can rescue all that food and make up for the cost, but...

I recently came across a small, non-electric, inexpensive pump called Pump-N-Seal that I was thinking about buying. It does use proprietary tabs, but they are re-re-re-usable and allow you to vacuum seal things in ziploc bags, jars, bowls, whatever. BUT, now that I came across a blog post with instructions on how to easily make your own seals, I am *definitely* buying this as soon as I can! No more proprietary refills!

Good heavens, I can't believe how much like a commercial that sounded! 

Pump-N-Seal website
Blog post about homemade seals (has pictures, too, at the bottom)


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

I found a vacuum sealer at my local St. vinnies (like Goodwill). $15.00. Easy to use, you can use any plastic bag with them, although the rolls of plastic that are made for them do make a better freezer bag. (the plastic is layered, not a single bag)

I still use a plain old ziplock freezer bag and suck the air out tho, when I want to just do something quick and simple. There are simple hand pumps that are used for bikes, air matresses, etc...one side pushes are IN...but there's always an intake valve...attach a piece of plastic tubing to that and you have a nice vacuum. 

Or use your vacuum cleaner with one of those attachments meant for computer keyboards. 

I recently cleaned out to the bottom of the chest freezer and found some chicken from 3 years ago. Wrapped in saran wrap and then in freezer paper. No freezer burn. Tasted great  heh...tied with a lovely variegated yellow/blue/soft green yarn.....


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## vikav (Mar 30, 2009)

Foodsaver has reusable containers you can use, or you can use it with the regular mason jars. I am not a fan of specialized appliances, don't own any, so naturally I was iffy about getting the Foodsaver too, but we've used it so much, that I now don't regret it one bit. All my garden harvest in the freezer is flash-frozen and vacuum sealed. So far, I haven't seen one problem with it, other than the price tag on their bags. I use Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupons any time I need a new roll of bags, so that cuts the costs. Also, I think, most other systems' bags work with the Foodsaver. You can also reuse the Foodsaver bags.


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## Miss M (Sep 11, 2009)

Wisconsin Ann said:


> I recently cleaned out to the bottom of the chest freezer and found some chicken from 3 years ago. Wrapped in saran wrap and then in freezer paper. No freezer burn. Tasted great  heh...tied with a lovely variegated yellow/blue/soft green yarn.....


So my bluefish experience was not an anomaly. The plastic wrap/freezer paper combination always worked very well for me.



vikav said:


> Foodsaver has reusable containers you can use, or you can use it with the regular mason jars. I am not a fan of specialized appliances, don't own any, so naturally I was iffy about getting the Foodsaver too, but we've used it so much, that I now don't regret it one bit. All my garden harvest in the freezer is flash-frozen and vacuum sealed. So far, I haven't seen one problem with it, other than the price tag on their bags. I use Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupons any time I need a new roll of bags, so that cuts the costs. Also, I think, most other systems' bags work with the Foodsaver. You can also reuse the Foodsaver bags.


I didn't know you could use other bags with it. That's really good. I also didn't know the Foodsaver bags were reusable. I do like the idea of the Pump-N-Seal better, because it's nonelectric, less expensive, and uses the regular jar seals for mason jars. But I'm glad Foodsaver is a bit more versatile than I thought it was!


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

You know....been thinking about this. I don't believe that a Foodsaver is any more of a specialized appliance than a vacuum cleaner is. Here is my reasoning:

Vacuum cleaner does one thing...it vacuums up dirt from the floor. Sure, you could use a broom (or in my case, a RAKE to get the dog hair up off the carpet) or maybe a rolling brush thing like my grandma had...but it's less work, and gets carpet cleaner than a broom does. You either have to empty out the cup all the time, or you have to buy bags for it. If you buy bags, you can buy the type made by the vacuum company, or generic that are the same style

A vacuum sealer does one thing....it sucks air out of wrapping bags and seals the bag for you. You can buy the "made for this sealer" bags, or you can buy generic or whatever is on sale. You can make your own out of plastic sheets. I use mine to seal meat for freezing, veggies for freezing, lettuce in the fridge, dehydrated veggies in bags for storing in the pantry, sealing up wool mittens/hats/scarves after winter. 

AND as Vikav said, you can reseal the bags. Just cut off the original sealed edge and reseal. 

so....I really think it's no more a specialized appliance than any other appliance you might own...At least it's not like one of those can openers that only opens cat food can sized things.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

If I had my druthers, I would be in a house with no carpet and no fabric upolstery....... and there would be no vac except a shop vac. 

I can push almost all the air out of my zip-loc bags, especially if there is a little water in them with the meat. What I can't get around is the "breathability" of polyethylene, I don't think a vacuum seal system would offer much advantage if I used it with traditional bags...we don't have much need to crush sweaters either. 

What I would really like to see is some "saran" or other zip lock bags that do not breathe.


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## vikav (Mar 30, 2009)

o&itw said:


> What I would really like to see is some "saran" or other zip lock bags that do not breathe.


IDK about the saran, but the ziplock bags can leach some real nasty carcinogens into the food, especially if there is something acidic, like marinade, in it.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

vikav said:


> IDK about the saran, but the ziplock bags can leach some real nasty carcinogens into the food, especially if there is something acidic, like marinade, in it.


Most modern kitchen plastics and bowls, will release dioxin if heated (in the microwave, for instance) One could do with out the convenience, but it would do little good with everyone up and down the street burning plastics in their trashcans, and good luck on ever getting plastics banned with all their utility. If one lived in the boondocks, in the north away from the wind currents from populated areas, then it might be reasonable to do away with plastics in the kitchen. As it is, we are all doomed to be taking in a little dioxin with each breath, If one is careful to never heat anything in a plastic container... it might help a little.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

I cut ours up in peices usually & seal with my foodsaver too.

I really like Bamboorabbit's idea of using the trays & sealing up that way. Would probly help with any puncturing too.


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