What is in your freezer?

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Our biggest problem is in keeping enough produce for salads and steaks to satisfy my carnivorous hankerings. Our sailboat freezer was massive compared to our current refrigerator freezer, and we were able to take enough meat to last months, with supplementation with fresh fish or the occasional restaurant meal. We don't like to eat out and thus carry most of our food aboard.

I recon that with the current fridge we can carry two weeks worth of food. We are looking at adding a chest freezer if we can just figure out where to put it.

Gordon
 
I should have mentioned that one of the many great things about the vacuum sealer, is that you can break out Costco-sized cuts and multi-packs (like our favorite New York Steaks) into meal size individual packages.

Curry, someone said? Anchored on the Wahoo River in Georgia..

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UKVJ1QGU1katiytJmA5hdlmAwbwlJRseu8naX3D70QasbPi-nWJJDRVOdvSFWs10A3f48iEIV67j7p189wEyiQ0kol-8ugi2eethBcM6XCROpLtHR6msesXsvpSq0H-kSJahuJiI7Nj950Wp5LvWV2Ct49z2_OdWgM7eNG2YrV7qfUt76yc6nRHXBtSPQ-NCtLcblqK3PK1BlilSld9OVvOsGyi44-hvS-BGVvsgmNn7E2vG9v8KowBWrfg4HbRE0VgTYPUMqgN-e5nRkQH5k_kFlIk3UsBmb3g4V0JYloRG0_Kuc-7JKy1-ZsZa0VoyjVYkelWS8NvylTHfMl41s9g46CKWeiqSrDGPmr6jMa7D8SFBA0kKNmJidaop0FLIlzpd-KVWni4vJcIt-2s1RJ7mOFc82WF-Imq5O0XQ0Z75vmVxYzqn7dfJb-0MxTYQVX0YJkrUkx5YemSAmalr8lmUw3Gw2MXOcXrJw23XkYt-lBc8dg6yXFBpE3eydXuGNucfuDo2T7ISJJj2MqgvFWRsnaqFYtIJzON_a8_VQU-Eg9Sdd4pwTTIFqCoa4A580NlQRZUnf1431NqDo28oeB6fSFxHWwY=w1000-h750-no
 
Caltexflanc, that's looks like a pretty roomy Boston Whaler 130 Sport.
 
Just checked today while at the yard. Main freezer has a 1/2 tube of 4200, 6 pre rigged ballyhoo, 6 soft shell crabs, 8 lobster tails, 10 conchs and 50 pounds of ice. The deep freeze is currently packed with spares and will probably stay that way for a while.


Spell check via iPhone.
 
I'm not being helpful here, nevertheless, we usually eat at a restaurant.



But not always.

 
What's in our freezer? Too much meat based in last year's experience. We brought a lot back with us. I caught more seafood than my wife expected. As mentioned above, we vacuum seal Costco meat and other items. We also freeze 1 litre cartons of milk. We reprovision in Port McNeil and Prince Rupert.


Jim
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum
 
Yes, vacuum then freeze. As mentioned by me somewhere here, we vacuum then freeze steaks, chops, chicken parts, sausages, fish, leftovers all that kind of stuff. Also small batteries (don't freeze those). The Foodsaver kits have canisters for vacuum sealing (whether frozen somethings or not. For me personally, the biggest benefits are how excellent things taste when unfrozen, and the ability to break bulk buy type product up into meal size portions. Secondarily, cuts down on trips to the market. Stuff keeps for months and leaves more room in the fridge for beer and wine.

Even though we live on land now, we still do this all the time, as we are not near a Costco or Sam's, so when we are we take a cooler or cold bag and stock up.
 
caltexflanc said:
Yes, vacuum then freeze. As mentioned by me somewhere here, we vacuum then freeze steaks, chops, chicken parts, sausages, fish, leftovers all that kind of stuff. Also small batteries (don't freeze those). The Foodsaver kits have canisters for vacuum sealing (whether frozen somethings or not. For me personally, the biggest benefits are how excellent things taste when unfrozen, and the ability to break bulk buy type product up into meal size portions. Secondarily, cuts down on trips to the market. Stuff keeps for months and leaves more room in the fridge for beer and wine.

Even though we live on land now, we still do this all the time, as we are not near a Costco or Sam's, so when we are we take a cooler or cold bag and stock up.
Click to expand...

I never liked to freeze steaks before I first started using Foodsaver decades ago. We vacuum seal everything we freeze, at home or for the boat. We also put a lot of other items in vacuum sealed bags, anything that we feel the need to protect from the elements. One thing we do on non-food items is cut the bag larger than needed. That way we can slice off a small piece to access what is in it and then reuse the bag to vacuum seal another item. Similarly if we have more than one item in the bag we can do the same.
 
psneeld said:
Many people that have assumed the duties of kitchen organizer tend to follow some American custom that I have experienced of filling a kitchen with items to make meals....not shopping for specific meals...except maybe a few.

I come from a background of backpacking and tiny boats so my meals are by meal/day/week and only the ingredients necessary are on hand.

Yes, boring to an extent...but also you know what you have. Too often the cook complains we don't have something aboard to complete a meal....to which I say...the boat can't hold everything and multiples thereof....figure it out....
Click to expand...

You describe my wife to a T. It amazes me how can we agree on a specific shopping list, representing the ingredients for a carefully planned (by me, but agreed by her) series of meals, and she shows up with three times as much food. She also shows up with three times the clothes she needs covering every possible occasion, even though most of them (including even formals and funerals) aren't even a possibility. The reality is that we already have all the food and clothes we need on board for at least 2 weeks, even if we don't catch any fish for dinner. As a result (and thanks to the fact that I have a commercial quality vacuum packer), our main freezer has 9 cubic feet of professionally sealed food of all sorts (or at least all -- there are a few items, like mushrooms, that are apparently unsafe to vac pack), dating back years. Surprisingly, I find that steaks and other meat are (almost) imperceptibly identical to their recently frozen counterparts.
 
MYTraveler said:
our main freezer has 9 cubic feet of professionally sealed food of all sorts (or at least all --.
Click to expand...

How many pounds of food do you estimate?

This trip because we have access to groceries every day, we were able to forego storing desserts or a lot of ice cream and store very limited vegetables. We also have some pre-cooked italian dishes and casseroles. Very little seafood as that's our meal a lot of times we eat our plus any caught if any of us go fishing.

We left home on April 1 with the following pounds of meat.

Steak 80
Chicken 53
Turkey 20
Lamb 12
Pork 21
Duck 12
Veal 8
Hamburgers 24
Hot Dogs 24
Bacon 10
Sausage 10

We estimate combined with eating out about half the time and averaging 7-8 people on board, that will get us to Mid July, when we will restock. Then we'll restock again late September.
 
BandB said:
How many pounds of food do you estimate?

This trip because we have access to groceries every day, we were able to forego storing desserts or a lot of ice cream and store very limited vegetables. We also have some pre-cooked italian dishes and casseroles. Very little seafood as that's our meal a lot of times we eat our plus any caught if any of us go fishing.

We left home on April 1 with the following pounds of meat.

Steak 80
Chicken 53
Turkey 20
Lamb 12
Pork 21
Duck 12
Veal 8
Hamburgers 24
Hot Dogs 24
Bacon 10
Sausage 10

We estimate combined with eating out about half the time and averaging 7-8 people on board, that will get us to Mid July, when we will restock. Then we'll restock again late September.
Click to expand...

Well, your food is much fresher and more diverse than mine. Sounds like a great time. The freezer I mentioned is packed (everytime I add something, I have to find something to toss), but let's say 1/3 dead space. Now we are down to 6cf of food. Some is bread and bait, but still at least 4 cf of meat. I estimate that meat weight 80 pounds per cf (maybe I am way off here, but if there are about 8 gallons per cf, and if meat is 20% heavier than water, I am not too far off -- don't forget, I have already allowed a 50% packing inefficiency). So, that would be 320 pounds of meat. If my calcs are even close to right (I would give 50-50 odds on that), I have you beat on sheer quantity, but given your diversity (we have zero duck), and freshness (on average, my food was sealed up in 2015, and some 2 or more years before that), I am still envious.

In my defense, I will say that we have a beni hana table and a well stocked beer refrig, so when the mood strikes it can be pretty festive.
 
Last edited:
MYTraveler said:
If my calcs are even close to right (I would give 50-50 odds on that), I have you beat on sheer quantity, but given your diversity (we have zero duck), and freshness (on average, my food was sealed up in 2015, and some 2 or more years before that), I am still envious.

In my defense, I will say that we have a beni hana table and a well stocked beer refrig, so when the mood strikes it can be pretty festive.
Click to expand...

We make an effort to turn our food, including using it at home. When we fill, we'll move all the older to the top as we do have it all dated. Looking at the entire freezer space, we have about 15 cubic feet, and we estimate capacity around 375 lbs.
 
Duck and pork tenderloin were the 2 things we were looking for this time. I would of picked up a few cryovaced tenderloins and a case of duck breast if they were packed decently, but we had no luck. I even tried to order some stuff through Kroger, but somehow our shipment got delayed until after we left.
 
right now ice. I like to keep it empty so i have room to freeze fish caught. When that happens the ice goes in the fish box
 
choppywater said:
Duck and pork tenderloin were the 2 things we were looking for this time. I would of picked up a few cryovaced tenderloins and a case of duck breast if they were packed decently, but we had no luck. I even tried to order some stuff through Kroger, but somehow our shipment got delayed until after we left.
Click to expand...

That's why a sealer like the Food Saver is the bomb. Coupled with a Costco (or Sam's or BJ's, though Costco meats are typically superior) membership, (or access to a bulk commercial butcher or a unique place like Penn Dutch) pays for itself very quickly.

Another benefit is that you could buy a big tenderloin and divide it up into meal sized portions instead of having to thaw the whole thing. We do that with beef tenderloin too, as well as roasts.
 
caltexflanc said:
That's why a sealer like the Food Saver is the bomb. Coupled with a Costco (or Sam's or BJ's, though Costco meats are typically superior) membership, (or access to a bulk commercial butcher or a unique place like Penn Dutch) pays for itself very quickly.

Another benefit is that you could buy a big tenderloin and divide it up into meal sized portions instead of having to thaw the whole thing. We do that with beef tenderloin too, as well as roasts.
Click to expand...

I was about 15 miles from a Sam's. They had a tinny meat selection the meat manager told me because of the holiday weekend coming up he was sold out of a lot of stuff and could not order any more. Thinking of Sam's every time i buy there fresh boneless breasts they are tough and end up turning them into soups, stews, or something that we marinade for a few days.

Kroger was my next best choice, but they had issues with the distribution center. The meat manager told me from the get go that they do not get what they order and they get what Kroger whats them to have even if they have to much of it on hand and have to reduce it to get it to move.
 
choppywater said:
I was about 15 miles from a Sam's. They had a tinny meat selection the meat manager told me because of the holiday weekend coming up he was sold out of a lot of stuff and could not order any more. Thinking of Sam's every time i buy there fresh boneless breasts they are tough and end up turning them into soups, stews, or something that we marinade for a few days.

Kroger was my next best choice, but they had issues with the distribution center. The meat manager told me from the get go that they do not get what they order and they get what Kroger whats them to have even if they have to much of it on hand and have to reduce it to get it to move.
Click to expand...

That's the value of finding a good local butcher who will get whatever you want. The disadvantage is they typically charge considerably more.

I just can't go the Walmart meat route and I can't tell there is any difference in Walmart and Sams food. Costco's meat I have been pleased with. I've never purchased meat at a Kroger.
 
Grey Goose.
 
choppywater said:
I was about 15 miles from a Sam's. They had a tinny meat selection the meat manager told me because of the holiday weekend coming up he was sold out of a lot of stuff and could not order any more. Thinking of Sam's every time i buy there fresh boneless breasts they are tough and end up turning them into soups, stews, or something that we marinade for a few days.

Kroger was my next best choice, but they had issues with the distribution center. The meat manager told me from the get go that they do not get what they order and they get what Kroger whats them to have even if they have to much of it on hand and have to reduce it to get it to move.
Click to expand...

Why don't you buy quality and get meat from local farmers or at the local food co-op. Once you start eating the good stuff you will never go back to the chain stores
 
I was in Sam's the other day and noticed all the fresh chicken was Tyson branded, so the comment about the quality makes sense. Might be why even though its over an hour farther than the hour we are from three Sam's, Ann always waits until we are going by a Costco to stock up on meats. We are on the last of a "six pack" of thighs I got a few months ago and they have been really good. Anyone who's seen some of the boat food pix I've posted here knows we take it pretty seriously.

By the way, Kroger owns a bunch of local chains, including Harris Teeter here in the southeast, as well as Ralph's out in SoCal, Fred Meyer in the PNW, so some of you have likely been in one. I've always found the quality to be acceptable, and found the post-acquisition Ralph's near where I stay in LA much better than the "pre"on my visit earlier this month. Still went to Gel$on'$ or Whole Food$ for produce though, nice to have a choice, not that the stuff at Ralph's looked "bad".
Here in east Podunk, NC, HT has been the only somewhat upscale choice vs. Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, Walmart, but Publix is about to bring some competition; though I have to say the pork products at the Pig are pretty good (and about the only thing that is).

When you are cruising full time, one doesn't always have the optimum choices, which is why strategic vacuum seal freezing is great when you do.
 
bfloyd4445 said:
Why don't you buy quality and get meat from local farmers or at the local food co-op. Once you start eating the good stuff you will never go back to the chain stores
Click to expand...

There are places that i get a 1/4 cow, fresh pork, and free rang birds. But there are lots of times that finding good stuff can be hard. When we do a full stock up it's around 400 pounds of meat.
 
caltexflanc said:
By the way, Kroger owns a bunch of local chains, including Harris Teeter here in the southeast, as well as Ralph's out in SoCal, Fred Meyer in the PNW, so some of you have likely been in one.
Click to expand...

Kroger didn't own Harris Teeter until after we moved away from NC.
 
caltexflanc said:
When you are cruising full time, one doesn't always have the optimum choices, which is why strategic vacuum seal freezing is great when you do.
Click to expand...

That was part of the reason for my initial question and is behind our reasoning. When cruising in the US, we can find fresh vegetables and fruits and berries along the way and generally do ok, but meats are a gamble so we prefer to stock all we can from a source we know and trust. When cruising outside the US, finding good meats in a grocery store is far less likely.
 
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