Shelf Life?

I want to boil and dry meat such as chicken and beef. The meat will be cooked, dried to a crisp, vacuum sealed in a mylar bag with oxy absorber. How long would the shelf life of this food be? I'M looking into foods that will last 15-30 years as I have 3 young boys to think of in a god forbid situation. Thanks for any replies.

 

I don't know if there is an accurate answer. However here is some maybe help. Similar commercial products, packaged same run 25 to 35 years. I can state with zero reservation that whatever the storage life is, "IF" you can also keep it frozen or chilled or "NOT" warm.........it will massively enhance the quality and useful life.
And welcome to this forum.

 

Ok, thanks for the reply.

 

Welcome to here Steve!

Home-dried foods have a relatively short shelf life unless frozen. (Commercially dehydrated and freeze-dried foods have a much longer shelf life.)


Here are some pointers for safe meat dehydration, storage times, etc.

https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/food-preservation/dehydrate-red-meat-poultry-ze0z1811zmcg

https://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-meat.html


I am not a fan of sealing home-dried foods in vacuum sealed bags. Deadly botulism (which cannot be smelled or tasted) can grow in an anaerobic (airless) environment, especially in the presence of the tiniest amount of moisture that may be lurking inside dehydrated food (despite the dry outward appearance).

Here is more info about protecting yourself from food poisoning in vacuum sealed foods:

https://www.askaprepper.com/vacuum-sealing-hazardous-health/

Be well!



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I don't see the justification for the risk. I would not take the risk. I have a a few years of commercial freeze dried food, mostly in #10 cans. The #10 cans have an official storage life of 55 years.

Yes......they are kind'a expensive. So, just purchase one can a week for the next five years. That is 260 #10 cans of food. Your sons will be pushing 70 y/o and the food will still be good.

I do advise applying a rust inhibiter to the top and bottom of the cans, for super long term storage.

 

I have wet canned salmon, pressure canning, and eaten it 20 years later. As long as the seal is good the product should be also.

 

Thanks for the link. Many comments regarding this bacteria satisfied my concerns toward it .

 

Can you tell me, did you make it yourself? Purchase it?

 

I buy tins of kippered herring. I love fish for a snack or for lunch w/crackers. That meat is salty; it is not going to rot, period. Listed storage time is 3 to 5 years -- at my rate of use, I'll have cycled them long before that. Too, it keeps its flavor. Too, a human doesn't require that much meat each day. Too, it doesn't cost that much. Too, the tins stack very well on my storage shelves -- everyone's storage space is limited.

 

I have only one life time . That is not enough time to find out if my home storing technique's actually will last 20 years or so . I would be betting my life and my descendance life on that food storage . I agree with Sourdough . I would rather shell out some extra bucks to be assured that stored food will still be eatable when someone's life depends on it . That would for most people also make it too expensive for a family or group to survive on for years . My answer to that problem was a self perpetuating food resource " milk goats , gardening , hunting , and fishing . Note robbing my neighbor NOT part of the plan .

 

Home canned. I have also done moose, caribou, and beef, though none of those have been through the test that my one jar of salmon went through. Commercially canned foods have been recovered after over a hundred years and still tested edible with much of the nutrient value intact.

 

We each must gather the best information we can, assess our skills and make a decision. I am a third generation canner, that I can testify to. I feel comfortable with my skills. I have taught a handful of families to can, when asked.

I was a commercial fisherman and as such have been inside an operating salmon cannery, a lot. I prefer to eat my own. Having said that, I recommend that you learn pressure canning from someone that has experience. Some of your local colleges offer these classes.