[NH Trucker]

One of the benefits of my job is I get meats in bulk at wholesale price, which is half price or better than what it's on the shleves at your local grocer. So I can get a large cryo of any cut of beef, chicken, and pork for cheap.

I know that it's unsafe for poultry, but is there a way for a person to store meat for a year or two? If making jerky with beef, I know it has a shelf life in a refrigerator of 2 weeks in a ziplock, but is there a way to stretch that out longer sealed in mylar with O2 absorbers? And is there some kind of freeze drying process a person can do at home that would result in being able to store meat unrefrigerated for several months, a year, or longer?

[JC Refuge]

Freeze-drying at home is not going to be an option -- to freeze dry food properly, it takes some pretty pricey commercial equipment. Dehydrating meats, on the other hand--to make jerky as you mentione--is a perfectly good option. You can do that in an oven, in a dehydrator, or even on a rock outside on a hot day if really want to go native.

Now I think your best approach is probably going to be to can your meats--using a pressure canner (not a boiling water canner). There are plenty of resources online if you research this, but here's a start for you: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can5_meat.html

[JC Refuge]

Forgot to mention that canned meats are actually going to be your best long-term storage option ... better than freezing and most methods of drying meat that is done at home.

You can expect many years of shelf life. I've seen a wide range of estimates, from 4-5 years to over 100 years. I don't buy the 100 years claim, although scitntists have reportedly tested canned meats they have found that were that old and they found them to be fine.