Make room for your order before pickup day. Count what is already in the freezer, use older packages first and include space for any bones, organs or fat you requested.
Plan around the packaged products you will receive. Live animal weight does not tell you how much freezer space the order needs.
Check temperature and loading capacity
Keep the freezer at 0°F or below and the refrigerator at 40°F or below. Use an appliance thermometer to check them.
Underground Processing offers freezing on request for all species. Arrange it before pickup and confirm whether your order will be chilled or frozen. An empty freezer’s storage capacity is not the same as its ability to freeze a large fresh load. Follow the manufacturer’s loading instructions.
For refrigerated raw meat, common storage guidance includes:
| Product | Refrigerated holding time |
|---|---|
| Ground meat and raw sausage | 1–2 days |
| Fresh pork and lamb steaks, chops and roasts | 3–5 days |
Use the guidance for the actual product and its label. Do not apply the roast interval to everything in the order.
Organize by what you cook
- Quick meals: Keep ground meat and frequently used portions together.
- Roasts: Record the number and size so you can choose one without unpacking everything.
- Stock ingredients: Label bones and frames separately.
- Older packages: Keep them accessible for the next meal plan.
Protect packages from punctures. Freezer burn is drying that affects quality; it does not establish whether meat has been kept at a safe temperature. Continuously frozen food at 0°F remains safe indefinitely, although quality declines over time.
Know what to do during an outage
Keep the doors closed. A full freezer may hold a safe temperature for about 48 hours; a half-full freezer, about 24 hours. Check the food rather than relying only on those estimates.
- Food with ice crystals or a temperature of 40°F or below may be refrozen, with possible quality loss.
- Discard meat held above 40°F for more than two hours.
- Never taste questionable food to decide whether it is safe.
Keep the thermometer accessible and decide where you could move the order if an extended outage threatens your storage.
Sources: FoodSafety.gov cold storage chart; USDA freezing guidance; FoodSafety.gov outage guidance.