Shipping frozen food or flying with it?

superhappypanda

So I have a couple pounds of leaf lard that I wanted to bring back with me from Seattle to Detroit so I can use it while making Christmas dinner this year. Anyone have any experience flying with frozen food (fish, game, etc.) or with shipping it? I'm thinking I'd rather take it with me on the plane since it won't sit around in a delivery truck or a warehouse for days. I've never done anything like this before so I wasn't sure where to start or what I'd need to get it from point A to point B. Also, the lard is frozen currently. I have soft cooler that can hold a few pounds of the stuff and possibly some dry ice but I'm assuming they wouldn't allow dry ice as a carry on.

cmsamo

You have to be careful about crossing borders with food in general, but that doesn't apply in this case, I see. I've packed meat products in air tight Tupperware containers, with an ice pack, and put it in my suitcase (ie checked baggage) a couple of times with no issues. My round trip was 22 hours door to door, and the bacon and meat were fine (and still cold) at the other end. If you pack in checked luggage it will go in the hold which gets COLD, and helps you keep stuff fresh

DaMoonRulz

If you're going to take it with you, put it in your checked baggage. I would suggest putting an ice pack in the container, in case it gets put in the heated hold, if the plane has one.

superhappypanda

Initially my goal was to avoid checking any luggage but I might do that now since shipping would be almost the same cost. So when you packed the food, what did you do/use and did you layer with dry ice or just use gel packs. It's lard so it's not going to go rancid if it softens up but I also don't want it to leak all over if the pressure changes (I'll double/triple ziplock and squeeze out as much air as I can).

EggyToast

How much are we talking about? I assume it's not more than a pound (if it's more, what the hell are you planning to cook with over a pound of lard!?), in which case, yes, I would advocate overnighting it. You can get a styrofoam shipping container and then ship it with an icepack. It should be generally safe. And yes, overnighting it would end up costing about the same as paying for a checked bag.

My biggest concern with taking it carry-on is that the TSA may peg it as being a gel/liquid, even though it's technically not.

ceres

Yeah definitely don't try carrying it on. You will have to toss it at the gate.

zagdrob

Keep in mind that dry ice is considered a hazardous material.

Shipping using dry ice is a pain in the ass, and depending on the shipper you may need to take certain training.

Not sure about flying with it checked / carry on, but it's probably a pain too. Make sure you read your airline's policies ahead of time.

I would assume that it's easier to go with gel packs and a cooler than to mess with dry ice if you are checking it - I'd be surprised if you can carry on.

Gdiguy

How big / how deeply frozen are we talking about?

My g/f and I have brought frozen steaks back from her parents (who own a cattle ranch) in checked luggage, and they were still basically rock-hard by the end of the flight (and that was after a missed connection and a couple delays)... We just wrapped them well in garbage bags (just in case anything started leaking), and then wrapped them in a towel or two for insulation (deep frozen blocks of meat basically ARE ice packs, so as long as you insulate them pretty well they'll stay pretty frozen for a while). I believe she's also checked (on an airline) a styrofoam cooler w/ meat before (sealed/wrapped with packing tape), but you might want to check w/ the airline on that (which is easier, though may be more expensive, than just shipping it)

Dry ice is likely a big no-no, as zagdrob said - if you seal a package with dry ice too tight you basically create a bomb, so I wouldn't want to risk it unless you actually know what you're doing (I know some labs here have gotten pretty big fines for shipping things with dry ice without training)

CelestialBadger

Lard costs practically nothing so anything you buy to protect it would be more expensive than just buying the lard again at your destination. I suggest checking out Farmers markets (They often require a special order rather than having it with them) or Polish butchers (which is where I get mine.) Mmmm, lard.

superhappypanda

It's Mangalitsa leaf lard. Which is actually somewhat difficult to locate as the only breeder I knew was in Western Washington State. The rancher I bought it from has sold his pigs to an outfit in Jersey so he can go back over to Eastern Europe to learn more about the breed, how to care and slaughter and breed them, etc. etc. It's fairly pricey for what it is, about $13/lb. The plan is to use it for just about anything I can while I'm back in town and give what's left to my parents. I've got I think about 12 lbs of it in the freezer right now and it's rock solid. What @Gdiguy said about being frozen is spot on. These things are as hard as ice. I made some pies with them for Thanksgiving and wish I would have thawed it out some as it was extremely difficult to work with. But the end result was spectacular. Best crust I've ever had in my life. Hands down.

EggyToast

I have checked refrigerated canned hams in luggage, and they arrive still pretty cold. So, you could check it or overnight it. Checking it is faster for you and has it spend less time in transit. Overnighting it is probably cheaper. So, your call.

superhappypanda

So on a slightly side note, I noticed that ChefShop.com still lists leaf lard for sale and I know they get it from the same guy I got mine from. Pricing would run about the same to check a bag on Delta so I'll give them a ring tomorrow and see what it would cost to just ship some to my folks place back in Michigan. If they're out, I've got that soft sided cooler and some cool paks that I'm hoping will keep it cold and I'm going to contact Delta to make sure there won't be an issue with the lard as it is in long frozen blocks that might look somewhat suspicious but is labeled as leaf lard. Just don't want to wind up trashing the stuff at the airport.

ceres

It will be fine in a checked bag. I really, really would not risk bringing it through airport security to try to take it on the plane, though.

If you do check the lard rather than shipping it, just pack it in that cooler and then inside a suitcase with everything but what you actually want to use on the plane. As long as you're going through the hassle of checking a bag you may as well lighten the rest of your carry-on load. If I have things that need to be checked I do this, and it really makes a difference to the amount of stress in getting on and off the plane and oh look the overheads are full because they overbooked so they're taking your bag to check anyway but your pills are in there and where are they taking it, anyway, and is that the right label they're putting on it?

Fucking.. flying, man. I hates it.

superhappypanda

And it's Delta. Which used to be Northwest and somehow got worse after the buyout which I didn't think was at all possible. It's like being trapped in the beak of a shrieking harpy for 5 hours and then when you land (escape) you realize you're in Detroit. How I haven't started drinking already is beyond me. At least there will be pie.

EggyToast

Remember, Delta is not the TSA. They have no oversight or control over what the TSA does.

Jasconius

I have some experience shipping frozen goods w/ dry ice.

UPS will accept it if it's packaged properly. The recommended packaging is:

One styrofoam soft cooler, filled with food and dry ice, 100% circumnavigated with clear tape. I mean totally f'ing sealed. This not only helps prevent leaks but it helps keep the cold in.

Then, you take the soft cooler and you put it INSIDE of a standard UPS box with about 3 inches of crumped paper buffer. They will throw your box. It will be punctured. I've gotten soft coolers with entire corners taken out. Take this seriously.

In terms of amount of dry ice, I recommend at least 20% of the total volume of the styro cooler, you might be able to get away with 15% if you want your stuff to be soggy when it arrives

Finally, survivability. If the shit it ALREADY FROZEN before you pack it (highly recommended), then you've got basically 48 hours to get it in a freezer again before it begins to melt. Keyword is "begins". 60 hours it will get slushy, and after 72 hours it will be mostly liquid.

The problem here is that a cooler of really any size inside of a box is expensive as hell to mail 2-day air. But that's the price you pay.

If you like not receiving soggy wet boxes on your doorstep, I recommend 2-day. I've done 3 day. It ended up being edible, but I'll never do it again. Plus the box takes more of a beating. The heavier the box, the more likely the UPS 3-day and ground crews will chuck that thing like a football. When I did 3 day the styro cooler took a huge beating and ended up leaking badly. 2 day it always comes *mostly* in tact

You're looking at a bare minimum of $70 for 2-day air. Probably more.


no idea how an airliner would treat you, but the obvious answer is to just call them and ask

DaMoonRulz

EggyToast wrote: »

Remember, Delta is not the TSA. They have no oversight or control over what the TSA does.

Don't try bringing it on board.

superhappypanda

So I was able to get ahold of chefshop.com and have them ship some to my folks in Michigan. Still, I'll take some of these tips with me in the event I wind up having to ship salmon or game in the future.

Comahawk

I used to work in an airport kitchen, we routinely had airlines bringing in food passengers wanted to take with them in checked luggage, but which needed to be kept at certain temperatures. Based on that experience, if you choose to check it and have any sort of lay over, be very clear with the airline staff what is needed for said item. I would even go as far as writing "Keep Frozen" or "Keep Refrigerated" on such packages.

I say this due to several cases where I rescued live lobster from the walk in freezer, you really need to emphasize how the items need to be stored.

DaMoonRulz

Where in Michigan are your folks?

superhappypanda

Taylor-tucky. About 20 mins south of Detroit proper.