Freezing Partridges

Effects

I've a neighbour who has dropped some partridges in to me.
I'm not able to prepare them, and usually leave for my father. He's away at the moment, so can I freeze them as is, and he can thaw and prepare them later on?

cookimonster

How long is he away?.... if it's only a few days and the weather remains mild, hang them in a cold dark location until he gets back.....

I've searched for a definitive answer for you, but am struggling to get factual information.
I have a back ground in food safety and handling.... and unless the science has changed, alarm bells are going off in my head.

The practice of hanging birds is more to do with short term preservation than with taste, and all though the taste does change it is very open to interptation and personal taste.
One of the ways you prevented the bird from spoiling was by 'Not' evisersting the carcass and lessing the chance of spoilage bacteria or insect contamination.

By freezing the whole ungutted bird you are now creating a holiday home for any instringent existing bacteria that can be a danger to the consumer if both the butchering and cooking is not done properly. The issue is with the slow freezing due to insulation by the feathers and overall density of the bird with its intestines intact.

I would trust in the old ways and tradition and hang the birds until they can be processed rather than freezing them whole.

Long winded, but I'm off to drink brandy and follow up texts may be an issue...