Lois

My family and I will be at a villa in Puerto Rico in July. I'm wondering if I can bring frozen meat from home with me as carryon? It would be less costly to purchase filet mignon and home and freeze it to fly from Washington Dulles.

Thank you for your advice.

RoamsAround

You can bring frozen meats with you on the plane as a "carry-on" as long as the "cooler" meets the size requirements for carry-on items.

You cannot, however, briung or use regular ice, blue ice packs, dry ice or any frozen liquids or gels as these will be confiscated by the TSA.

virginia

hi lois, we always travel with a full sized cooler of meats, juices, butter, etc. everything is frozen solid the night before. packed in the am and arrives still frozen.
if you send the cooler through checked luggage you can use freezer packs if you choose. i would not use regular ice as i think it would start to melt and could make things soggy.

mymoosie

Hi virginia,

How do you secure the cooler? Do you tape it up once you get to the airport and check it in, or ?

Thanks!

virginia

mymoosie, take a roll of duct tape (i like to use the bright red or other flashy color) to the airport. tsa likes to wave this little wand with a piece of cloth at the end around the inside rims - testing for bomb residue i presume.
after they test it THEY will tape it shut for you, as they will not allow you to touch the cooler after the wand waving.
i take a typed list of all that is in the cooler and offer it to tsa, customs, whoever is checking stuff at departure or arrival.

Nevisian

What is wrong with the meat in Puerto Rico? It is the USA after all. They have Filet Mignon in the grocery stores there. After you add the time, expense, packing and cartage, you're not saving $ and causing yourself a lot of hassle.

A_Traveller

I agree with Nevisian on this one. Although you can bring a cooler filled with frozen meats it doesn't make too much sense. The meats in PR are of similar quality as Lois will find in Washington, D.C. and I dare say similarly priced. Even if meat prices were higher the savings won't amount to that much.

Lois wants to bring a carry-on cooler so the amount of meat she can bring will be relatively small. Let's assume filet mignon is selling for $10/lb. in the Washington, DC area. Let's also assume Lois purchases 10 lbs. of meat for a total cost of $100. Even if the price of meat is 15% higher (which it is not that much) Lois would "save" only $15 or $30 if you "double" the amounts in the example. The actual savings will probably be a lot less.

For that she'd have to go through all the trouble of buying the meat, bringing it home, freezing it, packing the cooler, lugging the cooler to the airport, storing it in the overhead bin, etc. all in an effort to "save" not even enough to buy a half a tank of gas. This is a real good example of being penny wise, pound foolish.

mymoosie

Thanks, virginia. Who knew duct tape comes in fashion colors! ;-)

virginia

well a girl does like to be fashionable - wally world has the colors!

crest332

It's vacation!!! Why bother lugging food along? They certainly have grocery stores there! You're going to a new and different place, don't you want to experience that rather than eating the exact same thing you eat at home??

Nevisian

Yes crest332. You've got it. Why travel if you're bring home with you. Puerto Rico has Filet Mignon in their grocery stores but why not get some real chorizo ( go to Pamela's at Numero Uno Guest House and have their chorizo on mash plantains with sweet soy reduction) or try steaming fish in plantain leaves or grill a nurse shark steak? Shoot, we have filet mignon here on Nevis but I'd rather have locally butchered meat with unbelievable flavor or go down to the Gov't fishery for some fresh caught snapper or cheap live spiney lobster.