Meat Expiration in Cryopack
 

We have some ribs that were forgotten in the basement refrigerator.
They're cryopacked (or however that's spelled), and dated July 14.

Think they're any good? They don't look nasty, but I haven't opened the
package. If they're bad, I'll toss them, unopened.

Crash is smoking a brisket tomorrow. Ribs would be nice, too. :)

Carol

"Damsel" > wrote in message
...
> We have some ribs that were forgotten in the basement refrigerator.
> They're cryopacked (or however that's spelled), and dated July 14.
>
> Think they're any good? They don't look nasty, but I haven't opened the
> package. If they're bad, I'll toss them, unopened.
>
> Crash is smoking a brisket tomorrow. Ribs would be nice, too. :)

Half life of meat in Cryovac is about 62 years. I'd use them. I've kept
meat for well over a month and it was perfect.
Keep in mind, when you first open the package there is a bit of odor from
being in a low oxygen environment. this is normal. give them a rinse and
then smell.

Damsel wrote:
> We have some ribs that were forgotten in the basement refrigerator.
> They're cryopacked (or however that's spelled), and dated July 14.
>
> Think they're any good? They don't look nasty, but I haven't opened the
> package. If they're bad, I'll toss them, unopened.
>
> Crash is smoking a brisket tomorrow. Ribs would be nice, too. :)
>
> Carol


Um, was that the freezer that quit working, and the meat has been
unrefrigerated for about 2 months?

If not, ;-) cryovac meat will keep forever in the freezer. Literally,
forever.

Wait a minute, you said refrigerator. Yes, it's probably still good.
Open the package, and you'll know if it's OK or not. If it smells OK,
it is OK. Rinse it off it if makes you feel better. HTH

Best regards,
Bob

Damsel wrote:
> We have some ribs that were forgotten in the basement refrigerator.
> They're cryopacked (or however that's spelled), and dated July 14.
>
> Think they're any good? They don't look nasty, but I haven't opened the
> package. If they're bad, I'll toss them, unopened.

Typical shelf life of cryopacked foods is 45 days from pack date. I've
kept some as long as 60 days and it was good.

Pastorio

Damsel wrote:

> We have some ribs that were forgotten in the basement refrigerator.
> They're cryopacked (or however that's spelled), and dated July 14.
>
> Think they're any good? They don't look nasty, but I haven't opened the
> package. If they're bad, I'll toss them, unopened.
>
> Crash is smoking a brisket tomorrow. Ribs would be nice, too. :)

The accepted term for cryopacked meat held a bit too long is "wet
aged". Eat and enjoy.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

"Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "Damsel" > wrote in message
> ...
> > We have some ribs that were forgotten in the basement refrigerator.
> > They're cryopacked (or however that's spelled), and dated July 14.
> >
> > Think they're any good? They don't look nasty, but I haven't opened the
> > package. If they're bad, I'll toss them, unopened.
> >
> > Crash is smoking a brisket tomorrow. Ribs would be nice, too. :)
>
> Half life of meat in Cryovac is about 62 years. I'd use them.

WOW.

Reg > said:

> The accepted term for cryopacked meat held a bit too long is "wet
> aged". Eat and enjoy.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I feel lots better now, and will feel
even better tomorrow night, when the feast begins!

Smooches all around!
Carol

Damsel > said:

> Reg > said:
>
> > The accepted term for cryopacked meat held a bit too long is "wet
> > aged". Eat and enjoy.
>
> Thanks to everyone who responded. I feel lots better now, and will feel
> even better tomorrow night, when the feast begins!
>
> Smooches all around!
> Carol

I opened the package, and wasn't thrilled with what I smelled. I asked
Crash to come to the kitchen and take a whiff. He got to the door (about
10 feet from the package of ribs) and yelled, "Throw them out!" They're in
the garbage can outside, baking in the hot sun. It smells just wonderful
out in the driveway. Trash pick-up is Wednesday morning, so only one more
day of this.

Carol, who's gonna pay better attention to expiration dates from now on

Damsel wrote:

> I opened the package, and wasn't thrilled with what I smelled. I asked
> Crash to come to the kitchen and take a whiff. He got to the door (about
> 10 feet from the package of ribs) and yelled, "Throw them out!" They're in
> the garbage can outside, baking in the hot sun. It smells just wonderful
> out in the driveway. Trash pick-up is Wednesday morning, so only one more
> day of this.
>
> Carol, who's gonna pay better attention to expiration dates from now on

Your nose should be the ultimate judge. I've had the reverse
happen also... I ended up throwing out stuff that hadn't expired
yet.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 00:53:01 GMT, Reg wrote:

> Damsel wrote:
>
> > I opened the package, and wasn't thrilled with what I smelled. I asked
> > Crash to come to the kitchen and take a whiff. He got to the door (about
> > 10 feet from the package of ribs) and yelled, "Throw them out!" They're in
> > the garbage can outside, baking in the hot sun. It smells just wonderful
> > out in the driveway. Trash pick-up is Wednesday morning, so only one more
> > day of this.
> >
> > Carol, who's gonna pay better attention to expiration dates from now on
>
> Your nose should be the ultimate judge. I've had the reverse
> happen also... I ended up throwing out stuff that hadn't expired
> yet.

Your nose was probably right.... hope you got your money back! I've
taken back meat that I'd bought the only day before (or even the same
day) that didn't smell right. You never know. It could have been one
of those repackage/redate, pull the wool over the customers eyes, type
things, the refrigeration unit malfunctioned or it was a package
ditched on a shelf by a shopper who had a mind change but didn't want
to walk back to the meat section. Any number of things could have
happened to make it go bad before the expiration date on the package.

sf > said:

> On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 00:53:01 GMT, Reg wrote:
>
> > Damsel wrote:
> >
> > > I opened the package, and wasn't thrilled with what I smelled. I asked
> > > Crash to come to the kitchen and take a whiff. He got to the door (about
> > > 10 feet from the package of ribs) and yelled, "Throw them out!" They're in
> > > the garbage can outside, baking in the hot sun. It smells just wonderful
> > > out in the driveway. Trash pick-up is Wednesday morning, so only one more
> > > day of this.
> > >
> > > Carol, who's gonna pay better attention to expiration dates from now on
> >
> > Your nose should be the ultimate judge. I've had the reverse
> > happen also... I ended up throwing out stuff that hadn't expired
> > yet.
>
> Your nose was probably right.... hope you got your money back! I've
> taken back meat that I'd bought the only day before (or even the same
> day) that didn't smell right. You never know. It could have been one
> of those repackage/redate, pull the wool over the customers eyes, type
> things, the refrigeration unit malfunctioned or it was a package
> ditched on a shelf by a shopper who had a mind change but didn't want
> to walk back to the meat section. Any number of things could have
> happened to make it go bad before the expiration date on the package.

Naw, this was all our fault. The date was July 14th. I'll just be glad
when the trash guys take it away. <G>

Carol

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:54:32 -0500, Damsel wrote:

> Naw, this was all our fault. The date was July 14th. I'll just be glad
> when the trash guys take it away. <G>

I threw something into the kitchen trashcan (last week) that smelled
to high heaven and immediately made everyoney mad at me... so count
your blessings because "your" smell is outside and the raccoons
haven't raided far. Next time, put that sort of thing in the freezer
and REMEMBER to toss it out on garbage day. :)

sf > said:

> On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:54:32 -0500, Damsel wrote:
>
> > Naw, this was all our fault. The date was July 14th. I'll just be glad
> > when the trash guys take it away. <G>
>
> I threw something into the kitchen trashcan (last week) that smelled
> to high heaven and immediately made everyoney mad at me... so count
> your blessings because "your" smell is outside and the raccoons
> haven't raided far. Next time, put that sort of thing in the freezer
> and REMEMBER to toss it out on garbage day. :)

Yeah, we have some dead ice cream that needs a decent burial. I just have
to remember!!

Carol