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Post by marc on Oct 28, 2020 7:25:03 GMT -7
I see conflicting info on the web about this. Some sources say a few weeks and others claim an indefinite life if stored continuously at 0F or lower. (The USDA used to say indefinite)
Last year, a neighbor gave be some uncooked baby back ribs still in the original factory vacuum sealed package that was almost three years old. I was obviously nervous, so I slow cooked them on my grill with the plan to likely feed them to my dog. Well, they smelled and looked really good before, during and after the process, so I sneaked a taste and was surprised that they were great. I didn't die
Generally, I am good about rotating by date. I have grilled vacuum sealed meat from my own freezer that was almost a year old and it was great. No discernible freezer burn or texture change. Both of my freezers maintain -5F to -18F.
So, what is the maximum time that you have tried and what were the results?
Marc
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Post by cowgirlup on Oct 28, 2020 17:14:54 GMT -7
I just cleaned out the basement freezer. I found some steak that was still vacuum sealed. When opened it smelled OK so I cooked it up. It had a little bit of a freezer taste but we ate it and didn't die. Other older items that looked freezer burned got cooked and given to the chickens. They all survived.
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Post by crashdive123 on Oct 29, 2020 3:19:54 GMT -7
This story is not a definitive answer to your question, but reminded me of an incident in my younger Navy days. We were in Guam doing what was called an all hands stores loadout. Our Submarine was tied up to the Submarine Tender (a ship ship that was launched in 1942 --- this took place in 1977). Basically, food for our upcoming patrol is carried (by hand) from the Tender to the Submarine. After all of the dry goods are brought onboard the frozen goods are next. All members of the Submarine crew (all hands) form a line and pass the items toward the hatch and then are handed down below and put away.
One case of steaks (we ate pretty good) caught the eye of one of my Shipmates. The box had a date stamp on it of 1945. Nobody knows what ultimately happened to that case of steaks, but I'll bet they were served to the crew in some form or fashion. I know that the head cook said keep the line moving - we ain't throwing nothing out.
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Post by marc on Oct 29, 2020 5:42:03 GMT -7
I just cleaned out the basement freezer. I found some steak that was still vacuum sealed. When opened it smelled OK so I cooked it up. It had a little bit of a freezer taste but we ate it and didn't die. Other older items that looked freezer burned got cooked and given to the chickens. They all survived.
I appreciate the feedback! How old would you guess the steaks were?
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Post by sirderrin on Oct 29, 2020 5:54:06 GMT -7
an all hands stores loadout - I remember them well!
Those where actual some of the most fun we had as a crew and increased the team spirit!
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Post by marc on Oct 29, 2020 6:11:35 GMT -7
This story is not a definitive answer to your question, but reminded me of an incident in my younger Navy days. We were in Guam doing what was called an all hands stores loadout. Our Submarine was tied up to the Submarine Tender (a ship ship that was launched in 1942 --- this took place in 1977). Basically, food for our upcoming patrol is carried (by hand) from the Tender to the Submarine. After all of the dry goods are brought onboard the frozen goods are next. All members of the Submarine crew (all hands) form a line and pass the items toward the hatch and then are handed down below and put away. One case of steaks (we ate pretty good) caught the eye of one of my Shipmates. The box had a date stamp on it of 1945. Nobody knows what ultimately happened to that case of steaks, but I'll bet they were served to the crew in some form or fashion. I know that the head cook said keep the line moving - we ain't throwing nothing out.
That might be a bit extreme! But you can cover a lot of sins with sauces and spices.
Local ranchers are a source of l a r g e briskets and other cuts, so I am trying to figure out how long I can store meat and still have it be edible. This week I cooked a lightly marbled 5.5 lb. eye of round, using the Sous Vide approach. After 18 hours at 132F, I briefly grilled it over red hot coals to develop a bark. I cut thick steaks with half of it and will make sliced roast beef with the other half. All of it is tender and tastes even better than I hoped.
With 4 additional mouths to feed, I have gained an appreciation for tasty beef at $ 2.50 to $ 3.00/lb.!
Marc
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Post by sirderrin on Oct 29, 2020 16:57:45 GMT -7
Its a good question Marc- My basic response is colder is better, less direct air contact the better.... Anything left at temperatures below 0 will last basically forever but you will loose quality overtime... Vacuum sealed will out last loose wrapped ect... Certain fats will also increase the flavor loss really fast... Beef fat is more stable then deer fat by far... but that is a whole different conversation... This article is worth a read... www.healthline.com/nutrition/freezer-burn#bottom-line
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Post by cowgirlup on Oct 29, 2020 18:09:17 GMT -7
I just cleaned out the basement freezer. I found some steak that was still vacuum sealed. When opened it smelled OK so I cooked it up. It had a little bit of a freezer taste but we ate it and didn't die. Other older items that looked freezer burned got cooked and given to the chickens. They all survived. I appreciate the feedback! How old would you guess the steaks were? They were labeled 2015. Other newer items that weren't vacuum sealed were the items that got fed to the chockens so the seal probably helped.
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Post by solargeek1 on Oct 30, 2020 15:20:54 GMT -7
marc We regularly eat steak and beef that is over 1 year old and some not even well wrapped. Perfect and no damage yet. A few packages of ground chuck hit the 2 year mark and made great burgers and chili. Where we see issues is shrimp and fish. You have to move that more quickly.
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Post by marc on Nov 1, 2020 18:19:36 GMT -7
marc We regularly eat steak and beef that is over 1 year old and some not even well wrapped. Perfect and no damage yet. A few packages of ground chuck hit the 2 year mark and made great burgers and chili. Where we see issues is shrimp and fish. You have to move that more quickly. Great input, thank you!
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Post by marc on Nov 1, 2020 18:20:33 GMT -7
marc We regularly eat steak and beef that is over 1 year old and some not even well wrapped. Perfect and no damage yet. A few packages of ground chuck hit the 2 year mark and made great burgers and chili. Where we see issues is shrimp and fish. You have to move that more quickly. That is what I thinking. Thank you so much!
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Post by marc on Nov 1, 2020 18:21:39 GMT -7
Its a good question Marc- My basic response is colder is better, less direct air contact the better.... Anything left at temperatures below 0 will last basically forever but you will loose quality overtime... Vacuum sealed will out last loose wrapped ect... Certain fats will also increase the flavor loss really fast... Beef fat is more stable then deer fat by far... but that is a whole different conversation... This article is worth a read... www.healthline.com/nutrition/freezer-burn#bottom-line
Ever let beef go for a long term then eat it?
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Post by sirderrin on Nov 1, 2020 19:31:58 GMT -7
I have eaten beef that was at least 3 years old in the last year - it was vacuum sealed. I can remember as a kid we killed and dressed a lot of our own meat. We would use freezer paper single wrapped... It usually didn't last more then a year - Three growing boys eat a lot! Temperature and how you wrap it makes a huge difference in how long it will last without much degradation in quality! Air is the enemy in the freezer long as you keep it Its a good question Marc- My basic response is colder is better, less direct air contact the better.... Anything left at temperatures below 0 will last basically forever but you will loose quality overtime... Vacuum sealed will out last loose wrapped ect... Certain fats will also increase the flavor loss really fast... Beef fat is more stable then deer fat by far... but that is a whole different conversation... This article is worth a read... www.healthline.com/nutrition/freezer-burn#bottom-lineEver let beef go for a long term then eat it?
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