How long does frozen meat keep?

Graham_S_4

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Forever, but the quality deteriorates.

Wasn't some Ice Age man dug up from an Alpine glacier in "near perfect" condition? :eek:

wouldn't want to eat him though

G

Debt_Free_Chick

Graham_S wrote:

wouldn't want to eat him though

G

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

daphne_descends

The realisation of how much my partner and I spend on food is really starting to dawn on me and I am keen to embrace double cooking and freezing :j

I have never really made much use of our freezer before except in summer (ice cream :cool: ) and have discovered quite a bit of frozen meat - left by my old house mate who moved out in February :eek:

Most of this says 'freeze on day of purchase, consume within one month' - so I am really asking if I should believe the packaging or if some of it can be put to good use.

There are lots of sausages, some chicken, and some lovely looking king prawns. Must this all go in the bin?


Whilst on the subject of food, as an aside, my partner does not eat beef or lamb and I'm not a big fan of pork. This has led to a chicken-heavy diet since he moved in, we eat a lot of veggie food too but I am getting bored - any ideas? I think that over-cooked dry pork chops as a child has scarred me for life :rotfl:

(edit: we do have fish now and then but my cooking skills with fish are extremely limited - I'm working on it but it's slow progress!)

Thanks in advance

katieowl_2

If it's in a proper freezer, not an ice box of a fridge, I'd eat it!!!

They eat chunks of mammoth that thaw out of the permafrost in Siberia LOL!

Regards

Seakay

I agree with Katieowl - I think that the food packers play very safe, partly to increase consumerism and partly because if you open and shut your freezer door a lot then it is technically possible that small areas could start to defrost and then refreeze. Personally I don't worry about this and just make sure that all small things,(eg free flow prawns) likely to defrost fast, are used up before I defrost the freezer (which I try to do twice a year to make sure it's operating efficiently, ie not with inch thick ice on the walls). Large (ie joints, casseroles, blocks of soup) things will be fine if packed together in a large box and covered with insulating material eg blankets. (or left in the frezer baskets and similarly covered, or packed into cool bags or boxes).

whatatwit

If it's fully thawed out, smells ok when thawed and then cooked properly you should be ok.
If in doubt when thawed, then bin it.

daphne_descends

Thanks all, I'll see how it smells defrosted and hopefully get some free meals out of it!

pudding06

Meat form the freezer often smells a bit strange when just defrosted.
trick is to rinse it and leave it in the fridge for about 30 mins or so. the smell should go. IF it doesnt then think about chucking - but I use meat thats much older than that lol

pudds

Mrs_Sparkle

I'd eat it- I've eaten things which have lurked in the freezer for 6 months+ but only if it smells ok! Lucky you- free king prawns are not to be sniffed at!

tawnyowls

fac73 wrote:

Whilst on the subject of food, as an aside, my partner does not eat beef or lamb and I'm not a big fan of pork. This has led to a chicken-heavy diet since he moved in, we eat a lot of veggie food too but I am getting bored - any ideas? I think that over-cooked dry pork chops as a child has scarred me for life :rotfl:

Pork chops can be very dry - braising rather than frying is usually better. Other parts of the pork, such as loins , which have a reasonable bit of marbling in them are lovely in stir fries. Pork mince can be used in most recipes that need beef mince.

You could vary this a bit by having a different sort of pig meat - gammon and bacon. Gammon cooked in the slow cooker with cloves and bay leaves is lovely.

Is there a particular reason why your partner doesn't eat beef or lamb? Presumably they're not actually a veggie? Maybe they've been turned off them like you were with pork? Maybe trying out different recipes would persuade them? Also, perhaps you could cook them something different to what you're eating? Just because they don't like it is no reason to deprive yourself.

Might be worth looking round the charity shops, supermarkets and places like Matalan and TK Maxx for easy cookbooks to broaden your repertoire a bit.