How long can you freeze meat for?

Xbigman

Most people I asked (in work) said three months straight away. My own view was that you could freeze supermarket meat for three months but it was up to 2 weeks old before you get it. Fresh, organic meat without lots of water added would keep for six months in a 4 star freezer if frozen quickly enough. Was I right?
Regards



X

nemo183

You can freeze anything for almost anytime........

But it rather depends on the temperature at which you keep it frozen.

All frozen products, over time, will decay. However, as a rule of thumb, if you freeze almost anything at a temperature of -23C, assuming it was in reasonable condition when frozen, it will last at least 12 months. However, your main enemy in this endeavour is "Freezer Burn". This occurs when you attempt to freeze a product that is exposed to air and lacks an outer protective coating - hence most fish/shell fish carry a water glaze, and any meat in a vacuum pack is safe. You can protect other meat by wrapping it first in a layer of cling film, and then putting it in a freezer bag. If you want to get fussy, you can get freezer bag systems that remove the air from the bag - like a vac-u-vin removes air from a bottle of wine. By the way, freezer burn is easy to see - it tends to turn the outer layer of a frozen product a blotchy white colour.

I must admit, there are some products today which are packed in a protective gas - normally nitrogen - and you may be better just popping these directly in the freezer, assuming the packaging is sound. Your main enemy is the exposure of the product to oxygen.

Assuming you maintain -23C, some products will last even longer.

On a positive note, should you freeze an originally sound product for too long, upon defrosting it will be kind enough to let you know by it's smell when defrosted. Additionally, should you have a cold and fail to detect the somewhat obvious odour of decay, once cooked the product will helpfully indicate your mistake by tasting terrible.

Your nightmare senario is undercooking a decomposing piece of meat - which could make you quite ill. However, even an over the hill piece of meat, if well done, is unlikely to cause you permanent damage.

Finally, I should point out that my area of expertise lies in the field of frozen fish. Experiments have shown that fish, if quickly frozen, will still be edible and quite palitable 3 years later - although there is a gradual decline in the quality of the eating experience.

Should you wish to keep any product frozen for a reasonable period, you really need to invest in a "frost free" freezer. Although these are not the most energy efficient, the very worst thing you can do to frozen food of any kind is to remove it from a conventional freezer whilst you defrost the ice build-up. No frozen food can handle this treatment, even if you carefully store it in freezer boxes.

The increase in temperature, even if only for a short perod of time, will cause severe damage to the cellular structure of the product when it is re-frozen.

Hope this helps.....

GrannyKate

Found some stewing beef at bottom of big freezer. Think it was from favourite butcher. Cooked overnight in slow cooker absolutely delicious and did two days.

It was 15 months old.

PasturesNew

Realistically, it's more important to eat the food you've got, rather than wondering how many years you can keep it ..... use the freezer as a way to prolong food lifespans in the short term and take advantage of any bulk buys .... not as some super storage in case of Armageddon.

Get it eaten!

happydays89

I cleared out our chest freezer the other day,I found four legs of lamb that have been there for at least 5 years,they look fine so will be cooked soon.Lots of steak also years old.Everything is vacuum packed and looks in perfect condition.Things that had bad freezer burn I chucked out.The best thing I ever purchased was a vacuum sealing machine I remember the leaflet saying meat can last a couple of years when packaged well.

getmore4less

Just had a frozen noodle veg stir fry mix found at the bottom best before Oct 2005. Sliced chicken and black bean sauce was edible and quite tasty.

Often have meat a year old stock up on joints Xmas eve at 25% still not finished last years turkey joints.

Pollycat

WOW!
This really IS necroposting!
A 10 year old thread resurrected just to advertise a company.....
Shame on you, johnfiore1231.

And isn't the company you name a US company?

happydays89

Pollycat wrote: »

WOW!
This really IS necroposting!
A 10 year old thread resurrected just to advertise a company.....
Shame on you, johnfiore1231.

And isn't the company you name a US company?

I didn't notice the date until you pointed it out:eek:

jackieblack

You can freeze meat for as long as you like.
Whether it would still be edible afterwards is a different question entirely:D

Pollycat

jackieblack wrote: »

You can freeze meat for as long as you like.
Whether it would still be edible afterwards is a different question entirely:D

Maybe the OP still has the meat he was asking about in his freezer - over 10 years after asking the question.

The thread died until somebody advertising brought it back to life - his post now removed.

20thcenturycat

I've just tried cooking some frozen mince and very much wished I hadn't. It didn't smell off exactly but definitely stale. Had been in there for two years. Bought already frozen, never opened and kept in a frost free freezer. So I think I will be managing my freezer better from now on and I might stick to Quorn as well.