How long will cryo vac'd butt last in the fridge?
- Thread starter Bill S.
- Start date
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
If the meat was properly packaged, the packaging has not been damaged, the package has been kept at the correct temperature since packaging--the meat will be fine for several weeks.
Freezing can effect taste and quality. How soon this occurs depends on the item frozen and the freezer itself. Most freezers are frost-free models that cycle into defrost mode to keep the freezer frost free. It is this cycling that causes quality issues though you will eventually have quality issues regardless of freezer type. How detectable any deterioration of quality is depends on the food item and how it is cooked after defrosting. Delicate items (fish, seafood), less firm items (fish, seafood, b/s chicken breasts. sliced bacon) and the like will suffer more noticeable effects, and suffer them sooner, than larger denser meat cuts. I try to use the more effected items within a month or two of freezing, the larger within 3-4 months. I have gone much longer with larger cuts and have sometimes noticed effects, sometimes not.
Freezing can effect taste and quality. How soon this occurs depends on the item frozen and the freezer itself. Most freezers are frost-free models that cycle into defrost mode to keep the freezer frost free. It is this cycling that causes quality issues though you will eventually have quality issues regardless of freezer type. How detectable any deterioration of quality is depends on the food item and how it is cooked after defrosting. Delicate items (fish, seafood), less firm items (fish, seafood, b/s chicken breasts. sliced bacon) and the like will suffer more noticeable effects, and suffer them sooner, than larger denser meat cuts. I try to use the more effected items within a month or two of freezing, the larger within 3-4 months. I have gone much longer with larger cuts and have sometimes noticed effects, sometimes not.
Craig Castille
TVWBB Wizard
I didn't know you could keep a cryo pack refrigerated that long after exp date. I have always frozen immediately, or cooked within a few days of purchase. Guess I am always paranoid.
Good to know.
Good to know.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
The various dates can get confusing (pack date, sell by date, best if used by date, et. al.). Except for poultry, some baby food and infant formula dating isn't required by the Feds. Some states require it. Most stores have criteria for generating sell-by dates but these are more appropriate for meats that have been removed from their original cryo packaging and repackaged (or cut/trimmed further and repackaged). Pack dates (generated at the meat plant and applied to the cases the meats are packed in, and sometimes to the cryo itself) are what you want to know for cryo'd meats. Cryo'd meats can go for quite a while after packing (think wet-aging of beef) but it is important that the package integrity has not been compromised and that the product has been maintained at the proper temp throughout the time from packaging to purchase.
For supermarket-purchased cryo'd meats err on the side of caution and cook sooner or freeze. (Doesn't mean you can't go longer, just that since you have a choice... .) If you want or need to hold cryo'd beef without freezing it, for wet aging for example, it is better to buy cases from a wholesaler/distributor directly (hence removing another link in the packer-to-consumer chain by eliminating the supermarket).
For supermarket-purchased cryo'd meats err on the side of caution and cook sooner or freeze. (Doesn't mean you can't go longer, just that since you have a choice... .) If you want or need to hold cryo'd beef without freezing it, for wet aging for example, it is better to buy cases from a wholesaler/distributor directly (hence removing another link in the packer-to-consumer chain by eliminating the supermarket).
Jane Cherry
TVWBB All-Star
I had a flat brisket that was fine after three weeks in the fridge. When I opened it back up, I swore it would have gone bad. It was very brown and it smelled - well - perfectly aged! I was amazed it lasted that long. Then I froze it.