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Pork Butt


 
T

Tony Lampher

TVWBB Fan
I have never made pork butt before and picked 2 of them up. I have had them in my fridge for 3 days and the expiration date is oct 4. The first one i opened to put my rub on smelled fowl. I thought it was strange, but then thought it must be normal. I opened the second one and it did not have near the odor of the first. May have just been because the smell of the rub was overtaking the odor that I didn't notice it with the second.

Is this normal or should I throw the one away? I don't want anyone to get sick from my food!
 
A pork butt can smell funky right out of the wrapper, did you try rinsing it off with cold water?

That'll usually take care of the smell.
 
I've had a few smell a little odd coming out of the cryovac, but if it smells bad, why risk it?

When in doubt, throw it out.

Dennis
 
I read on this site on the section re prepping pork butts:

You may notice a slight odor when opening the Cryovac packaging. This odor is normal and should dissipate after a few minutes. If the odor is a strong, putrid smell that lingers even after rinsing the meat under cold running water, this is a sign that the meat is spoiled, and it should be returned to the store for a refund.
 
"The first one ... smelled fowl."
'foul' or 'funky'?

If 'funky', rinse off with water. If it still smells off, toss it.
 
There's no telling how many folks throw away perfectly fine cryovac meat that smells a little off before rinsing.

It just happens some time with cryovac, but it's sure convenient to be able to go to Sam's once a month and not have to cook before the sell by date. A butcher told me that as long as the cryovac didn't have a pin hole, you could cook at least three more weeks after that, but I would think that the origination date off the case would be what's important.
 
I had a few that smelled wierd to me. One time when pulled the meat had a gamie taste and I pitched it all. For now on it's fresh from the store and smoked within 48 hours or into the freezer for me. Pork butts are fairly cheep so I woud not risk it.
 
I use the "Second Opinion Method".

I had a great Butt (he he) this summer and, once I opened it, I thought it smelled off. I rinsed it well and gave it another sniff. Still questionnable. I went so far as to rub it and then my wife walked in from outside and told me it smelled disgusting.

Moral is, sometimes you're just so eager to cook you ignore warning signs (stink) because it may kill the cook.

Also, with Cryo or Vac Packing, any bacteria that gets in will still fester.

If it stinks like a duck...Grab some ribs.

James
 
I have now been suggested it is good and also it is bad. when I rinsed it off, the smell was reduced to very little. I have it cooking right now. When it is done I will taste a small bite to see if it tastes gamey and decide if I should toss it at that time. Is this a safe decision? I have enough for a ton of leftovers, so if it is bad i still have the other one to eat! They are at 180* now so should be coming off in a few hours. had to raise the temp of the WSM because they were holding at 180* for almost 2 hours.
 
If your worried about it get rid of it. Why spoil a good dinner if your worried about getting sick from what your eating.
 
pork.jpg
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tony Lampher:
when I rinsed it off, the smell was reduced to very little. I have it cooking right now. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Yeah, I would have cooked it too.

When it comes to *me* eating it, I allow a wider tolerance than I do for guests, especially kids and grandparents. For them, better safe than sorry.
 
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