Which meats last longest in the fridge? (hamburger, frozen, defrost)

[no kudzu]

Every week I buy pork ( usually chops or Boston butt), beef ( ground or roast) and chicken (skinnless boneless breasts). I always wonder which meat I should cook first and which lasts the longest in the fridge. I don't want to freeze anything because it precludes a last minute recipe but I have no problem freezing something already cooked like pulled pork or a basic ground beef sauteed with onions and garlic.

Now that I'm trying to cut my shopping down to every 10 days I'm really worried about how long meat lasts in the fridge. Should I just go ahead a freeze and then defrost to ensure nothing goes bad?

Thank you.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

Every week I buy pork ( usually chops or Boston butt), beef ( ground or roast) and chicken (skinnless boneless breasts). I always wonder which meat I should cook first and which lasts the longest in the fridge. I don't want to freeze anything because it precludes a last minute recipe but I have no problem freezing something already cooked like pulled pork or a basic ground beef sauteed with onions and garlic.

The most reliable information on food storage and food safety come from the US Department of Agriculture and the FDA, and they have multiple websites to answer your questions. Here's a handy one-page reference chart that you can print out and put on the refrigerator door.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/Fo.../ucm109315.pdf

Now that I'm trying to cut my shopping down to every 10 days I'm really worried about how long meat lasts in the fridge.

Per the chart, there's no fresh meat that will stay good at home for 10 days. Hamburger. poultry and fish should be eaten within 2 days, while whole cuts like steaks and roasts are good for 5 days.

[mainebrokerman]

fresh burger should be used first, along with fish/seafood-within a couple days

pork and chicken are next, keep an eye on the shelf-life date on the package-pork and chicken will let you know when it is spoiled

red meat lasts the longest, a fresh cut steak will last well over 5 days, even if it gets a little dark, its still good-bone in cuts will deteriorate faster because bone breaks down faster than muscle

in most stores-for fresh items/not vac sealed

the shelf life put on fresh meats

2-3 days on seafood
2 days on burger
4 days on fresh beef and pork (even tho beef lasts longer, it does discolor, after 3 -4 days)
5 days on chicken

keep in mind, shelf life/expiration dates are guidelines
also, most stores wont have "todays date" product on display so, 4 days, actually means 3 days displayed at store level

the last thing any store needs is a bad reputation on spoiled meats, so most places are very conservative on dating policies-thats why many folks target the "reduce" sections- great values and nothing wrong with the products

this is on freshly processed meats with storage temps under 40 degrees f (ideally 32-35 degrees)

[countrylv22]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

fresh burger should be used first, along with fish/seafood-within a couple days

pork and chicken are next, keep an eye on the shelf-life date on the package-pork and chicken will let you know when it is spoiled

red meat lasts the longest, a fresh cut steak will last well over 5 days, even if it gets a little dark, its still good-bone in cuts will deteriorate faster because bone breaks down faster than muscle

in most stores-for fresh items/not vac sealed

the shelf life put on fresh meats

2-3 days on seafood
2 days on burger
4 days on fresh beef and pork (even tho beef lasts longer, it does discolor, after 3 -4 days)
5 days on chicken

keep in mind, shelf life/expiration dates are guidelines
also, most stores wont have "todays date" product on display so, 4 days, actually means 3 days displayed at store level

the last thing any store needs is a bad reputation on spoiled meats, so most places are very conservative on dating policies-thats why many folks target the "reduce" sections- great values and nothing wrong with the products

this is on freshly processed meats with storage temps under 40 degrees f (ideally 32-35 degrees)

[ChessieMom]

It's rare that I buy meat and DON'T freeze it. Chicken breasts are very easy to thaw in the microwave.

[no kudzu]

Thanks everybody, especially mainbrokerman. You've answered by questions thoroughly
I usually plan my shopping list around the sale flyer and make my menues before I go to the store. Still sometimes plans change and I would like flexibility to rearrange my menues. I hate to freeze somethig one day and then decide to thaw and cook it the next.

So If I have all my meats in the fridge for say 3 days and then see I'm not going to get to them right away can I still freeze? Will the quality be compromised? I guess what I'm asking is do I have to freeze within 2 days of getting the meats home?

Say I decide to thaw in the meat drawer instead of microwave---how long will that thawed meat be good? Does the day count start all over once it is thawed? or from the minute I take it out of the freezer? I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering about his and I do really appreciate all the responses.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

this is on freshly processed meats

Chicken keeps longer than beef? Not in my house! To be clear, that 5 days you gave for chicken is not 5 days at home, that's 5 days from the processing date, including time at the store, with proper storage. That's why the FDA recommendation of using within 1-2 days at home makes sense.

with storage temps under 40 degrees f (ideally 32-35 degrees)

This is the big catch, as far as I'm concerned. In my experience many people don't run their home refrigerators that cold, and lots of consumer guides have advocated turning refrigerator temps up to save energy and save money. On a temporary assignment once I stayed with an out of town friend for a couple of months, and I couldn't understand why food I put in the fridge seemed to spoil very quickly... until I measured the temperature with an accurate thermometer and found it was at 45 F. Thinking it was an accident, I turned it down. A couple of days later I found it turned up again, and when I asked him about it he said he was trying to keep the electric bill down.

As far as thawing frozen meats, the water bath method is fast, because water conducts heat far better than air. Put the wrapped meat in a bowl in the kitchen sink, fill it with water, and let the water drizzle so that it keeps moving. This used to be called the cold-water method, but recent research has shown that warm water is safe, and is faster. Half inch thick frozen chops and steaks take about 10 minutes, boneless chicken breasts about 15. I don't see any reason to thaw meat in a microwave, which typically winds up overcooking certain parts, when the water bath method is so quick.

[Rubi3]

Recently, I wanted to buy a thin rib-eye and the store had one discounted to $2. because it was past the selling price. It appeared to be a good cut and it was. I cooked it that evening and enjoyed my cheap meal.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Rubi3

Recently, I wanted to buy a thin rib-eye and the store had one discounted to $2.

Heh, $2 ribeye? I'd be all over that too! Yum.

What I do usually is cook meat within 2-3 days of buying. I don't freeze much, although I did buy 5 lbs of ground beef on sale the other day. I divided them into about burger-sized balls and froze those. But the way I use things regularly such as boneless chicken thighs, I just cook about 3 lbs or so of them at once (one large package, because the large pack gets 50 cents/lb discount) and then store them cooked. I feel okay with about a week storage in fridge once cooked but not sure what the true thinking on that is. If I've gotten to 2 days and don't have a clear plan to cook the meat tomorrow, then I put it in the freezer. I don't really buy a wide variety of things though so usually that doesn't happen. I buy the chicken thighs (used for lunches all week plus some other things), ground beef, and occasionally maybe some in-store made sausage.

If you're trying to go 10 days between shopping, you're going to need to freeze more.

It's funny, we feel good just having gotten down to twice a week instead of haphazard and not knowing what we're doing. Twice a week works better for all the salad greens I buy. I don't find I can reliably count on those to last a week let alone 10 days. Most of the other stuff though is not quite that perishable I guess, but I've had awful luck with the salad. Other than that I might be able to make it through a whole week if I planned it better, but having this as a built-in reason to go twice works well for me and then I don't have to think too much about what I might want to have for dinner in 6 days.

[no kudzu]

OpeD- the uneven microwaving is one reason why I don't like to thaw in the microwave. We only eat chicken breast and there is always a tapered end which gets cooked while the rest is still frozen. But if I'm organized I try to cut my chicken into bite sized pieces for stir fries and nuggets and then I freeze those. They thaw in the microwave much more evenly if I have frozen them in a single layer in a lay flat baggie or my food saver bags.