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I often buy grass feed/organic ground beef in a 1 lb. bag. I usually cook about 1/4 and put the rest in the freezer to defrost at a later time. My problem is that I notice if I leave the meat in the freezer for more than a week or so I have problems defrosting it.
Fist the meat changes to a a light brown color and when I take it out of the freezer and microwave it for just a few seconds it seems to become rubberized.
Is this normal or am I doing something wrong. I've been keeping it in the fridge instead of the freezer but I was wondering how long before organic ground beef will go bad storing it in the fridge?
In other words how can I make this last longer without it going bad on me?
If the beef is refrigerated at the time you buy it, then you need to break it up when you get it home into the portions that you will use and package each unused portion properly for the freezer.
At a minimum, you'll need heavy duty ziplock (or similar) freezer bags or small container.
Better would be to use a vacuum sealing machine & bag. This will remove the excess air in the package which prolongs the freezer life of the beef. These machines don't cost a lot to buy, they get their money when you buy the pre-made bags or rolls of the plastic wrap.
You can easily keep the vacuum packed beef in your freezer at proper storage temps for 6 months.
The beef is best thawed slowly in your refrigerator (overnight should work well) rather than quickly in a microwave, which will partially cook the beef before it thaws through in the package.
Alternatively, you could partially cook all of the beef portions when you first get the product and then individually foil wrap each 1/4 lb serving and put that into your freezer. Thaw for use in the fridge and then reheat as needed by finishing the cooking.
PS: better to use a stove top or grill for this type of food than to ever let it near a microwave.
Yes, the plastic baggies I was using weren't air tight so that makes sense. I've been keeping the meat in the fridge for the past 6 days do you think it's still safe to eat?
Everything I have read about storing and thawing meat in the refrigerator strongly suggests against keeping the meat wrapped or bagged.
Reason being, without airflow, conditions are much more favorable for bacterial growth when the food is kept enclosed and moist. Tightly bagged and wrapped meat goes "bad" quicker when removed from the freezer.
I'm one of the forum anti-germaphobes LOL. But even I would balk at a six-day thaw in my fridge for ground meat. I'd be cooking the nonsense out of it after six days, I think. Remove from freezer in the morning. Either do two days in the fridge, or a day on the counter assuming the room is cool, then cook.
Try to avoid nuking meat, even if it's to defrost it. The texture sometimes can get downright nasty, as you've discovered.
A one-pound hunk of ground beef should defrost in the fridge in 48 hours. If you need it more quickly, immerse it still wrapped in a bowl of cool water to defrost it. That will take a few hours.
I'm not a germophobe, and I won't leave frozen meat out on the counter to thaw. That's when the harmful bacteria may grow.
Everything I have read about storing and thawing meat in the refrigerator strongly suggests against keeping the meat wrapped or bagged.
Reason being, without airflow, conditions are much more favorable for bacterial growth when the food is kept enclosed and moist. Tightly bagged and wrapped meat goes "bad" quicker when removed from the freezer.
I'm one of the forum anti-germaphobes LOL. But even I would balk at a six-day thaw in my fridge for ground meat. I'd be cooking the nonsense out of it after six days, I think. Remove from freezer in the morning. Either do two days in the fridge, or a day on the counter assuming the room is cool, then cook.
The issue with keeping not keeping food wrapped and enclosed is the issue with warm and hot product--it needs to be rapidly brought down to below 40 degrees so the product is vented without covering so it cools faster. What we do not want to allow the moist warm product does not sit at those middle temperatures for a long time which ideal ideal for bacteria growth. In a home frig, you do not want to put a very hot product into a frig because it will bring down the temp too low and the home frig cannot recover fast enough. You need to bring in down to warm temp and then refrigerate.
With Respect, that issue does not apply to a cold moist product which is already at below 40 degrees which is a product you are defrosting from the freezer. If you unwrap a frozen product and let it sit unwrapped to defrost, it only allows it to dry out unnecessarily. Frozen products are regularly marketed at retail which are removed from the freezer and placed in a cool display case (holding at the proper temperature) and allowed to defrost for purchase and consumption. Also frozen products that will be further incorporated in further food processing are held to defrost wrapped in refrigeration.
The same issue in controlling bacteria growth is to rapidly bring a product to over 140 F. degrees and so again, not to leave the product at that middle warm temperature for an extended time to let bacteria grow.
So, I will not attacked for some differences. The minimum temperature can be also 41 degrees F. and the maximum temp can also be 135 degree F. depending on the products and the HAACP regulations that apply to that specific industry and/or municipal jurisdiction. I have also seen and been taught many other close variations around these temps in the many course I took and certifications I have received in HAACP, over the many years. I have taken State, Federal, Military and Industry HAACP courses.
HAACP (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points). This is required to be taught to personnel involved with food, manufacturing, preparation, storage, handling and transport. This scientific technique and methodology for safe food handling has been around for about 30 years.
Livecontent
Last edited by livecontent; 02-22-2014 at 09:27 PM..
yes, portion out , then freeze, ziploc bags are fine, to freeze in....just squeeze all the air out you can
if burger was in fridge for 6 days ..just refrigerated ...it will have an odor,,
4 days is usually my limit of fresh burger if kept under 40F degrees
im not a fan of defrosting burger in the microwave-its easy to become rubbery-thaw in the fridge
also, if the burger is too lean, it will also taste rubbery- the most popular selling burger is 85% lean(or called ground chuck in these parts) -this has some fat for flavor,,if you have burger that is over 95% lean,,,this has little flavor..
grass fed beef tends to be very lean (not finished on grain which gives beef its marbling and flavor)
also if you buy burger and its red on the outside , but dark on the inside- it's still ok,,, the outside is exposed to oxygen (and blooms red) while the iside is not,,and reverts back to its original color)
The issue with keeping not keeping food wrapped and enclosed is the issue with warm and hot product--it needs to be rapidly brought down to below 40 degrees so the product is vented without covering so it cools faster. What we do not want to allow the moist warm product does not sit at those middle temperatures for a long time which ideal ideal for bacteria growth. In a home frig, you do not want to put a very hot product into a frig because it will bring down the temp too low and the home frig cannot recover fast enough. You need to bring in down to warm temp and then refrigerate.
With Respect, that issue does not apply to a cold moist product which is already at below 40 degrees which is a product you are defrosting from the freezer. If you unwrap a frozen product and let it sit unwrapped to defrost, it only allows it to dry out unnecessarily. Frozen products are regularly marketed at retail which are removed from the freezer and placed in a cool display case (holding at the proper temperature) and allowed to defrost for purchase and consumption. Also frozen products that will be further incorporated in further food processing are held to defrost wrapped in refrigeration.
The same issue in controlling bacteria growth is to rapidly bring a product to over 140 F. degrees and so again, not to leave the product at that middle warm temperature for an extended time to let bacteria grow.
So, I will not attacked for some differences. The minimum temperature can be also 41 degrees F. and the maximum temp can also be 135 degree F. depending on the products and the HAACP regulations that apply to that specific industry and/or municipal jurisdiction. I have also seen and been taught many other close variations around these temps in the many course I took and certifications I have received in HAACP, over the many years. I have taken State, Federal, Military and Industry HAACP courses.
HAACP (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points). This is required to be taught to personnel involved with food, manufacturing, preparation, storage, handling and transport. This scientific technique and methodology for safe food handling has been around for about 30 years.
Livecontent
Very informative, thank you!
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