Tip of the Day: Store raw meat appropriately

by Max Shrem, Posted Nov 8th 2008 @ 7:45PM

When buying raw meat, it's important to consider storage. Looking for a quick and easy guide to storing various kinds of raw meat?

Below is the breakdown:

Poultry: Keep in the coldest part of the refrigerator for up to two days. Store it in the freezer for up to two months.

Beef: Ground beef should be kept in the refrigerator for no more than two days. In the freezer, you can defrost it after 4 months, but no longer because it will start to lose a significant amount of flavor. Steak can be refrigerated up to three days. Steak can be frozen several months longer than ground beef; 8 months total. Again, meat slowly loses flavor after being stored in the freezer for several months.

Pork: You can keep it for three days, at most, in the refrigerator. Pork chops can be frozen for up to 6 months. Look to see if the color of the meat has changed due to freezer burn.

Word of advice: Raw meat that you put in the refrigerator should be eaten within two days from the day you purchased it. Although you can leave most me in the freezer for over two months, I do not recommend it. It may not make you sick to cook meat that's been the freezer for 6 months, but it will have lost most of its flavor.

Remember that you cannot defrost meat and than refreeze it.

Filed Under: Tip of the Day, Ingredients
Tags: beef, meat, pork, poultry, storage, tip of the day, TipOfTheDay