How long is meat good in fridge

[Jonathan_S]

Wet aged a couple weeks is amazing. People think I'm crazy for leaving it in the fridge until they taste it.

[huntnnw]

also can depend if you shot it and froze it in a day or 3.. or did it hang for 2-3weeks... that meat will spoil faster out of the freezer than say something that was shot and froze. Anything with pork fat added would be eaten within a couple days

[millerwheeler]

also can depend if you shot it and froze it in a day or 3.. or did it hang for 2-3weeks... that meat will spoil faster out of the freezer than say something that was shot and froze. Anything with pork fat added would be eaten within a couple days

I usually process same day or next

[The Gobble-stopper]

No one mentioned whether the fridge was turned on or off, and what temperature it is kept at. And are the seals on the door in good shape? And maybe what time of year is it and where do you live. I am thinking if you live in Arizona and it's mid august. You are living in a broken down 60's style single wide trailer with very little insulation. A couple broken windows. And it's 108 outside and about 122 inside. Your fridge's door is left open, and it quite working 2 days ago. The meat at this point might turn a little quicker then one might think. And yes that is when your sniffer might kick in.

[pianoman9701]

I usually eat it as soon as it thaws. Sometimes it sits for a few days and I cook it when it starts to turn dark.

[dilleytech]

Short answer is multiple weeks. It's called wet aging.

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/butchering-and-processing/the-why-and-how-of-wet-aging-big-game

Or months. Vacuum sealed idk how long meat can last but I assume it will go bad at some point. I just ate a bear roast that was in the fridge for a couple months.

[dilleytech]

Ground meat and steaks….3-4 days after fully defrosted.

Roast….up to a week. 

The key is to open them up and get the meat out of the pooling liquid and blood.  It’s the blood that will spoil the fastest.  That’s why ground goes faster.   Roast, we will get out of the package and blood, season them and then let them dry age a little before cooking.  Steaks as well, just not as long as a bigger piece of meat.   Just my opinion.

Ground goes the fastest because your mixing bacteria throughout the meat when you grind it.

[pianoman9701]

Short answer is multiple weeks. It's called wet aging.

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/butchering-and-processing/the-why-and-how-of-wet-aging-big-game

Or months. Vacuum sealed idk how long meat can last but I assume it will go bad at some point. I just ate a bear roast that was in the fridge for a couple months.

Remember when you vacuum seal anything, you're sealing in the ambient bactieria with it. Not only is vacuum sealing not safer to leave for longer times out of the freezer, it may be more dangerous.

[dilleytech]

Short answer is multiple weeks. It's called wet aging.

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/butchering-and-processing/the-why-and-how-of-wet-aging-big-game

Or months. Vacuum sealed idk how long meat can last but I assume it will go bad at some point. I just ate a bear roast that was in the fridge for a couple months.

Remember when you vacuum seal anything, you're sealing in the ambient bactieria with it. Not only is vacuum sealing not safer to leave for longer times out of the freezer, it may be more dangerous.

Not true at all with red meat. You’re sealing it without any oxygen. Vacuum sealing is absolutely much much safer to leave un frozen then un sealed exposed to oxygen.

[metlhead]

Don't know. Meat doesn't even make to the fridge around me.

[bigmacc]

Well now we gots a dilemma. I’ve heard from both sides. I think you may be both right to a certain extent.

A buddy says getting all the air away from the meat (vacuum sealed) will help it last down the road while thawing. Then again, if bacteria etc is on the meat, sealing it all in and then letting thaw can be a problem.

You both could be right. 

[HntnFsh]

Wouldnt the bacteria be killed if its been frozen hard enough and long enough?

[dilleytech]

Well now we gots a dilemma. I’ve heard from both sides. I think you may be both right to a certain extent.

A buddy says getting all the air away from the meat (vacuum sealed) will help it last down the road while thawing. Then again, if bacteria etc is on the meat, sealing it all in and then letting thaw can be a problem.

You both could be right. 

If meat is exposed to air at all it will have bacteria on it. Bacteria is everywhere all around us. Wet aging is not a theory it’s a well used technique to age meats.

[pianoman9701]

Well now we gots a dilemma. I’ve heard from both sides. I think you may be both right to a certain extent.

A buddy says getting all the air away from the meat (vacuum sealed) will help it last down the road while thawing. Then again, if bacteria etc is on the meat, sealing it all in and then letting thaw can be a problem.

You both could be right. 

If meat is exposed to air at all it will have bacteria on it. Bacteria is everywhere all around us. Wet aging is not a theory it’s a well used technique to age meats.

Yet the finest restaurants in the world dry age red meat (exposed to the air) to make it more flavorful and tender, and under the inspection and approval  of health authorities.

[dilleytech]

Well now we gots a dilemma. I’ve heard from both sides. I think you may be both right to a certain extent.

A buddy says getting all the air away from the meat (vacuum sealed) will help it last down the road while thawing. Then again, if bacteria etc is on the meat, sealing it all in and then letting thaw can be a problem.

You both could be right. 

If meat is exposed to air at all it will have bacteria on it. Bacteria is everywhere all around us. Wet aging is not a theory it’s a well used technique to age meats.

Yet the finest restaurants in the world dry age red meat (exposed to the air) to make it more flavorful and tender, and under the inspection and approval  of health authorities.

That’s exactly right, they also wet age but basically all beef is dry aged before hitting market. And dry aged meat is covered in bacteria. The good kind. If you dry age long enough you end up shaving a layer of good mold off the meat. I think you are confusing bacteria as being inherently bad. You might take the time to learn about fermenting. It will help this stuff make sense.