One of life’s simple pleasures in the last few years has been having a freezer full of clean, delicious Blustery Bovine meat to “shop” from when I am planning a meal.
While it’s easy to think that "fresh" meat from the grocery store is the freshest way to buy meat, we have no idea how long it has been sitting in that display case. Our butcher vacuum seals and immediately freezes the meat after cutting to preserve it at it's absolute peak of freshness.
Freezing kills parasites and prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and food borne illness so food that is kept constantly frozen will always be safe to eat. Only quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage. Once frozen food is thawed, these microbes can again become active so you should treat defrosted food as you would any perishable food. It’s also good to know that no nutrients are lost by freezing!
Defrosting in the Refrigerator
Defrosting in the refrigerator is considered the safest, especially for larger cuts. Count on about 24 hours defrost time for each 5 lbs of meat.
Chicken & Turkey: Blustery Bovine’s chickens and turkeys can last between 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator after thawing. (If the seal is no longer tight or you purchased it from the grocery store, stick to the standard 1-2 day recommendation for poultry.)
Beef & Lamb: When it comes to steaks or roasts, if the original packaging is sealed tight, it can remain in the refrigerator for almost two weeks. However, outside of its packaging or if the packaging is torn, beef is good for 3-5 days once defrosted in the refrigerator.
Ground beef is a little different. It stays fresh for 1-2 days in the fridge once it defrosts.
Pork: Most larger pork cuts like pork shoulder or pork loin will remain good for up to two weeks defrosted in the refrigerator.
Cuts of pork such as chops will be fresh for 3-5 days after defrosting in the refrigerator depending on whether the packaging seal is broken.
Once you defrost bacon, it will remain good for 7 days in the refrigerator in the package. (Like it would ever just sit there for a week without being eaten! Haha!)
Sausage follows the same rules as ground beef, 1-2 days in the refrigerator after defrosting.
Defrosting in Cold Water
This is what I do for everything except large cuts and whole chickens. Simply put the package in a bowl and fill with cool water. Make sure that the package is still tightly sealed for this method.
Defrosting in Hot Water or on the Counter?
I have done both of these but it is not recommended. The smaller the package of meat is, the more comfortable I feel doing something like this.
Freezer Storage
Because frozen food is safe to eat almost indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only, not safety. In the chart below, “regular” means wrapped in butcher paper or frozen in freezer bags. Following are recommended storage times for storage in home freezers:
Item Regular Vacuum Packed
Steaks 6-12 months 2-3 years
Chops 4-6 months 2-3 years
Poultry, whole 1 year 2-3 years
Poultry, parts 9 months 2-3 years
Bacon 1 month 1 year
Sausage 1-2 months 1-2 years
Soups & Stews 2-3 months 1-2 years
Ground Meat 3-4 months 1-2 years
