When has meat been frozen too long?

RJH

We're in a mode of clearing out the deep freeze by Egging whatever we have in there. I always use a food saver so it's all good with no freezer burn, but I came across a pork shoulder that I put in there on 8/8/2006! :ohmy: I don't no how I missed that for so long, but there it is, over two years frozen in a food saver bag. It looks ok to me, but I interested in y'all's opinions on something frozen that long. Could it actually be bad?
(Sorry for the emoticons...my son made me do it...really.)
All opinions appriciated.

Richard Fl

Recently found by a fellow egger in Spring Tx.

How to, Frozen Food Freshness Guide

I ran across this on my MSN Home Page this morning. Worth passing on... Spring "Fresh As A Daisy" Chicken Spring Texas USA


Freshness Guide
Foods frozen for longer than the recommended times aren't harmful — they just won't be at their peak flavor and texture.
FOOD - TIME IN FREEZER (0°F)
Milk - 3 months
Butter - 6 to 9 months
Cheese, hard (Cheddar, Swiss) - 6 months
Cheese, soft (Brie, Bel Paese) - 6 months
Cream, half-and-half - 4 months
Sour cream - don't feeze
Eggs (raw yolks, whites) - 1 year
Frankfurters (opened or unopened packages) - 1 to 2 months
Luncheon meats (opened or unopened packages) - 1 to 2 months
Bacon - 1 month
Sausage, raw, links or patties - 1 to 2 months
Ham, fully cooked (whole, half, slices) - 1 to 2 months
Ground or stew meat - 3 to 4 months
Steaks - 6 to 12 months
Chops - 3 to 6 months
Roasts - 4 to 12 months
Chicken or turkey, whole - 1 year
Chicken or turkey, pieces - 9 months
Casseroles, cooked, poultry - 4 to 6 months
Casseroles, cooked, meat - 2 to 3 months
Soups and stews - 2 to 3 months
Fish, lean (cod, flounder, haddock) - 6 months
Fish, fatty (bluefish, mackerel, salmon) - 2 to 3 months
Fish, cooked - 4 to 6 months
Fish, smoked - 2 months in vacuum pack
Shrimp, scallops, squid, shucked clams, mussels, oysters - 3 to 6 months
Pizza - 1 to 2 months
Breads and rolls, yeast - 3 to 6 month
Breads, quick - 2 to 3 months
Cakes, unfrosted - 3 months
Cheesecakes - 2 to 3 months
Cookies, baked - 3 months
Cookie dough, raw - 2 to 3 months
Pies, fruit, unbaked - 8 months
Pies, custard or meringue-topped - don't freeze
Piecrust, raw - 2 to 3 months
Nuts, salted - 6 to 8 months
Nuts, unsalted - 9 to 12 months




Excerpted from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook (Hearst Books/Sterling Publishing).


Recipe Source
Source: BGE Forum, Spring Chicken, 2008/11/29

Rusty Rooster

I would thaw, cook & eat it myself & I bet you could put it back in the freezer for another year & Stike would still use it then. :woohoo:

BobS

It may lose some quality, but will not go bad from a food safety perspective.

If it is not freezer burned, I doubt you will be able to tell it from fresh, after you put some BBQ seasoning on it.

RJH

I'll be using Grillmeister's pulled pork technique from the Texas eggfest..plenty of Bad Byron's Butt Rub. I was doing Superbowl part planning. This one will be used for ABT's :evil: and my own snacking pleasure :P . I'll get another for the samiches for the party.

reelgem

Thanks for the post. I now have a major project ahead of cleaning out my 3 freezers. I've been procrastinating so this post gave me the extra push I needed. :laugh:

deltadawn

We just cleaned out the basement freezer in order to clean/remove the frost, too. We figured it was a good time to remove the frozen meat to coolers and set outside because it certainly isn't going to thaw out there. Now have to organize, bring older upstairs to use first. Somehow this always gets away from me.
Good Luck with your freezer projects!

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

Here is my take on the freeze / fridge take of things.
According to my (now past from this life as we know it, bless his soul) father-in-law….”It was in the fridge. it must be OK”! And, I take that to heart. Wanting to waste nothing!
This isn’t always true however, even though I adhere to his rule more often than not…
Here is a “guide line” for freezer storage that seems to work well.

Freshness Guide
Dad’s Kitchen

Foods frozen for longer than the recommended times aren't harmful — they just won't be at their peak flavor and texture :huh: .

FOOD - TIME IN FREEZER (0°F)
Milk - 3 months
Butter - 6 to 9 months
Cheese, hard (Cheddar, Swiss) - 6 months
Cheese, soft (Brie, Bel Paese) - 6 months
Cream, half-and-half - 4 months
Sour cream - don't freeze
Eggs (raw yolks, whites) - 1 year
Frankfurters (opened or unopened packages) - 1 to 2 months
Luncheon meats (opened or unopened packages) - 1 to 2 months
Bacon - 1 month
Sausage, raw, links or patties - 1 to 2 months
Ham, fully cooked (whole, half, slices) - 1 to 2 months
Ground or stew meat - 3 to 4 months
Steaks - 6 to 12 months
Chops - 3 to 6 months
Roasts - 4 to 12 months
Chicken or turkey, whole - 1 year
Chicken or turkey, pieces - 9 months
Casseroles, cooked, poultry - 4 to 6 months
Casseroles, cooked, meat - 2 to 3 months
Soups and stews - 2 to 3 months
Fish, lean (cod, flounder, haddock) - 6 months
Fish, fatty (bluefish, mackerel, salmon) - 2 to 3 months
Fish, cooked - 4 to 6 months
Fish, smoked - 2 months in vacuum pack
Shrimp, scallops, squid, shucked clams, mussels, oysters - 3 to 6 months
Pizza - 1 to 2 months
Breads and rolls, yeast - 3 to 6 month
Breads, quick - 2 to 3 months
Cakes, unfrosted - 3 months
Cheesecakes - 2 to 3 months
Cookies, baked - 3 months
Cookie dough, raw - 2 to 3 months
Pies, fruit, unbaked - 8 months
Pies, custard or meringue-topped - don't freeze
Piecrust, raw - 2 to 3 months
Nuts, salted - 6 to 8 months
Nuts, unsalted - 9 to 12 months

This information is excerpted from the Good Housekeeping Cookbook (Hearst Books/Sterling Publishing).

As a foot note…
I have, however, had pork / venison sausage in the freezer for two years (yiks!!!!) and it didn’t have an “old taste” to it.
OTOH, I’ll try not to do that again…As, fresh is BEST!