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I shouldn't admit this.

I found a 2 # Rib Eye roast in my freezer dated December 2009. I almost threw it out but decided to unwrap it from the freezer paper and take a look at it. It did not have any signs of freezer burn so I decided to cook it on the mini and give it a try. Added some oak chips to the lump and cooked it at 275 dome for two hours. I was surprised how good that it tasted after being in the freezer for over four years.imageimage
LARGE, MINI BGE    SAN DIEGO, CA            An alcoholic with a barbecuing problem.

Comments

  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
    Amazing. That is pushing the FDA recommendation of 4 to 12 months to the extreme….
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • Frozen meat is safe indefinitely.

    Only concern is freezer burn or off flavors.  If it has been properly frozen, the date could be 1809 and it would still be entirely safe.

    Just might be freeze dried or tasting of oxidized fat.  But safe.


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    Copia ciborum subtilitas impeditur

    Seneca Falls, NY

  • chashans
    chashans Posts: 418
    One hour after I posted this I noticed a foul aftertaste. I think that it must be the quality issue that SenecaTheYounger mentions in his post. Enjoying at mealtime might be proof that the BGE can make anything taste better. My next trip to the market will include purchasing a fresh Ribeye roast to compare this with.


    chashans said:
    I found a 2 # Rib Eye roast in my freezer dated December 2009. I almost threw it out but decided to unwrap it from the freezer paper and take a look at it. It did not have any signs of freezer burn so I decided to cook it on the mini and give it a try. Added some oak chips to the lump and cooked it at 275 dome for two hours. I was surprised how good that it tasted after being in the freezer for over four years.imageimage

    LARGE, MINI BGE    SAN DIEGO, CA            An alcoholic with a barbecuing problem.

  • GaryLange
    GaryLange Posts: 418
    I think we all need to take a close look in our freezers and get a list of what we have and how long it has been in there. We clean ours out a couple times a year. The one in the garage is not frost free so it gets thawed out a couple times a year. The two in the storage room get cleaned out one a year. Te wife knows what we have and get it used up before it gets to old.
  • chashans
    chashans Posts: 418
    Aye! 
    That reference to the freezer being a "Black Hole" rings true now.

    GaryLange said:
    I think we all need to take a close look in our freezers and get a list of what we have and how long it has been in there. We clean ours out a couple times a year. The one in the garage is not frost free so it gets thawed out a couple times a year. The two in the storage room get cleaned out one a year. Te wife knows what we have and get it used up before it gets to old.

    LARGE, MINI BGE    SAN DIEGO, CA            An alcoholic with a barbecuing problem.

  • SenecaTheYounger
    SenecaTheYounger Posts: 368
    edited April 2014
    Skiddymarker: note that what the FDA says in the fine print of that chart mirrors what the USDA also says;

    "Because freezing 0° F (-18° C) keeps food safe indefinitely, the following recommended storage times are for quality only"

    (italics mine)

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    Seneca Falls, NY

  • Doc_Eggerton
    Doc_Eggerton Posts: 5,321
    That might not have been prime for the plate, but I bet it would have been just fine as burger, stew, or pie.

    XXL #82 out of the first 100, XLGE X 2, LBGE (gave this one to daughter 1.0) , MBGE (now in the hands of iloveagoodyoke daughter 2.0) and lots of toys

  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,427
    Preparing my Easter dinner, I knew I had a can of Campbell's cheddar cheese soup in the cupboard for the scalloped potatoes, but I noticed the top of the can said, "Best used by April 2002".   :\">
     
    I realized I had small chunks of cheddar, smoked gouda, and jack cheeses in the frig, so I grated them up and had much better potatoes than they would've been.  Just don't know if I should keep the soup or not.  
     
    That's not the worst I've done; I once tossed a can of salmon that was 30 years old.  When tipped it sounded like it was half full of gravel!  
    :-O
    _____________

    "I mean, I don't just kill guys, I'm notorious for doing in houseplants."  - Maggie, Northern Exposure


  • Can is safe unless breached. "Best Used By" refers to quality, not safety.

    Fun fact: there is no food for which the USDA actually requires an expiration date. In fact, there is no such thing as an "expiration date"( except for medicine and baby formula). To call it an expiration date is to train yourself to fear your food.

    All dates are suggestions by the manufacturer/supplier for last date of peak/best/perfect quality. So if today is the sellby date, the supplier says it is still perfect. Not that it is now suddenly bad. And more, it does not mean that tomorrow it is unsafe and should be thrown out. Freeze it. Or eat it. Or wait a few days more. If it's bread, it may go stale. If meat, it will be aging. But it isn't unsafe. Not if handled and kept properly.

    Sell by dates are not the date the food goes bad. They are the last date at which it is warranted to still be in perfect peak condition, and assume that quality (not safety) degrades after that.

    Americans tend to be unneccesarily afraid of their food.
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    Copia ciborum subtilitas impeditur

    Seneca Falls, NY

  • chashans
    chashans Posts: 418
    Twelve hours, one meal and multiple mouth rinses with Listerine later...and I still have that nasty aftertaste lingering in my mouth.
    LARGE, MINI BGE    SAN DIEGO, CA            An alcoholic with a barbecuing problem.

  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    chashans said:

    Twelve hours, one meal and multiple mouth rinses with Listerine later...and I still have that nasty aftertaste lingering in my mouth.

    That's gross.


    _______________________________________________

    XLBGE 
  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,136
    Not worth it to me...
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    Just for the really new guys. They are NOT talking things in the fridge like leftover meat, etc.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • Acn
    Acn Posts: 4,424

    That might not have been prime for the plate, but I bet it would have been just fine as burger, stew, or pie.

    Yep, stews are great ways to hide meat like that. Freezer burned ground beef might make crap burgers but will make very good chili.

    LBGE

    Pikesville, MD

  • Aviator
    Aviator Posts: 1,757
    where is Stike?

    ______________________________________________ 

    Large and Small BGE, Blackstone 36 and a baby black Kub.

    Chattanooga, TN.

     

  • BYS1981
    BYS1981 Posts: 2,533
    I used to keep an inventory of my freezer on top of freezer with items, but not the dates. I think I may go back to inventory and add dates this time haha.
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    Aviator said:

    where is Stike?

    He's probably reading and just itching to reply.
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • chashans
    chashans Posts: 418
    Come on Strike, who ever you are...let's hear it.  :)
    LARGE, MINI BGE    SAN DIEGO, CA            An alcoholic with a barbecuing problem.

  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    cazzy said:

    Aviator said:

    where is Stike?

    He's probably reading and just itching to reply.
    Or maybe he already has... ;)
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker