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Help!! Raw pork butt stinks

smoky b
smoky b Posts: 648
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Bought an 8.5 lb. bone in pork butt last night. Expiration date 8/24. Looked good in the package. I opened it up this morning and it had a real strong, almost sulphur smell to it. I was already up and had the fire going so I went ahead and rubbed it and put it on but we are having a couple folks over tonight and I don't want to serve something nasty. Anybody had this? Or any thoughts?

Comments

  • If in doubt don't. I'd take it back to the store.
    8.5 lbs will take about 17 hours.
  • BHE1
    BHE1 Posts: 205
    I agree with Ron, if the pork smelled that bad I would not serve it either.

    Better safe than sorry. I would take it back to the store and consider getting BB ribs or a pork loin if you are having guests over today.

    Hope everything works out for you.

    Ed
  • lowercasebill
    lowercasebill Posts: 5,218
    toss it , wash your hands and spray the sink and counter top.. meat like fish should not really smell when it is fresh and propper.. my rule of the thumb ,,, if it smells like something i don't want to eat i don't eat it...
    i have tossed or returned lots of meat, mainly pork and chicken.
  • smoky b
    smoky b Posts: 648
    Too late now. I have hamburgers as back up. May have to learn this one the hard way.
  • I'll bet it had a slimy feeling to it? It is bad DO NOT SERVE IT.
  • rho1640
    rho1640 Posts: 118
    having worked in a meat department I do know that meat that is in those vacuum seal packages often smell horrible when they are opened (I do mean seriously horrible -- how I didn't become a vegetarian then I will never know) - - if it wasn't slimy I probably would have rinsed it off and let it sit for a bit then smelled it again - even going so far as to poke a hole in it with a knife and twisting it a bit to open the hole and smelling in there - it is possible it is ok --

    Having said that I have thrown out more meat than the normal person because I also have a very sensitive nose ---

    I have cooked meat that I know is perfectly fine (no smell on opening it or anything) and not been able to eat it just because of smelling it cooking - so hubby eats the meat (which I say again is fine - I'm not making him something that is bad) while I eat the side dishes or a PB&J sandwich.

    But if you have any question at all on the smell - I would pull it off the egg - take off what it is cooking on throw out the meat and wash everything and make burgers or pizza for dinner - better safe than sorry.
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    I think the key here is "real strong smell". Meat in a cryo pack can have a slight odor, but it goes away in a couple of minutes, and always after a quick rinse. Your's sounds bad to me.

    No need to take bad meat back to the market, your receipt will be good enough. They will usually replace or substitute anything in the case.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • Rolling Egg
    Rolling Egg Posts: 1,995
    Hey Graham,
    Take it off and chunk it. I've been there before and I know it sucks. If you still want pork just run to the store right quick and get another one. A little bit smaller one or kick the egg up to 275 and later in the cook to 300. You can still have great pork by the time they get there. That's what I would do.
  • lowercasebill
    lowercasebill Posts: 5,218
    i always take the meat back to the store.. i enjoy the look on the clerks face when i hand over the stinking bag of meat.. :laugh:
  • smoky b
    smoky b Posts: 648
    This forum rocks. Thanks for all the great advice. Now that I think about it, the smell was worst right when I opened it. Once I rinsed it and trimmed it, the smell was much less noticeable. Once I rubbed it, I didn't notice it at all. Then again, I did kill it with tons of BBBR. Company bailed so it's just me. I may let it cook. Or I may chunk it...so many choices!
  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    If the smell dissipated after you rinsed it then in my opinion the smell was a result of the cryovac packaging process. It happens.

    However, like thirdeye pointed out, if the smell was strong then maybe you have an alternate issue. The sulfur smell is almost always from the cryovac. It is a different smell from spoilage. Not any more or less offensive of a smell, but a different one. The sulfur smell that goes away quickly is nothing to worry about. A smell that lingers (or as others have stated a slimy feel on the meat surface) is where I would be concerned.
  • Bordello
    Bordello Posts: 5,926
    Like you I also used to work in a meat plant but I was in the sausage making section. Come St. Paddy's month I had to open countless Cry O Vac bags and yes some of them smelled pretty bad but they were still good.

    We would inject them, throw em a big tank of brine for 3 days min. Could not find one with the smell after that.

    Not sure if this is Cry O Vac or just butcher packaged, when in doubt, throw it out.

    Regards,
    Bordello
  • Crimsongator
    Crimsongator Posts: 5,797
    What time should we come over for dinner :whistle:
  • Experienced the stink and sulfur smell with some ribs that were well within date close too a year ago. I would have worried and remembered the smell every minute I was cooking it, so I took them back to where I got them, Sams. They were great and said anytime I got something like that to return it.

    Hey, call the place you got it first. They might not even require you bring "stinky" back. Worth the call!!... It might take you 30 minutes to an hour to be back with something new to cook & well worth it!!

    My two cents worth!!
  • smoky b
    smoky b Posts: 648
    Ha! Would love to do it sometime. Let's wait for when I am less worried about whether I am going to get food poisoning!! :woohoo: