New York Strip | Is it still good?

acolle

I committed a small crime last week! I forgot about a good chunk of meat in the fridge. A quality New York Strip from a proper butcher. Been wrapped in the butcher paper, and stored in my meat drawer @ 33º for 6 days. What do you think? It it still good? Or should I not push my luck on this one???

The Cen-Tex Smoker

It's probably even better. Let it sit out for 30 minutes or so and then see if it passes the sniff test. A little funk is ok (good). It should get some of it's color back and any bad smell should dissipate within 30 minutes. You'll know if it's bad- it will look bad and smell worse and that smell will not dissipate.

pgprescott

It's fine. Enjoy!

Biggreenpharmacist

Eat it. Now. Raw. 

lousubcap

Salt it, air-dry overnight and have at it.  A banquet awaits.  

Theophan

My guess, too, is that it's fine.  33° is pretty darn cold, and it's been less than a week.

But I gotta disagree about the "smell test."  The bacteria that cause "spoilage" with bad smells are DIFFERENT ONES than the bacteria that can make you explode at both ends and wish you were dead.  The ones that are really dangerous DO NOT make food smell bad!

The reason the "smell test" might seem to work is that food poisoning isn't all that common, so people can "do it wrong" and still be fine, most of the time, and then their "real life experience" and common sense would lead them naturally to suppose that if it doesn't smell bad, then it's OK.

Nope.  Smell can't tell you whether the really dangerous bacteria are present in high amounts or not.

Kayak

Food poisoning is a LOT more common then you think. People tend to misdiagnose themselves. Most of it is a mild, diarrhea causing level. Occasionally it's up to "stomach virus" level, but actual stomach viruses are rare. And it's almost never reported, unless it happens at a restaurant.

That said, even though my rule is 'three days in the fridge, then toss or freeze', I'd probably cook it. Especially if the wife wasn't around. 

thetrim

Go buy a block of Limburger cheese and set it out on the counter next to the steak.  After 1 hour, if the steak smells worse than the cheese, throw it out!